Would you like to know the real causes of depression?

bugtrain

I usually don't respond in these types of discussions and I'm very sorry about your friend.....I suffer from mild depression on occasion......nothing as serious as her situation though.
The whole point of my response is this.......Did anyone actually read the whole post?People here seem to be ready and willing to have controversy at a moments notice .At the end of his post he says
":My ultimate point is, most studies are bs. They can greatly be influenced by financial gain, or just by bad research. My question to you is, Do you believe that low carb diets make people dumb? Do you believe that high carb diets cause depression and suicide? We all know intuitively mostly these claims aren't true. Yet they are backed by research..."
I don't know the OP,nor am I a friend of his here........He's not supporting either claim......he's just asking your opinion on these types of research and if you find them valid.

ojell

I deal with depression on a daily baisis. Notice that I did NOT say I "battle" depression because I dont, I DEAL with it. I know first hand what depression feels like. I know what it is like to almost lose your family because you are depressed and they can not stand being around you any more. I know what it feels like to stare down the barrel of a gun because you don't think you can go on another day. Lucky for me and my family I didn't pull the trigger. (This was 7 years ago, I am very much better now)

I take medication on a daily baisis and I have learned how to cope with life and different things that trigger depression. Some days I do very well and other days I suck at it but all in all, I am a very happy person now and thank God for all of my life's experiences.

Now to say food causes depression......:laugh: :noway: :smokin: :noway: :laugh: ....... thanks for the laugh. I have NOT ONCE, been depressed over something I have eaten!!

I'm glad you're still here to comment on this thread! (((HUGS)))) I've not been suicidal, but I deal with depression and anxiety and it sucks. blah. A lot of people just don't understand any of it.

ojell

While I don't think that the food you eat in any way causes depression, I have found that eating healthily does help with managing the illness long term, and reducing the frequency and severity of episodes, as does regular exercise, and keeping regular sleeping habits.

I wish I could simply change my diet and make it go away though lol...unfortunately it's a bit more complicated than that, and any benefit of eating more healthily is part of the bigger picture of taking good care of yourself for good mental health.

This makes sense.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

And in case people are wondering, this is in response to this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/501862-high-carb-diets-are-linked-to-suicide-and-depression

I just felt I needed a new post to really make my point stand out.

I'm more than just a little upset, seeing as I just got back from visiting a friend in the hospital. She tried to kill herself.

Maybe I should tell her to back off on the carbs.

Depression is always caused by a chemical imbalance, what triggers that chemical imbalance is the other factors in ones life.....which you mentioned several.

On to my story:

Not being funny, but I was suicidal and bi-polar with borderline schizophrenic symptoms and the medication the Dr put me on made me worse. I was then eating a higher carb eating plan (did not know I was diabetic) then. One night I had vegetarian pizza, breadsticks and some cake.

I started having mood swings and my husband and I had some words...............I was on such a roller coaster (insulin wise, which also contributes to other hormone imbalances in the brain and elsewhere in the body). My husband left to run to the store and I slit my own throat...........

The Dr that was attending my care in the hospital at the time told me I needed to cut the sugar and crap out of my eating and thought he was crazy.................

My depression, suicidal tendancies, etc did not go away until I actually went strictly controlled carb and removed all processed foods from my life.

I am now living medication free and stable. There are many, many more people like me out there.

Don't discount the power of the food you eat and the affects it has on the body. There are people in this world that can not eat processed foods and we shouldn't be belittled into thinking differently.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

I totaly agree with you!

Its not caused by food! NO WAY!

BUT

There are foods than can help, after batteling with it for years and been on loadz of differnt meds, I found changes in my diet can help, junk food definetly puts me on a downer, and high sure and "refined carbs" not complex card send my mood up and down.

Everyone reacts diffrent to food tho, some people are sensitve others not, it has been proven that diets high in omega 3 and vit b12 are less likely to have depression. I dont think people should say eat this you will be depressed, but by the same time cant always rule out food as a trigger.

Food affects mood. Plain and simple.


There have been numerous studies done that show that people that live in very poor socio-economic areas don't have access to fresh meats, fruit, vegetables, etc are more prone to violence than those people that do have access to fresh foods.

Processed foods are not good for the human body, point, blank and simple.

