Depression and Raw [Archive]

bananaberrie

02-25-2011, 09:56 AM

My experience with raw is that, on a dietary basis, it would be the last thing that could cause depression. If depression was triggered by emotional or mental stress, I'm sure it would be a great way to help address it and possibly even solve it. The one thing that I have experienced emotionally as a direct result of going raw in combination with exercise is euphoria. Best wishes to you and your husband. These things are temporary and sometimes all it takes is a shift in perspective (or diet) to start the turnaround.

My personal opinion is, he has been battling depression for a very long time. It must run in his family because as both his sisters have been on anti-depressives as well, but not either of his parents...hmm interesting. He always refuse to go on them in the past, but then we got to a place in our marriage where it was a must. I know he hates being on them, but the thought of him going off of them scares me to death. He is horrible to be around when off, moody, dark, judgmental it is like living with a black cloud, and very hard to do with 3 small kids. Since I have been raw I have noticed my mood is much more sable, I was always fairly laid back, but even more so now. So I was hoping that a raw diet might help my husband so that he wouldn't have to take his meds anymore, of course first he has to be ready to go raw.

Sorry I know I kind of want both world, to be honest he has no...um drive when on the meds...um like....uh zero. This for me is a very important part of a relationship, and I really want that part of our relationship back. So I want him off meds but I don't. Sorry I think I am just rambling now. I don't know why it is easier sometimes to tell your woes to an entire stranger, but for what it is worth.....thanks for listening.

smiley

02-25-2011, 09:58 AM

I was dealing with major depression and other mental issues myself in the past. I weaned myself off the antidepressants and started a 100% raw diet. People talk about physical detox which I went through too but my issues were mostly emotional so my emotional detox was worse than my physical detox.

My depression and other issues started surfacing and as I went through the experience without meds and with the benefit of raw food, I felt like (just like the physical toxins release from your body), the mental issues were releasing from my body.

I felt like I went through a dark tunnel and at the end of the tunnel was the brightest shiniest light I have ever seen and when I reached the end of the tunnel, I felt healed. :woohoo:

It didn't happen overnight but now, 7 years later on a raw food diet, I am the happiest I have ever been in my life and I handle life and stress much better. :excited:

I wish you and your husband the best on your raw food journey!

mcster

02-25-2011, 10:18 AM

Banana: You shouldn't feel guilty for what you want, especially when you don't seem to be asking for much.

I believe in the body-mind-emotion connection. If one of these aspects is dragging behind, you can use the other two to pull it forward. I've never been depressed but I have gone through big challenges in life like many/most of us. During those times, it's always easy to throw your hands up in the air, be sedentary and eat junk food. That's a great way to make a bad situation worse. When I've found myself in a bit of a valley (I've lost everything twice in my lifetime) I've used exercise, a clean diet and reading positive literature to help put myself back on track. Have you considered getting him to make some healthy lifestyle choices before weaning him of the meds? One has to have discipline. Even watching the news can have a detrimental effect on someone if you're in the wrong frame of mind...

bananaberrie

02-25-2011, 08:44 PM

Smiley: Thanks you so much for your encouraging words. It is great to know that raw foods have helped someone overcome something like depression. I hope that there will be some way that raw food can help my husband.

Mcster: You are so right about the mind, soul and body connection. It is amazing how close they are connected in so many ways that most of us will never know. It is a good idea to get him on a good raw diet before he goes off his meds. He is pretty open to trying what I eat or make for the family. But he has stated that he is not ready to go on a full raw diet. So I know enough to not push the issue, and just hope he comes around. I was hoping to find a few people who have been able to get off anti-depression meds because of raw foods. maybe there are some on this forum somewhere who will share there experiences.

Aleesha Sattva

02-25-2011, 08:54 PM

i hadn't read the posts above...

when i eat anything SAD... i feel sad. my daughter has noticed the same for her. when she eats cooked food, she notices a difference in - not only her mood - but how she copes with things.

changeisgood

02-25-2011, 11:53 PM

Bananaberrie -

IMO -
It is very important to do research yourself and with a nutritionist to figure out which foods would feed the missing chemicals in the brain and act as a stand in.
I pretty much white knuckled it thru most of my life battling depression since I was against chemical meds, but finally had to use them since everything else didn't work for me (almost committed suicide from a homeopathic remedy that was intended to reduce depression - and was given to me by an MD who apparently didn't know what she was doing with dosages).

