Insomnia/mental health

[CosimaMoon]

Has anyone here had experience with mental health problems and insomnia, and had them cured by the raw foods diet? I'm soooo sick of my disordered eating and not sleeping. I don't know how to break the mentality. I also HATE sleeping and get so much energy at night, I really don't know how to fix it. I don't want to take sleeping pills, so I'm hoping the raw foods will help, but I just don't know...thanks for any input!

[rawrawks]

This much I know. Raw food eating makes tremendous tranformation in the body. Many have amazing sleep and need less of it. The emotions are also balanced and calm.

I also know that having green smoothies (at least a blender full a day) and lotsa green juice balances the body. I have had this experience in a phenomenol way.

Happy-ness is on its sway!

[islesgirl]

CosimaMoon - yes, I too feel amazing changes in my disposition and my sleep patterns change when I stick with raw food alone. In just one week I see a marvelous difference - the difference between not really wanting to live and now having my zest for life back. For all I know I could be diagnosed with bi-polar disease - a good friend of mine (several in fact) believes I do have it. Sometimes I think she's right because of the way my mind races - especially at night - and because of the highs and lows. And I never wanted to take meds because I just hated the idea of losing the highs - sort of just "flat-lining" is what I call it. I love feeling exhilaration.:D Raw gives me that feeling the majority of the time - and I imagine it will get better. And I have real energy, and my skin is already getting firmer everywhere and I smile a lot and have much less cravings. Does this help?

Sue.

[Veganforlife]

Oh gosh going totally Raw DOES make a huge difference mentally and physically! I felt a LOT like what you described and eating Raw has balanced that out tremendously.
Give it time. You will see amazing transformations both physically and spiritually...

[rawrawks]

Good thoughts Islegirl.

I forgot to add that exercise....really go-out-and-bust-it-out exercise is profound for rest and the mental state.

[margoss]

Insomnia is horrid. It effects everything. Raw has helped me tremendously. I didn't sleep for more than 3hrs night for 2 1/2 yrs until June when I started this. Now, I look & feel 'awake'. When I wake up, I do not feel as 'hungover'. I would like to sleep until noon several times, need it but can't with DD.
Yes..it helps.

[stellaJewels]

for me, my insomnia was related to parasites/candida, gut flora imbalance and digestive disorders. The more I cleanse myself of these and heal my gut, the better I sleep. I used to have to take Ativan to get even a few hours of sleep, but I'm off it from eating raw and cleansing. I never knew insomnia could be parasite-related! Crazy... Soooo glad I finally learned that.

Good luck to you, I know how hard it is to function on no sleep ;)

[stellaJewels]

oops, tried to edit but too late...

I wanted to add that mental illnesses, eating disorders and hormone issues have all been linked to parasites/candida/gut flora imbalance/digestive disorders too. My depression and Addison's Disease symptoms have gotten WAY better

[Draginvry]

If you hate sleeping, then don't.

Seriously. Sleep isn't necessary for the body per se. Rather, the state of mind that you enter when you sleep, is necessary for the body. Some people who have used meditation and diet along with energy work can operate on very little sleep (if they want to). But this kind of activity takes much control of the mind. Generally the longer one goes without sleep, the more unstable the mind becomes. The less control you exercise over your state of mind, the quicker the mind will lose stability.

If you don't have any experience with meditation, you would probably have more immediate success trying the Uberman sleep schedule (also called polyphasic schedule). This is a method of sleeping where you take several short naps throughout the day.

There are several alteratives to "heavy" sleeping, or sleeping at night. But they will take an amount of skill and health to achieve safely.

[margoss]

when I decided that I needed naps bc I was so tired & I could sleep better for a few hrs during the day, it helped a lot. I do better if I can sleep with the REM..90 minute intervals, like 90 min, 3hrs, 41/2 etc.

[CosimaMoon]

Thank you so much, everyone! I'm just transitioning to the raw diet now, and I do feel much better when I eat that way. I think it's taking me a lot longer than other people to transition though, because of my mental state. I got very, very close to relapsing into a binge/purge cycle last night, something I haven't done in a long time. I've also been feeling more and more depressed, and I got sick the other day. I know it's all because I'm not sleeping, though if I could get by with no sleep, as someone above suggested, that would be amazing!

I'll keep working on going more and more raw, and hopefully that will help. It's nice to have others to talk to for support. Again, thank you all so much :)

[Raw Joy]

I don't know your age, but I was suffering horrible insomnia a few months ago. At my yearly checkup, the doctor told me insomnia could be a symptom of menopause. After doing some internet research, I saw where some women suffer for years. :eek:

Not for me! I was already taking black cohash and another herb that I've forgotten. My research led me to Maca. Within a few days, I was sleeping better, my night sweats were almost gone, and the hot flashes greatly diminished. I added a little soy (very little) in the form of blanched endamame beans to my salads and I can say my problems have all resolved. Sleeping like a baby.

Just thought I'd mention it.

[CosimaMoon]

I don't know your age, but I was suffering horrible insomnia a few months ago. At my yearly checkup, the doctor told me insomnia could be a symptom of menopause. After doing some internet research, I saw where some women suffer for years. :eek:

Not for me! I was already taking black cohash and another herb that I've forgotten. My research led me to Maca. Within a few days, I was sleeping better, my night sweats were almost gone, and the hot flashes greatly diminished. I added a little soy (very little) in the form of blanched endamame beans to my salads and I can say my problems have all resolved. Sleeping like a baby.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Lol I'm only 19 so it's definitely not menopause! I wouldn't do soy anyways, though; I don't believe it's healthy at all, and there's a history of thyroid problems in my family, so I avoid it like the plague.

I'm glad everything's worked for you, though! Hopefully your input will help someone else out too.

[Raw Joy]

I never really did soy either except a very rare smoothie or stir fry with little a tofu in it, before my raw days.

But I was so miserable, I decided the 1/8th of a cup of endamame beans a few times week was worth feeling better. The burning hot flashes where I felt I was going to pass out and the insomnia was affecting my entire life.

Ya do whacha gotta do sometimes.

[luckitri]

Thyroid, adrenal issues, sleep apnea - there are so many factors that can affect your sleep. Excitotoxins, mold.