Vegetarian diet and mental disorders

Bobby_Clerici

I agree with Flaxmilk. Thinking about people walking around, walking graves. Knowing the truths about our culture makes me really upset. Understanding the suffering and pain that is all around us, it can be depressing. Most vegetarians are not only involved in animal rights, they are concerned for the bigger picture as well, other activism. The planet and the survival of our species. Human rights. Human welfare. I am a vegetarian, and I may be more prone to feelings of sadness. It is not my diet, it is my awareness and the general state of everything.

You might be right.
I don't care about any of those things, and my life is wonderful!

fiveohmike

I wish I knew happy Vegans and vegetarians. All the ones I know, got a holier than thou attitude and bought apple products. They became a bunch of pretentious a-holes.

girlonfire15

I would guess this correlation is due to a higher degree of sensitivity - they won't eat animals because they feel bad for them, thus, they are more highly effected by other social plights, etc. Just a guess, though.

I've been a vegetarian for the majority of my life (11 years, and I'm 19 now) and I don't have any mental disorders. My past roommate, however, was a pescetarian (though she often referred to herself as a vegetarian) and had all sorts of problems, especially dealing with food and body image.

Marll

I think the study is twisting the results to meet an agenda, much like any that propose that vegetarian diet is better.

That being said, I think that it's totally possible that people with certain sensitivities and idealogies are drawn to veganism. The activist types, those that believe themselves to be morally superior to others, those that want to be "edgy" (though not intentionally) and hipsters seem to be drawn to the diet. It's also not surprising that most vegetarians that I have met in my life tend to be VERY liberal when it comes to politics. I really don't think that this is coincidence. I also think that liberalism is a mental disorder however, and maybe that is what drives people to be vegetarian?

Ocarina

I also get depressed when I can't eat meat!

Took the words right out of my mouth

Nice sig lol

Marll

I wish I knew happy Vegans and vegetarians. All the ones I know, got a holier than thou attitude and bought apple products. They became a bunch of pretentious a-holes.

Not sure if sarcasm...but I agree! I have a guy that works for me that used to be a vegetarian and he's be the first to tell you that part of what drew him to the diet was that he could lord is moral superiority over other people he met. He's older now and decided to give that up and eat meat. He's a lot healthier now, and much less of a little prick.

rml_16

I was crazy before I went veg and I'm crazy now.

But people love my crazy.

MaraDiaz

I'm still puzzled as to why there would be any widespread agenda against vegetarianism, given the relative scarcity of meat. It's heavily subsidized and still expensive, and a lot of people would be very unhappy if increased demand caused prices to go beyond the reach of the average American.

Environmentalists are probably also quite happy with the idea of more people following a vegetarian diet.

fiveohmike

I wish I knew happy Vegans and vegetarians. All the ones I know, got a holier than thou attitude and bought apple products. They became a bunch of pretentious a-holes.

Not sure if sarcasm...but I agree! I have a guy that works for me that used to be a vegetarian and he's be the first to tell you that part of what drew him to the diet was that he could lord is moral superiority over other people he met. He's older now and decided to give that up and eat meat. He's a lot healthier now, and much less of a little prick.

Not sarcasm at all. Here in the SF Bay area, all the vegans and veggies I come across (and personal friends who switched), all act like they were gods gifts to the world and that everyone else is beneath them. I lost friends over it, its ridiculous really.

Goal_Line

My ex girlfriend was a vegetarian and suffered from depression that got steadily worse over the 10 years we were together. When we met she at least ate fist a couple of times a week. In the end, there were times when all she would eat are a Gensoy Bar, nuts and popcorn....I still worry about her.

FlaxMilk

I wish I knew happy Vegans and vegetarians. All the ones I know, got a holier than thou attitude and bought apple products. They became a bunch of pretentious a-holes.

That may be because when they talk to you, they also feel they are speaking to someone with a holier than thou attitude and are likely thinking of you with the same descriptors you use toward them.

To clarify, I didn't mean to imply that non-vegetarians don't have sensitivity or care about the world and its problems. Sensitivity in the way I used it was meant as a morally neutral term. :flowerforyou: I don't see myself as morally superior to you, but I would see myself as morally INFERIOR if I didn't follow my beliefs on this, because it is something I can do easily. I don't have lots of extra money to donate to charities, and so I do what I can where I can. I also don't preach about my diet but find people have no problem grilling me about why I don't eat the pizza and then have no issues taking digs at me. And I actually don't share the details of why I am vegan--I just leave it at disagreement with the way animals are raised at this time. So it's not vegetarians and vegans in my experience that are holier than thou. I have been called names and outright mocked so many times in my life that I just expect it now.

ironanimal

Meat was implicated as a driving factor in our brain evolution, and saturated fats are required by the brain to operate correctly.

Very interesting new research.

ElizabethRoad

I would guess this correlation is due to a higher degree of sensitivity

This is why people don't like vegetarians. Stop acting superior.

FlaxMilk

I would guess this correlation is due to a higher degree of sensitivity

This is why people don't like vegetarians. Stop acting superior.

But sensitivity is not a morally superior term, it's just a personality trait. In fact, my whole life, my family would yell at me, "Stop being so sensitive!"

KayakAngel

I have been veggie for just over a year now, and I started experiencing problems with anxiety a few months ago. My father-in-law, a psychiatrist specializing in addictions and anxiety, told me that I'm probably not getting enough B12, even though I still eat some eggs and milk. He also recommended L-tryptophan to help with sleep and balancing the anxiety. I started taking methyl B-12 (not cyano B-12), and I've had no problems in the last 2 months. This is ONLY my experience and no proof of anything at all. I throw it out there to say that any "mental disorders" related to vegetarianism probably have simple treatments, or the individual is predisposed to it anyway. I love my vegetarian diet (NOT for everyone, but it's perfect for me), and if all I have to do to stay on it and feel wonderful is take one B-12 supplement a day, I'll most certainly do it.

daffodilsoup

This is why people don't like vegetarians.