I notice a change in myself, but not nearly there yet to wean myself off meds yet. The pain of deep depression is still too raw in my memory to risk a chance, yet. But it's only been a couple of months of raw eating.
I can distinguish sadness vs depression now, although there are some 'things' that come up that can throw me back into depression. And can recognize that certain foods can set me back. BUT, there is still, as of now, the chemical imbalance causing the depression. The emotional issues relate more to guilt and shame, and those issues have been worked thru.

My husband sounds like the way you describe your husband during dark times.
He'll only eat certain raw stuff, not nearly enough to make a change in his life. Even if the most respected person on earth were to explain how it all plays into each other, I don't think he would give up cooked food.
It's like an addict - you look for comfort in something and get it, but after awhile, it turns on you, and wreaks just as much havoc as the reason you turned to it in the first place. Although he is on meds (thank God) he considers food to be one of his few pleasures in life.

And I know what you mean - the med he takes is very frustrating to him since it blocks the ability to get to the end result most men want - he's tried other meds, but none work as good as this, so he'll not take it for a day and then after his 'moment', he'll immediately take it to get back on track. If he feels a bit dark he knows why and accepts it just as someone's mood changes when they aren't feeling well, and then it passes.

Even if he won't go raw, try and get organic fruits/veggies, make him smoothies - fun ones so he doesn't feel like it is 'medicine' and you're trying to push raw on him. Make fun salads that he could enjoy. And read laabels on anything you purchase that isn't home cooked to keep away from food coloring, dyes, and chemicals. Even detergent can cause changes in mood since it gets into our skin from residue on our clothing we wash. etc, etc. There's alot that can be done. Make it a joint effort to go green as much as possible. I use one of those lightboxes, especially during winter and extended darkness. That has helped me considerably with how lack of light effects me.
My thoughts are with you. Best 'wishes' :heart

jazzygirl

02-26-2011, 07:45 AM

I don't eat raw.... yet, I am working on it ;)

Anyhoo, since I began juicing which has only been one week, I have noticed a difference in the way I feel.

Sugar, actual sugar... brings me down.

Bananaberrie, work on yourself. Make a life for your self. You can't make him go raw, let him see what it's doing for you and maybe he will change on his own.

My boyfriend thinks I have gone crazy because I am always buying different veggies to juice but just wait till he sees how healthy and even happier I will be :excited:

mcster

02-26-2011, 08:52 AM

Mcster: You are so right about the mind, soul and body connection. It is amazing how close they are connected in so many ways that most of us will never know. It is a good idea to get him on a good raw diet before he goes off his meds. He is pretty open to trying what I eat or make for the family. But he has stated that he is not ready to go on a full raw diet. So I know enough to not push the issue, and just hope he comes around. I was hoping to find a few people who have been able to get off anti-depression meds because of raw foods. maybe there are some on this forum somewhere who will share there experiences.

Do a search for videos on vegan athletes and raw athletes on youtube and show them to your husband. I also found a bunch of videos on raw vegans that are in their 50's+ and categorically look 10, 20, 30+ years younger than their age including that 109 y/o guy who is writing his second book, opening a restaurant, lives alone, drives himself everywhere and looks 80. It will blow his mind. After weeks of research, those videos closed the deal for me and I went raw.

EscapeArtist

02-26-2011, 12:50 PM

I'm a true believer that most long term major depression that is not related to an extreme and direct situation (somebody dying.. etc) is caused by food. Feeling good gives us a safe spot within ourselves and a better ability to cope. But, I'm not so sure as to whether raw is the first step in overcoming depression through diet. For me, removing food sensitivities, gluten, dairy, corn, soy, did WONDERS. Did you know that when your body is sensitive to a food, it has the ability to flush out the 90% of serotonin in your body that lies in your digestive system?? I for one believe that the entire human race is sensitive to gluten and dairy in particular, these two foods also really DO destroy the serotonin in your gut. Heck, it even says so if you type in "serotonin" on wikipedia!
Certain antibodies that your brain makes against gluten also can, and usually does, directly attack your nervous system, including your brain, which leads to food directly attacking your brain... causing inflammation in your brain, re-organizing the brain flow and causing certain dysfunctions such as: suicidal thinking, schizophrenia, major depression, Alzheimer's, dementia, ADD... etc. I for one believe this to be the main reason for diseases that do not have "enough flow to the frontal lobe". It is always the frontal lobe it seems. This being called "the brain on fire".