I received this article this morning in my email box............ironic isn't it?

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=320

VictoriaAStone

Depression is a strange thing, alot of people spend alot of time in denial about it. I for one struggled for many years to cope with things happening in my life, my parents splitting up, bad relationships, changes around me and whilst they arent awfully bad things to some people it was my life and these were bad things happening in it. Everyones events of bad things happening are different because of what they experience in their lifes. I spent a long time and a lot of time thinking about suicide yet not actually ever attempting it but i constantly felt like i was on the edge of a cliff just waiting for someone to push me over.... one day some one nearly did push me over and i broke down i just cried and cried and cried for hours, telling my younger brother about how i was feeling. 3 years down the line and my family went through one of our worst ever times last year finding out my sister was abused when she was younger and i have dealt with that and my feelings so much easier because people know and i talk to my family and friends and if i have a bad day they know. My mum will hug me, my boyfriend will be extra nice to me and my friends cheer me up. They are many different factors to depression and many different reasons people have it, as for diet being one of them it could possibly be if you are someone who is stuck and fed up with being over weight but cant see a way out. You get stuck in a rut, you feel low, upset, confused, not with it, so you struggle to do daily tasks at times even get out of bed so you then feel worse, its a horrible cycle to get into. My heart goes out to anyone that does struggle with their emotions as my sister does because of her vile child hood, or as I did because it just seemed to be one bad thing after another, or as my friend does because it runs in her family. But there is not one person in this world that can say DEPRESSION IS CAUSED BECAUSE OF.......

But i do find healthy eating and exercise do make me feel good. It is well know that Exercise realises HAPPY HORMONES! : )

189andFalling

I'm lucky to not have had true depression. Certainly down days but nothing serious. I recall reading in a number of places that exercise is as good as any pills. Perhaps not in the severe case but I always feel 'up' after a good run!

Umeboshi

I thought I'd come into this thread and be annoyed at one of those 'it's YOUR fault you're depressed" threads, but I come in and it's this beautiful and 100% accurate post. Win.
Thank you for posting the TRUTH about depression.

emstaley4

I have taken meds for years for my depression. Does exercise and eating right HELP me feel better? YES!! Are they going to fix my depression? NO. I have tried going off of my meds and relying on exercise and diet and you know what?! I had to go back on my meds.....you can find anything you want on the internet.....even articles that prove or dis-prove a point. Unless you have lived with a symptom or a disease I don't think anyone should be saying "if only you would do this you'd feel better" or "read this and it will tell you what is really wrong with you" I am sorry for your friend. I lost a very close friend to suicide 13 years ago and not a day goes by that I don't miss him. Praying for your friend and you for strength to get through this dark time. There really is light at the end of the tunnel even if we can't see it. Good Luck and don't let others who have no fliping clue get you down.

Corina72

Great point!
Some people feel like they know the answers to other people problem!

MellyMartinson

Some people can be such self-righteous *kitten*. Hope you friend gets better.

I could not agree more!

LabRat529

Thank you to those who expressed sympathies and well wishes for my friend. She's physically okay right now- mentally and emotionally it another story, but she's getting help and she's got friends who love her and who will stand by her, come what may.

To those saying food and exercise can effect mood- yes, it can and I personally use exercise to help manage my own mood- but depression is a blackness that is not easily treated. It's a despair that runs so deep, some people choose to take their own life rather than live another day with the hopeless pain. It's not the same for everyone. The illness is so complex, so difficult, it can take years to find the right combination or therapy and meds or other treatment.

None of us are qualified to advise 'treatment' in the form of diet, exercise, and/or natural remedies on this forum. Even if I was a psychiatrist (and I'm not), I would not offer treatment advice to a patient I don't know and don't understand, because the disease is so different for everyone.

Caileadair

I haven't been on this site very long and I've not participated in any discussions as yet but this thread has caught my heart. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to your friend and to those of you that love her.

I'm 58 and I've dealt with major depression, anxiety/panic disorder since I was 8 years old. Food can be for many and is a major addiction in our society. I'm a food addict. To make it very simple...when we are depressed (and I believe strongly that depression is a chemical imbalance in our brain) and have learned to use food to help us feel better, the physiological process is no different than in those people who shoot heroin or take other street drugs, Simply put, in those of us that are food addicted, eating causes an endorphin/ dopamine release in our brain therefore causing a short but strong feeling of relief. Short lived and then there's the guilt and remorse that follows. A feeling of failure. A viscous circle.

