★★★★★
★★★★★
Apple Cider Vinegar
★★★★★
Rhodiola
★★★★★
Cold Showers
★★★★★
I've discovered a lot of useful information on this website, but what really caught my eye is the cold shower therapy. I've never taken a cold shower in my life so I tried it today. Honestly, I've never felt so great. I don't know what it did to me, but I got a terrible fit of the giggles that lasted half an hour. I feel a lot better, and motivated, which is rare for me especially in the morning. I'll keep it up and see what else happens, but I definitely recommend trying it, for whatever reason. And Thank You for this great website!
Cold Showers
★★★★★
B Complex
★★★★★
Cold Showers
★★★★★
Cold Showers
★★★★★
Proper Mental Diet
I've been exploring the remarkable efficacy of things like ozone therapy, castor oil, hydrogen peroxide, Buteyko breathing, Father Zago's aloe remedy and other methods of dealing with illness with regard to the oxygen they provide the cells.
It never occurred to me until I started thinking about Fr. Zago's instruction to use the skin of the aloe plant or to use the tree aloe that doesn't contain as much "juice" which made me think of Native American practices of laying whole, fresh leaves of a medicinal plant atop a wound and the difference between fresh and dried leaves.
The common denominator in these substances seems to be bond cleavage that creates radically free oxygen singlets.
O3 wants to be O2, H2O2 wants to be H2O, photosynthesis extracts oxygen from water, castor oil is an O3 oil while all of the popular oils are O2 oils and the pause in Buteyko breathing provides the blood with CO2 which is what breaks the blood/oxygen bond (via the Bohr Effect) allowing the blood to let go of and deliver its payload of oxygen to the cells.
At any rate, I wonder if oxygen deficiency in the brain, itself, might be the culprit, not only in depression but also in those raging "Karen" fits you see in videos.
At any rate, if you're depressed, try breathing into a paper bag a few times and see what happens as Buteyko breathing is basically the same thing but, instead of breathing the CO2 you breathe out, you use the CO2 you generate naturally by controlling your breathing. Which may be too difficult, initially, if one is so deficient as to be depressed - OR, also, if one suffers PTSD - hence the paper bag test which will provide a shot of oxygen to the brain cells which, if I'm right, should make you feel a whole lot better, in that instance. Then one can graduate to practicing Buteyko breathing and, hopefully, get the body sorted out and back to calm, natural breathing patterns.
Buteyko breathing is simply consciously pausing after you exhale and before you inhale again -increasing the length of the pause as you progress.
If you have trouble pausing and get that little hitch in your throat where you want to inhale, try inhale normally and exhaling with a sigh, Then hold - just for a count of 3 at first - then 5, then longer until you can pause as long as you want and are taking slow, calm shallow breaths. As if you're barely breathing at all. In Buteyko breathing, they have you hold your nose so you can't breathe but that's not necessary and there is no need to add to the stress that has you in a chronic state of hyperventilation so, if you need help holding, breathe into a paper bag, get some oxygen to the brain so you can consciously comprehend there's no danger and try again.
If you've ever watched a sleeping baby - intently - to make sure he/she is breathing without waking them up, then you know how nearly undetectable calm breathing can be so the point is - the issue isn't a lack of oxygen, it's just that your blood can't release much of the oxygen it's already carrying to the cells.
Anyway, if you're depressed or suffer PTSD, give it a try or, if you have difficulty holding your breath for even a count of 3, breathe into a paper bag and see what happens.
This isn't a woowoo thing. This carbon dioxide and holding the breath thing is the actual mechanism by which oxygen is provided to the cells which absolutely includes the brain cells so, even if you aren't depressed or don't suffer anxiety or some sort of "brain fog", check your breathing and practice the pause and you will absolutely increase the oxygen uptake of all organs and systems.
5-HTP
Dietary Changes, Lifestyle Changes
★★★★★
I had major depressive disorder from age 4 until age 26. I'm 41 now, no problems with it. I was so bad I would have to snap my wrists with a rubber band to keep my thoughts from cascading downwards and had to go inpatient a number of times.
At age 19, I began a yoga teacher training program. I began a slow turn to vegetarianism because of a book I read to help migraines. When I did this, 75% of my MDD lifted, and my mind cleared up for the first time since I could remember. I even tried to go back and immediately the depression set in along with a newfound anxiety. That's when I committed to full vegetarianism.