I guess I can speak from experience because it was gluten, dairy, soy and corn (but mostly gluten) that ended up being the thing that gave me major depression from age... birth? Lol. I ended up being suicidal in my teens, until I took some things out from my diet. This alone halted my major depression and allowed me to cope.

On the other hand
I believe that you can escape major depression through minor dietary changes such as those stated above- food sensitivities.. But I also believe that raw food does give you a state of bliss that other diets can't reach. If you want to go that one step further and feel the best you possibly can in the body that you have, if you want to reach that level. So yes raw alone can definitely help assist depression, but to me it depends whether or not you are eating raw glutenous grains or raw dairy products, because that could very well completely sabotage it all IMO. Also I believe that it is very hard for one to repair the damage that has been done on a horrible diet without some kind of cleansing diet, becaues that stuff will still be circulating in your system until you squeeze it out a' you through detox. If you are still eating toxins from cooked food your body won't have as much time to repair.. Etc

Goodluck to both of you I hope he gives this whole diet thing a try! ;) :heart

Raw Angel Mom

02-27-2011, 03:39 AM

Before raw vegan, i used to have the blues all frequently i think you can call this being depress. I don't feel this way now. I also make sure to have a good dose of vitamin D (If you are low, you will be depress). B12 seems to help also.

Most of all, i don't feel the same physically since doing raw, i will have the blues for personal reason but my body doesn't feel the same.

When i did my detox program with simplyraw, i also notice that i my mood was better and i was more patient and happy.

Yes, without question for me raw food and alive food made a huge difference in this matter for me.

margoss

02-27-2011, 07:25 AM

My experience.....My H passed away 4 yrs ago. We went into a severe depression eventhough we tried hard not to. I started raw 1 1/2 yrs ago, started bathing with Tangerine soap..suppose to be good for depression, added a little Maca. It's been a long road. I noticed a slow improvement, but the past few months have been amazing! I sing & dance with soul, laugh, feel so much better. I see my old self emerging again! I say that I've been a catipiller in a cocoon that wouldn't open eventhough it tried so hard to get out. Guess it wasn't time! The emerging suddenly showed itself & the beautiful butterfly is showing her colors. It's wonderful. I do know that if I eat more than one sad meal a week, I feel worse.
Can't hurt to try it. I eliminated bread products completely. That & red peppers make me very depressed.

The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)

09-11-2012, 10:49 AM

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone here dealt or deals with depression. If so how did your raw diet effect it? My hubby is on anti-depression medication and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with depression and raw diet.

Thanks

l used to get depressed all my life before going on the raw sprout diet. Now l am in complete control and life is so good that l love my life, and l wouldn't change it for anybody. Nothing bothers me, but meditation makes it twice as good because you really know your inner self and understand people very very well, so nothing bothers me anymore because l accept everything happens for a reason. Life is like being in an amusement park all day and every day. Life is like a holiday all day and every day. Even when l am stuck in traffic...so what...life is still good.

Of course life can produce some stress, but it is a piece of cake to handle.

The best thing l found for producing the best mood was to consume 8 oz of chia grass juice everyday. Nothing seems to bother me at all when l drink that stuff. Life is like l am in paradise. The coldest and darkest days become the brightest days./ Makes me feel like l am on holiday everyday and gives you the excitement you used to have as a child.

fastfreedom

09-11-2012, 11:52 AM

One thing to consider is B vitamins. Not just a small dose either but larger doses. I think B6 is the one I recall most.

Undereating tends to make my mood drop I've learned. But I've also learned that it depends on what I eat too. High carb food makes me happiest. Fruits are carbs as are vegetables.

