Depression Diet: How Your Food Effects Your Mood

So something I noticed about my depression/anxiety is I totally eat my feelings, which usually sucks because it would turn into this nasty cycle of me eating to help cope with issues I'm not ready to face yet, but after I would find myself staring at the greasy junk food I had just consumed and feeling worst than when I had started. I struggle with body issues much like a lot of other boys and girls but the difference is that it's heightened by my depression. So after much research I finally found foods that actually combat stress and depression. Some foods have inherently calming properties! And even though the title of this post is "Depression diet" it's actually not a diet but more of a lifestyle change. Now I didn't completely change my eating habits, it was more of incorporating more of these calming foods into them if anything. These foods plus excercise boost my endorphin levels. Remember to start small and by incorporating it into your diet while weaning yourself off the sugary junk food instead of completely cutting yourself off from foods you like! :)

1. Asparagus is apart of the food group that is high in folate. Folate indirectly facilitates the synthesis of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. In simpler terms, these are the three neurotransmitters responsible for mood regulations in the human body. So this chemical is what's going to help you keep your cool!!!! And a folate defenciency could lead to high risk depressive disorder. Here are some grool asparagus recipes I found online! 

2. Avacado's contain a chemical called Tryptophin, studies in 2004 showed that most people with depressive disorders displayed worstened symptoms when their brain contained less tryptophine. This compound is what becomes seratonin, or the brain chemical that promotes relaxation. So make some avocado toast, or slip some in your sandwhich on the go and you'll be cool as the other side of the pillow! 

3. The G-Bomb's are maybe the most crucial food group to this diet (that is Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries  and Seeds), incorporating as many of these into your diet has tons of benefits such as fighting off cancerous or precancerous cells that may arise. But! it's also recommended to those dealing with inflammations, including brain inflammation that studies have recently linked to people with severe depressive disorder. Here's some recipes for a super salad!  

4. Chocolate may not come as a surprise to you because it's a pretty well known fact that chocolate is known to have major mood benefits. Dark chocolate, specifically. It has two particular antioxidants in it: polyphenols and flavanols both of which have a hand in protecting the body from major depressive episodes. Don't confuse dark chocolate with sugary, processed, candy bars because it could have the opposite effect in other studies that show that depression may actually stimulate chocolate cravings for unrelated reasons.  

5. Chamomile tea is known for its calming properties and recommended to most people as a bed time soother, however I found that if you drink a cup in the day it helps deal with a lot of anxious tendencies. University of Pennsylvania tested chamomile supplements on 57 participants with generalized anxiety disorder for 8 weeks, and found it led to a significant drop in their anxiety symptoms!!! I try to wake up early enough to have a cup in the morning before work without all the hustle and bustle! :-) 

6. Oatmeal is a complex carbohydrate, known for producing seratonin, which not only has feel good chemicals but promotes soothing feelings that can help you overcome stress! Studies have shown that kids who eat oatmeal for breakfast stay sharper throughout the morning. The same applies to adults, eating breakfast already boosts your ability to focus through out the day but because oatmeal is such a heavy food it helps keep my mind off feeling hungry and keeps my focus on tasks I need to get done. Not to mention theres so many different ways to mix up your oatmeal to suit your preferences! 

7. Nuts have the perfect combo of protein and fat! It's a great snack if you're trying to lose weight, but nuts also have an exceptionally good source of zinc! Low levels of zinc have been linked to anxiety and depression. It's such an easy snack to just have in a ziploc in your bag or purse, almonds and cashews are my fav! (be weary with your portions though because they also have a lot of salt!!) 

8. Oysters: wait, can I tell you guys how psyched I was that this was one of the foods that popped up in a bunch of psych articles like, I LOVE seafood so it made me so happy! It turns out that oysters are high in zinc which is great but oysters also contain a protein that's rich in an amino acid called tyrosine. Your brain uses this amino acid to produce chemicals, which may have the ability to help enhance your mental function and elevate your mood.

9. Bananas: a medium banana fills you up, provides a mild blood sugar boost, and has 30% of the day’s vitamin B6 this helps the brain produce mellowing serotonin, getting you through a crisis peacefully. 