It wasn't a cure-all, though, and I have to say the truth that I found a higher power that loved me and I felt it express very strongly to me. Once during a time period of self-harm I said no one loves me and I just clearly felt a strong response that he loved me. In that moment, I committed never to self harm again but it took time to get away from music that was always in lack. Always missing something. I had to turn to music that was talking about gaining and positive ideas.
I was still struggling with the MDD, but I began to respect myself and say that I would not be in a relationship with someone who did not love me. Therefore, no more intimate relations with those who are not truly wanting to be with me. This change probably brought me to 80% without major depressive disorder and kept me from going under water emotionally. I joined a program for that.
Once I found out that I had a learned eating disorder, and went into treatment with a nutritionist who balanced my food, and began to work on the reasons behind it, I would say that my major depressive disorder was gone at 100%. For whatever reason, the consistent nutrition at certain times unlocked the key to my major depressive disorder it was like I was saying that I deserve to have food and I deserved to have life. I also had to work on getting out of other people's business and began attending a program for that. I can only control what I do but of course one has to set up boundaries for things that are wrong. (I guess the best way to summarize that is that I learned how to interact with people in my life or family in a way that set up boundaries).
I have not had a problem since maintaining these changes and I'm super lucky and wanted to share with others.
Dietary Change
Next day:
This is a follow up to my post yesterday about depression. I want to explain the science behind my suggestions.
1. Avoiding protein for depression. Two reasons: a. Protein, especially animal protein, has high Branch- Chain amino acids. They compete with Tryptophan to enter the brain, and Tryptophan is needed to make Serotonin. More Serotonin = less depresstion. b.Protein is high in Choline. Choline is used by the brain to make Acetylcholine. As Acetylcholine goes up, Serotonin goes down. The ancient Greeks knew that Choline is associated with depression, hence the word "MelanCHOLIa."
2. Avoiding pesticides for depression: Pesticides including Roundup are Cholinesterace Inhibitors. That means they inhibit Cholinesterace. Your brain uses Cholinesterace to limit Acetylcholine. Too much Acetylcholine means less Serotonin. They are in inverse proportion of each other: as Acetylcholine goes up, Serotonin goes down.
So buy organic when you can, and when you cannot, especially avoid GMO foods (get lists online) since they are the most heavily sprayed. Also avoid wheat, oats, and barley unless organic, because although they are not GMO foods, in a process called "desiccation, " they are sprayed a few days before harvest, and then not washed, so the pesticides go directly into the grain.
Note also that in whole wheat, the wheat germ is high in Choline. See above on choline.
You can wash pesticide off produce by soaking for 30 SECONDS in boiling water. But for grains the pesticide goes inside, and you can't soak bread, flour, etc.
A final note on pesticides: Animals are given GMO grains to eat. That means their foods are doused with pesticides, usually Roundup (glyphosate), known to cause Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma. The pesticides reside mostly in the animal FAT.
So I advise avoiding both animal PROTEIN and animal FAT.
3. Here is a helpful strategy to increase your Serotonin: For the times you do eat high protein, you wait a few hours, then eat high carbohydrate foods, especially without added fats. (Fats slow down this process.) This will increase Serotonin because the amino acids from the protein will still be in your blood. The carbohydrates will call forth Insulin, which not only drives down blood sugar, but also pushes amino acids into the muscles, except Tryptophan. That one insulin leaves alone. Without the Branch-chain amino acids in your blood, your Tryptophan is now free to enter your brain, where it creates Serotonin. Please note that fruit, which is also a carbohydrate, will not work for this method because fructose is metabolized differently. Of course fruit being low protein is great for this diet, but it just won't work to drive amino acids into your muscles. For that you need carbohydrates, and please do this responsibly with COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES, not the refined sugary products that are the bane of modern society.
Plant foods that have high Tryptophan are the best for this method: sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
Also: some persons have a mutation on the BCHE gene that codes for Butyrylcholinesterace. As a result these persons have higher Acetylcholine in their brains. For them, avoiding choline is especially helpful, as well as avoiding Nightshade plants. (Potatoes, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Peppers, Tobacco). Also avoid Fluoride. You can find out if you have this mutation by getting your genes tested by 23andMe, and then uploading your results to Promethease.com. If you have it, it will show up near the beginning of your report.