Bananas are supposedly good for uplifting the mood.

lafsalot

09-11-2012, 11:54 AM

Couldn't find the post or the testimonial one member gave about this book, "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Depression", so did a quick google search. The book, by Michael Schachter and Deborah Mitchel, details how people can combat their depression the natural way by eating the proper foods in the correct proportions, AND w/o meds. Since they advocate foods rich in amino acids, this book may be of help to anyone suffering from this illness

fastfreedom

09-11-2012, 12:11 PM

Ok...perhaps I was wrong in the correct B vitamin I was thinking of, though there seems to be a bit of talk on B6 and B12 for depression. Here's one thing I was thinking of that I watched last year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K2tqxKf2EE One thing with niacin if you don't already know, is that when taken in larger doses will create what's known as a niacin flush. So if one considers going this route then I imagine it would be better to space out the dosage throughout the day instead of taking it all at once. ;-)

The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)

09-12-2012, 03:47 AM

.................double post..........

The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)

09-12-2012, 03:48 AM

l think taking vitamin supplements can be good if one is unwell, but l definitely do think we need to make sure we improve our diet to include lots of fresh foods and top up the diet with non synthetic supplements in small doses. When high doses are used, it is a sign that the supplements are synthetic and most likely made by the drug companies. Sure synthetic supplements do work, but we do know from prestigious double blind studies that using synthetic vitamins DO have negative effects on health in the long term and are toxic to the body. What has also been discovered is that synthetic vitamins will contain either petrochemicals or terpentine, and perhaps other things, and we also know that large vitamin dosages are cooked. So yes, the key is to improve the diet with lots of fresh raw food so a person gets the huge benefits of nutrient synergy and electromagnetic frequency, and then top off the diet [if one is unwell] with low doses of vitamins. But naturally there is more to nutrients than just vitamins and minerals, there are also things like enzymes, oxygen, fatty acids, hormones and phytonutrients...all available from FRESH plants.

walnutty

09-12-2012, 05:17 AM

Along with fresh raw foods look into the use of niacin. Watch the movie, "Food Matters", as they discuss depression in it.

Devinnor

09-20-2012, 04:31 AM

That's totally irrelevant depression is a mental action that is related to your thought process it certainly has got nothing to do with your diet...

MysticTree

09-20-2012, 04:41 AM

That's totally irrelevant depression is a mental action that is related to your thought process it certainly has got nothing to do with your diet...

Rubbish! A great deal of depression has everything to do with your diet. "mental action" as you call it comes from chemical imbalances in the brain as well as from experiences which affect how we feel. If you eat right then those imbalances are reduced and often eradicated totally. If you eat right your negative feelings reduce. You are better able to deal with the results of trauma that might be causing depression. A good diet is paramount to good health both mental and physical.

Dimond

09-23-2012, 10:07 PM

Excellent and true response, MysticTree. :) From my own experience, it's highly doubtful I would've ever felt real happiness if I didn't change my diet first. Chronic depression is usually a symptom of a bigger health issue. The reason some can handle life better than others is often about their health and less about other things. This is not to say there isn't more to it for some people. But if they were in better health, circumstances and events wouldn't affect them as negatively. Most people don't even know there is anything wrong with them health-wise. It's all a very complex subject and there's so much more to it than most realize.

Since the other thread didn't take off, I will once again mention:

I just added some info onto my website regarding the mental/brain connection & health/nutrition. It's something I've been studying for years and experimenting with. It's a work in progress, but hopefully it will be helpful to many having a difficult time finding solutions. I want to offer much more in this area because I don't think there's enough info and it seems to take awhile for someone to put all the pieces together.

http://dimondhealth.com/BrainMental

walnutty

09-23-2012, 10:13 PM

That's totally irrelevant depression is a mental action that is related to your thought process it certainly has got nothing to do with your diet...

Huh? OMG! It has everything to do with what you eat!

Most people, though, aren't willing to take control of their lives and eat what will heal their bodies. Sad. They don't have to suffer.

walnutty

09-23-2012, 10:17 PM

There are SO many sources for this information, so please don't listen to us! Study and research!

This book helped my sister, but she wasn't willing to make the dietary changes that would have promoted healing:

http://www.amazon.com/Depression-free-Life-Physicians-All-Natural-5-Step/dp/0060959657/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348456453&sr=1-1&keywords=depression+free+for+life

fastfreedom

09-23-2012, 11:34 PM

That's totally irrelevant depression is a mental action that is related to your thought process it certainly has got nothing to do with your diet...
:ROFL::ROFL::ROFL:

Are you being totally sarcastic...? LOL It's has nearly everything to do with diet. Aside from major emotional trauma from life experience, depression is primarily from the garbage passed off as "food". No need to take anyone's word for it either, it's easy enough that anyone can prove it to themselves.

