Anxiety and Depression
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sasu27
Posts: 51
I was just curious if anyone who dealt with anxiety or depression noticed a decrease in symptoms when they started following Paleo? I am considering following the Whole30 to see if that can help me out, because I would really like to avoid meds. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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My first response when I saw the topic "Anxiety and Depression" was "yea?? what about it??" lol..
Seriously though I find the only thing that helps really is the exercise.. really helps burn off the stress for me more than anything else, even meds.0 -
Running. Run and run some more. I've lived with PTSD for years and never felt any REAL relief until I started running. Yoga is GREAT for both mental and physical health, too. And, of course, a healthy diet is needed to fuel yourself.
If you're interested in science, there have been some great studies done involving food and mental health. I would suggest checking with the American Psychiatric Association and/or the American Dietetic Association.0 -
I've always suffered with the winter blues and some mild depression - I eat primal and found I sailed through last winter feeling great!0
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I do take meds because it is one of the symptoms of my hypothyroidism. I would love to be able to cut down on all meds. I would be interested in your outcome.0
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I've struggled with depression and low moods on and off for years. And high fat, moderate protein low carb paleo has helped me greatly. The key thing for me is no refined/concentrated sugars. Really easy to stay out of the black hole if I avoid sugar and even paleo things like honey, dates, dried fruit. Really has helped with mood swings and anger too.0
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Since I switched to paleo and had my thyroid checked out ( treating a T3 problem), I have been completely off my anxiety meds. I do notice that if I cheat and have grains or sugary junk, I get tired, cranky, anxious and have bouts of hypoglycemia (which can make me moody by itself). It can be hard to avoid certain items, but I realize I am much happier without them. I know everyone reacts differently, but this way of life is definitely worth a shot for you. Like the others mentioned, excercise does wonders for the mood too, so the combination would be great. Give it a go...I'm sure you will notice a difference.0
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I was just curious if anyone who dealt with anxiety or depression noticed a decrease in symptoms when they started following Paleo? I am considering following the Whole30 to see if that can help me out, because I would really like to avoid meds. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
100%, absolutely!! i am less anxious eating less carbs, and less sugar. i am happier since working out regularly, and happier because i look and feel better. also i'm prone to allergic reactions, and have been getting that less since eating less carbs and less sugar. i can wear earrings now that used to make my ears swell after 3-4 hours. it's incredible.
and as someone else said, my hypoglycemia isn't as bad! i eat a lot more fat now, and i just feel better.0 -
Thanks everyone, I started the Whole30 today!0
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Thanks everyone, I started the Whole30 today!
Yay! It's going to seem tough at first. You are probably going to have days where you think "what the hell is there left to eat?!" That feeling will pass though once you start trying out all the different food combinations and you will see it's worth it.0 -
I'm halfway into my 3rd week of Whole 30. The first week was rough as I had a headache and intestinal pains, gas, etc., that kept me awake at night, but after that it all stopped and I have felt great ever since - other than a hip injury and now a painful ankle (cause undetermined yet). Good luck with it!0
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Good luck! I suffer from major depression too! The rules of Whole 30 caused me more stress then benefits and triggered binges for me that made my depression worse. When I eat healthy and exercise I feel much better but when I 'diet' to feel better i feel worse. So much of my anxiety is from having a 'diet brain' , eliminating all the rules helps me more than any diet ever could.0
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how are you doing with your whole30? one thing that's helped me that isn't necessarily paleo, but because of paleo, is that i just take better care of myself now, and that helps depression and anxiety a lot. i'm more confident about my health and my use of my time and that helps immensely. you can do it!0
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Sleep, gentle movement and moderate carb levels seem to work magic for me and a handful of my clients. I think it's really individual. If you find one thing isn't working...just try something new
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I was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder in my late teens. Later came depression episodes. Was on Xanax, Zoloft, Taxilan and many more, I don't even remember the names anymore. Back then I wasn't paying any attention to my diet, I just ate what everybody else ate. Kept getting worse and worse, during my worst episode I didn't leave my apartment for six weeks, had all windows covered and kept checking whether all doors and locks are shut... I was a bloody mess. I made peace with the fact that I'll probably be on meds for the rest of my life. But then I noticed I was also getting weight and started working out. A friend tried getting me into CrossFit, which wasn't really my thing, but while looking up CF I discovered Paleo and then Primal.
Fast forward a few years -- I'm meds free, no anxiety episodes, no depression, best mental and physical shape of my life and keeps getting better and better. I'm not 100% Paleo, was at first, now I would say I'm "mostly Primal", but not an orthodox. And when I hear that this diet is a "fad", "unnatural" or that I'm gonna "wake up dead one day" I just laugh. It may not be the best diet for all, but it certainly is for me.0 -
Yes, eating paleo helped my anxiety and depression. Not enough to not need meds - the only thing that did that for me was adding in Crossfit. Exercise really does help, as much as I always thought that was nonsense.0