I did a ton of research, and I hope you will benefit from it, as I am.
Think about this: in our parents' day, before factory farms, meat was expensive so animal foods were occasional. Now meat is cheap, so animal foods are abundant in our meals. Suicide rates have skyrocketed, and school shootings are frequent. Low serotonin, now epidemic in society, is a major player. It's Karma: we kill animals, and they kill us.
Two other suggestions:
1. Pay extra attention to your sleep. You can try the various supplements and sleep on grounding sheets. Sometimes a lack of good deep sleep masquerades as depression.
Currently a pricey supplement called Kavinace Zem is helping me sleep, and I am experimenting by trying its ingredients as separate supplements: Zembrin, Phenibut, and Blueberry Extract. Note that Zembrin (an African plant) works like Prozac, Zoloft, and that class of antidepressants: Zembrin increases Serotonin by blocking its reuptake, so your brain makes more use of its supply. Inositol and P5P also help me with sleep and mood, I assume by increasing Serotonin.
2. Be careful about eating too much nuts/seeds/ nut butters. These foods are high in Arginine, which viruses need to replicate. Sometimes chronic low-grade viral infections masquerade as depression. Do you feel achey and feverish along with your depression? That is a sign of viral presence. You can balance out the Arginine with a comparable amount of Lysine foods or Lysine supplements.
A final word: on this diet your main course is whole grains (organic) and vegetables. Fruit too, best absorbed BEFORE a meal. Small amounts of healthy fats are fine, avoid omega 6 fats in favor of olive oil and especially omega 3 like flax and walnut oil. FATS DO NOT HAVE PROTEIN, even when derived from protein foods. The only thing is that fats slow down the release of insulin that you need to create serotonin, as explained above. So be sparing and just experiment.
5-HTP
5HTP can be started at any time and will not interfere with an SRI. Start with 50mg/day of 5HTP, then increase to 100mg/day if required.
Hormone Related
My husband was the one who got me to go back and figure out where my depression started. I figured out it was hormone related. I called my GP... Got back on plant based hormone and within 2 weeks began to see the "fog" lifting. When I told my psychiatrist that I wanted her help to slowly get off the meds and get a regime of eating healthy, exercise and concentrated therapy, she became furious and refused to help me. She said that I would end up back in the hospital within 2 months and be worse off than I originally was. Well.... that has been 7 years ago and I feel great.
So.... I would suggest bloodwork, diet, exercise, and research, research. Everyone of us is different in what works for our bodies. Postings here on EC was lifesaving for me. Daniel Ahem's books are invaluable for educationing yourself about what you need to do when you start noticing a problem. Dr. Mercola just had an article on him a couple of days ago on his website. Please read his research.
I slowly weened myself off my meds. I would have loved to have had the support of my psychiatrist. All the drugs were taking away my life and I knew I had to take my health back into my own hands and not rely on someone else telling me they knew what was "best" for me. It was terrifying for me to take that step, but I'm so glad I did. I really hope this helps someone. I believe we're all guardian angels here on this site.....")
★★★★★
Peace, Steve
Dancing
★★★★★
I had always wanted to take dance classes so in college i took a class for p.e. credit. It was extraordinary how much dancing affected me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I got into better shape while being challenged to learn steps and movement and when i danced, i felt so happy like i could fly!
Since then, I haven't had any need to see a therapist or take meds and I've now changed my major to became a movement therpist (who knew there was a whole field dedicated to what I had experienced). I hope to inspire others to make that connection with their body and mind and I will continue to pursue this awareness for the rest of my life.
Here's a tip for those of you interested in trying this. Most community colleges have beginning adult dance classes and it's usually really cheap (in california it's $20 a unit and dance classes are normally only 1 unit).
My good friend was going through a bad time like you. After researching everything she could, she tried high dose Vitamin B..
Three weeks later, she had very little depression left. She did not tell me the amount taken.
God Bless
Gary
Rhodiola
★★★★★
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Cold Showers
★★★★★
5-HTP
EC: L-ter = L-tyrosine (??)
Cold Showers