I just wanted to back up what's already been said. I used to be asked if I had bi-polar disorder, and I never knew what that was till I looked it up. I would say that perhaps I did..........I dunno. I would be happy for a little bit then quite glum for a while, and it just kept yo-yo-ing. This was all years and years ago when I had no clue about what this body has been designed to run on. I look back now and realize that it was simply from the garbage I used to consume. I used to be told that I had allergies too, "hay fever", and have heard people tell me that it's impossible to get rid of, and I don't know what I'm talking about saying that I no longer suffer from it, and that I should be a medical miracle to be studied and touted about for doctors "<---"someone actually told me all of that." LOL what a joke at how stupified we have all been brought up to be.

Basically what I was simply trying to say...........food has everything to do with how you feel. I ate 13 bananas for lunch today and felt AMAZING. I'm sure if I had of eaten a big pile of animal flesh number 6 from the local drive through I would of felt like hammered crap. LOL Eat death and feel like death.....eat living and experience life.

rant over :-) HA

blissrunner

10-04-2012, 11:47 PM

Depression is spiritually and emotionally based not physical so foods won't cure it. The way foods can help though is that you'll probably feel much better physically which can help you feel a bit better overall. I just personally don't agree with the notion that depression can be addressed from the outer such as with something like food or eating.

blissrunner

10-04-2012, 11:47 PM

..........

blissrunner

10-04-2012, 11:50 PM

That's totally irrelevant depression is a mental action that is related to your thought process it certainly has got nothing to do with your diet...

I 100% agree with this. Depression is a symptom caused by emotionally responding to people and stress and/or thoughts incorrectly.

MysticTree

10-05-2012, 12:54 AM

if you are 100% raw have you no idea how much that raises your self esteem? With self esteem raised you deal with stress better or don't get stressed in the first place. Diet has everything to do with everything.

Dimond

10-05-2012, 06:57 AM

I 100% agree with this. Depression is a symptom caused by emotionally responding to people and stress and/or thoughts incorrectly.

For most of my life I thought there was something mentally wrong with me and wasted a lot of years being miserable or trying to get "fixed" through counseling, self-help books, antidepressant supplements, meds, etc. Even when I had figured out it was related to my physical health, I still thought it was a mental issue. Then I finally started seeing real results with being raw (and later a specific amount of exercise when before exercise alone didn't do anything noticeable.) and really could experience being my true self for the first time in my life. That's when I realized it positively was just a symptom of my physical health and had very little to do with mental health. When I'm healthy, I can handle stressful situations much better, I can talk & respond to everything much better, my brain itself functions more normally, etc. It's really about 3 issues: getting rid of toxins, absorbing nutrients fully (through diet & often supplements) & moving your body. To improve your life even further (or anyone's life regardless), being on some type of spiritual path doing things like meditation, prayer, yoga, etc. is a great help. People often will naturally gravitate to doing that anyhow because it complements a healthy lifestyle.

fastfreedom

10-05-2012, 10:06 AM

Depression is spiritually and emotionally based not physical so foods won't cure it......... I just personally don't agree with the notion that depression can be addressed from the outer such as with something like food or eating.

That's only your opinion. Eat 100% raw plants for the next year, clean the kidneys, clean the colon, detox the liver, get the lymph moving, detox as much as possible..............then I am eager to hear of your new opinion/experience. ;-)

The foods one eats in not something that is outer....... It is in fact the very thing that is supplies the building blocks for how the body is assembled. You can only change your body by first realizing that it is a product of what you have consumed throughout the years. Keep feeding it garbage and in return you will feel like garbage. Feed it the optimimum foods it was specifically designed to run on and feel absolutely amazing physically, emotionally, spiritually....day in and day out. Don't just take anyone's word for it either.....it must be experienced for one's self, and then it will be known what the truth is.

blissrunner

10-07-2012, 08:30 PM

That's only your opinion. Eat 100% raw plants for the next year, clean the kidneys, clean the colon, detox the liver, get the lymph moving, detox as much as possible..............then I am eager to hear of your new opinion/experience. ;-)

The foods one eats in not something that is outer....... It is in fact the very thing that is supplies the building blocks for how the body is assembled. You can only change your body by first realizing that it is a product of what you have consumed throughout the years. Keep feeding it garbage and in return you will feel like garbage. Feed it the optimimum foods it was specifically designed to run on and feel absolutely amazing physically, emotionally, spiritually....day in and day out. Don't just take anyone's word for it either.....it must be experienced for one's self, and then it will be known what the truth is.