Dr. Gabor Mate in the book Realm of the Hungry Ghost explains the process and while the book is mostly about people addicted to drugs and why he makes it clear that this process is the *same* whether it's drugs, food or any other addiction. The only difference is the amount of dopamine released. Not everyone one overweight is a food addict. But for many it is.....otherwise why is it that it is SO difficult to lose weight and keep it off no matter what type of diet you follow, how committed you are, how desperately one wants to be a normal weight or how your being overweight affects your physical health? Thank goodness for places like this site. It does help. Support and sharing is of major importance.

It is only in this way that I believe that the food we eat has major effects on depression,

http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2010-12-28/dr-gabor-maté-stress-disease-connection-addiction-attention-deficit-disorder-and-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-APGWvYupU

WingMan380

If it were caused by foods, I'd have one strange case of Bipolar I.

I had a friend who asked me one day if I was bipolar (becasue she thought I was acting weird), I said I might be bipolar but I know for a fact I am not tripolar because no one had tried to mount a camera on me. :bigsmile:

WingMan380

I'm glad you're still here to comment on this thread! (((HUGS)))) I've not been suicidal, but I deal with depression and anxiety and it sucks. blah. A lot of people just don't understand any of it.

Thanks! Happy to still be here.

I tell ya, depression sucks!!
I would not wish it on anyone. I have counsel people with depression in the past, no I am not a professional counselor, I go on my own real life experiences which sometimes is more useful than a guy in a shirt and tie who has never been depressed a day in his life but read a text book about it and so now he knows everything.

katiew00t

I usually don't respond in these types of discussions and I'm very sorry about your friend.....I suffer from mild depression on occasion......nothing as serious as her situation though.
The whole point of my response is this.......Did anyone actually read the whole post?People here seem to be ready and willing to have controversy at a moments notice .At the end of his post he says
":My ultimate point is, most studies are bs. They can greatly be influenced by financial gain, or just by bad research. My question to you is, Do you believe that low carb diets make people dumb? Do you believe that high carb diets cause depression and suicide? We all know intuitively mostly these claims aren't true. Yet they are backed by research..."
I don't know the OP,nor am I a friend of his here........He's not supporting either claim......he's just asking your opinion on these types of research and if you find them valid.

^agreed. if you don't want to be "offended," don't troll their forums.

To address the current topic...there are many causes of depression, and everyone is made differently. Some people may benefit from certain diets, exercise, medication, therapy, etc, or a combination of those things, or just one of them...it all depends on the individual. I have had anxiety & depression since childhood. I need medication to function. Exercise and eating healthy is just the icing on the cake for me. I am a psychiatric nurse, and I've seen a lot of cases of depression and other mental health issues, and everyone responds to different methods of treatment differently.

cainie19

I don't think if I eat "greens" is going to fix my back injury and make the economy better so I can support my family, I also don't think eating greens will help my friend who suffers from depression cause she was molested as a child will magically help her either,

you see some depression can be because of a physical defeshaincy but others can be from a psychological trauma, this is exactly what the poster was talking about

Dude, I was trying to help. I said it CAN lead to feelings of depression, not that folic acid deficiency was gona make you suicidal. Also 'whichever poster' said they had plenty of greens, you want a medal? I was merely making a suggestion based on something my doctor told me and surely when you're depressed you would want to try anything to get out of it? I appreciate depression can be situational but for those among us who don't have some deep emotional root for it, I was trying to be helpful. Just cos you or someone you know has suffered from it doesn't mean you can be nasty to people who want to help you.

Jenny_MSW

I'm a professional therapist and just wanted to reply that I think many of you have shared very insightful thoughts. Unfortunately so many people have misconceptions about depression and mental health in general, so it's important to share experiences and information. Most mental health conditions are caused by combinations of environmental, biological, and psychological factors. No, diet does not directly cause Major Depressive Disorder. Yes, in combination with other factors, it can increase the severity of depressive symptoms.