10. Tuna (or salmon) has a bunch of Omega 3 fatty acids, this is important because lots of people with depression (not all) have a major DHA defeciency and that has a far reaching hormonal effect!! Studies have show that people dealing with depression that have a high Omega 3 intake are able to better moderate their moods!! This is because the Omega 3 contributes to one of the main neurosystems that is responsible for aggression, fight or flight responses and dealing with anxiety :))) they also have omega 3 vitamins that are sold over the counter but I prefer fish! 

living with a mental illness

Hello lovelies! You may or may not know that Nat'l Suicide Prevention day just passed 4 days ago (Sep. 10) and I thought it would be really important to focus my very first blog post on mental illnesses and the importance of taking care of your mental health. 

This is something I take very seriously and I can't stress enough how important it is! I've struggled with depression for almost four years and still do to this day. The medical terminology would be "a chemical imbalance" but how I describe it is depression isn't just being sad, it's not crying a lot or wearing all black. It's a disease that takes an emotional and physical toll on you. It's being unable to get out of bed because it physically feels like you can't, even just getting in the shower is a small feat. You're exhausted, and frustrated and you basically just give up. And honestly, it seems like nothing short of a miracle will get you to a place where you're stronger and happy. But as someone whose dealt with all of these issues I'm here to tell you it IS possible. Just like every illness out there there IS a cure, you just have to work hard to find it. Here a few simple lessons I picked up struggling with my illness. 

1. Pinpoint your trigger 

A trigger is basically something that sets off your depression, or causes you to be sad. The first step is really important because no matter what you're doing to try and help yourself, if you keep whatever's triggering your depression in your life, you're just counteracting all that hardwork. Now a trigger could be say, a friend who's really mean to you, or maybe staying in an abusive relationship. Now that you've figured that out it's time for the tough part:  getting rid of your trigger. It's going to be hard, maybe even painful but in the long run it's better for your sanity and emotional wellness! 

2. The "cure" isnt the same for everyone. 

For some people working out helps them deal with their depression  (endorphins are totally awesome though and you should try to incorporate this into a routine) for others it's God, going to church, or maybe painting. Basically find your cure. How do you do that? Simple! You try everything duh, silly. To have a true understanding of depression or even sadness you'd have to have been happy at some point right? Well think back to that time! What were little things that made you smile? Was it hanging out with friends, doodling, listening to music? Figure that out and then expand on it! For example, have a sleepover or buy a canvas and spend the day painting, buy a concert ticket to see your favorite band! 

3. Don't be so hard on yourself (love yourself)

Personally in my endevor to get better, this was definitely the hardest part. I mean, what is there to love about myself? And anyway isn't it vain to compliment yourself? ..... WRONG. There is nothing vain or conceited about self-love!!!! Loving yourself is a basic need. And  a definite important step in the road to recovery. I struggled with hating myself, hating my body image, and honestly just thinking I was a total waste of space. I still struggle to this day with body image issues but now I realize I have so many amazing qualities that I didn't even see because I stayed in that dark hole of depression, I didn't let myself explore my talents because they were too scary to me or I feared rejection. So what I'm saying is lose yourself in yourself. I know that doesn't make sense but let me explain, when I was working on self discovery a couple of months ago I deleted all of my social media (twitter, facebook, everything) and I spent that time without distraction discovering and honing my talents. It was one of the best things I could do for myself and I strongly recommend it!

4. Have a true and realistic understanding of happiness 

True happiness isn't the universe doing everything in your favor, it's not a perfect life with no bumps in the road, it's not even always being happy. What true happiness is is life giving you ups and downs and you're strong enough to deal with it. You're in a place where you're able to cope with the downs that come with life because you're finally seeing the bigger picture and things were put in perspective for you, it's realizing yes there are going to be days where I'm too sad to get out of bed but life is beautiful and it has more to offer than those days, so I'm going to try again tomorrow. It's embracing life and abandoning fear and accepting that rejection is a definite possibility but I promise you it only gets better with age. Not because the world changes it's view of you or decides one day that "hey I didn't realize how amazing and smart and funny that person is I should kiss the ground they walk on." It's you changing your view of the world and seeing how amazing and smart and funny YOU are and understanding that you don't NEED people to kiss the ground you walk on because you love yourself and screw them if they don't like you because you love yourself enough for the both of you