By outer I mean the physical. Our body is only the physical part of ourselves, we are more then that and depression is not physical attribute, it's spiritual and the only way it can be cured is by addressing it's cause which is emotional and spiritual in nature. I just wanted to clarify that I do not agree that the building blocks for what builds the physical body is "not" outer. That being said this is what I believe and what I have found works in life. I take care of my "outer" self because I do need it, but I realize I also have an "inner" self and it's MUCH more important to take care of for happiness, well being, peace and SO MUCH MORE.

Dimond

10-10-2012, 06:16 PM

All you have to do is google diet and any mental illness and you'll find countless testimonials of people who've healed with an extremely healthy diet, most which is whole foods or raw and sometimes supplements. Even the very difficult illnesses like schizophrenia (which currently has 6,800,000 results about healing with diet) . The few that are arguing against it, likely just haven't experienced it (either mental illness or being healed) as myself and others have stated on this forum. One can spend years getting counseling and it doesn't necessarily mean much is really accomplished. The same goes true for medication. One's mental state is being affected all the time by your physical health, hormones, weight, fitness level and environmental toxins being just some examples.

Also, I really don't even like to call it mental illness since it's not exactly that, but people only seem to associate with it that way. In reality there is no real mental illness. There's either temporary states of being usually associated with stress or an unhealthy body where mental disfunction is just one of the symptoms.

Counseling, self-help methods and spiritual practices may help in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle, especially the latter. But that's true for even a healthy person since it's rare that we don't need various tools for support or just to improve our lives.

thomas.d

10-16-2012, 11:24 PM

wonderful and amazing for me who raw can give the relief from the depression.Those who suffer in depression can not easily get rid of such hidden anxiety,so I disagree with this ideology need help here.

Hanalei

10-17-2012, 10:03 AM

It may have helped me a little bit, but it's sure not gone. I don't think it will be completely gone until we move somewhere I actually like and some things in my life sort themselves out. But I guess it's not as bad as it was before raw, it's just not gone. For me, it's a lot better when it's warm and sunny, so living in Michigan.... not exactly helping that, you know? [in the winter we'll sometimes go weeks without any real sunlight. It;s the worst.]

Dimond

10-18-2012, 09:56 AM

Hanalei: I completely get you on the weather. I personally can't take cold weather & sometimes get cold even in a warm environment because the a/c has to be on all the time or when it does get a bit colder in the winter. That seems to be improving a bit too, especially since I'm taking iodine which most people are deficient in.

For everyone: It's important to remember that it takes time for you to receive all the positive benefits of changing your diet & that it often needs to be combined with other things. It took years to create toxicity, it can years to undo it (luckily not as long as it took to create). But it's highly worth it when it happens. Instead of just waiting for it to take full affect, you need to find the right support tools & methods to help ease some of the difficulty you're experiencing. For me, spending a lot of time in solitude helped greatly. Even if you can just do a small amount of that a day, it will eventually improve things when you use that time wisely ie: meditation, prayer, journaling, reading spiritual materials, etc. Exercising is also very important, especially if you can do something you enjoy. Any real support you can get, through personal or professional means, can help as well. I personally had little while I've been raw & still managed to change things. Doing brief juice feasts/fasts & cleansing in other ways is what contributed to moving things along more quickly (along with spiritual practices). There's so many people with similar issues on the internet who've managed to turn around their lives greatly after suffering for 20-50+ yrs. The unfortunate part is it took until recently to find enough useful information to make a significant difference. Now there's a lot of resources available.

Anyone's welcome to email me if they want support or advice. My mission is to help as many as possible be able to live a better quality of life.