We don't like you, either.

girlonfire15

I would guess this correlation is due to a higher degree of sensitivity

This is why people don't like vegetarians. Stop acting superior.

I didn't mean this as a superiority thing at all. What I meant was that vegetarians, on average, are a lot more sensitive and emotional, especially when it comes to animals. I don't see how that makes them superior.

TheNewDodge

Vegetarians *seem* to be a joyless bunch.

fiveohmike

I wish I knew happy Vegans and vegetarians. All the ones I know, got a holier than thou attitude and bought apple products. They became a bunch of pretentious a-holes.

That may be because when they talk to you, they also feel they are speaking to someone with a holier than thou attitude and are likely thinking of you with the same descriptors you use toward them.

To clarify, I didn't mean to imply that non-vegetarians don't have sensitivity or care about the world and its problems. Sensitivity in the way I used it was meant as a morally neutral term. :flowerforyou: I don't see myself as morally superior to you, but I would see myself as morally INFERIOR if I didn't follow my beliefs on this, because it is something I can do easily. I don't have lots of extra money to donate to charities, and so I do what I can where I can. I also don't preach about my diet but find people have no problem grilling me about why I don't eat the pizza and then have no issues taking digs at me. And I actually don't share the details of why I am vegan--I just leave it at disagreement with the way animals are raised at this time. So it's not vegetarians and vegans in my experience that are holier than thou. I have been called names and outright mocked so many times in my life that I just expect it now.

I honestly could care less if you eat veggies, dirt, poop or meat. What I don't like is the constant digs about "your gonna get cancer", "You should be vegan so you don't get heart disease", "How can you own animals, yet eat meat?", "You must beat your dogs if you eat meat", "Your bad for the environment".

Renae_Nae

I have a very hard time with these types of studies. For me there are way to many factors. With genetics, head injuries, etc I have a hard time believing they found enough people with the same constants to make this study worth anything. You would be surprised how many people lie without thinking about it too. Also, there is a difference between a vegetarian with a healthy diet and a vegetarian with a very unhealthy diet. Could the "increase" be the fact that they are lacking something in their diet not necessarily from meat but something else that was "missed" in the study.

I would love to see people in the study compared to those of very poor countries that rely heavily on meat and few grains vs a well balanced diet.

FlaxMilk

Maybe a half baked mind is what draws some to give up meat. That makes much more sense to me.
To turn one's nose up before a fabulous steak is crazy.
Just an opinion.

And this is why vegetarians come to expect ridicule. Because it's ok for a non-vegetarian to call vegetarians as having a half-baked mind. Or that being a vegetarian or a liberal is a mental disorder.

And THAT strikes me as morally superior and holier than thou.

fiveohmike

I would guess this correlation is due to a higher degree of sensitivity

This is why people don't like vegetarians. Stop acting superior.

I didn't mean this as a superiority thing at all. What I meant was that vegetarians, on average, are a lot more sensitive and emotional, especially when it comes to animals. I don't see how that makes them superior.

^^ Pretentious much?

People who eat meat are genetically predisposed to not being able to be sensitive?

rodneyderrick

You'll notice that people who are highly intelligent are healthier than those that are less clever, and will stand a greater chance of being a vegetarian. Brainy people try to eat better foods than less smart people. You'll notice that smarter people will run, ride bikes, and do aerobics more than spend hours on end pumping iron. If you notice that a lot of vegetarians and people who sway that way are depressed, it's because they recognize the harm being done to the planet, but are incapable of doing anything about it. These people are constantly trying to improve themselves and the people around them. It's the way their minds work.

jenzsd

I wish I knew happy Vegans and vegetarians. All the ones I know, got a holier than thou attitude and bought apple products. They became a bunch of pretentious a-holes.

We exist, I promise. And many of us really frown upon vegetarians and vegans (anyone, really - omnivores included) who choose to behave in that manner. It's frustrating and can give the collective non-meaters a bad name - not cool. I don't believe I'm better than anyone else and I certainly don't act like it; I also don't lump everyone into one category based on how one, a few, or a group of people behave. I don't try to push my beliefs on other people or treat them differently for their views and I hope to receive the same in return. Respect first.

MudDancer

Correlation doesn’t prove causation

fiveohmike

You'll notice that people who are highly intelligent are healthier than those that are less clever, and will stand a greater chance of being a vegetarian. Brainy people try to eat better foods than less smart people. You'll notice that smarter people will run, ride bikes, and do aerobics more than spend hours on end pumping iron. If you notice that a lot of vegetarians and people who sway that way are depressed, it's because they recognize the harm being done to the planet, but are incapable of doing anything about it. These people are constantly trying to improve themselves and the people around them. It's the way their minds work.

Speaking of superiority.

I know a lot of dumbass healthy people.

MaraDiaz

All you fellow meat eaters leave the vegetarians alone. If everyone ate more meat, very few people would be able to afford it!

daffodilsoup

OUCH!
I am no vegetarian, but this is quite absurd.
Correlation does not equal causation.
Maybe a half baked mind is what draws some to give up meat. That makes much more sense to me.
To turn one's nose up before a fabulous steak is crazy.
Just an opinion.

Why is this not considered "holier than thou"?

Is it really so "crazy" to be compassionate?

FlaxMilk

I honestly could care less if you eat veggies, dirt, poop or meat. What I don't like is the constant digs about "your gonna get cancer", "You should be vegan so you don't get heart disease", "How can you own animals, yet eat meat?", "You must beat your dogs if you eat meat", "Your bad for the environment".

I've never said those words to anyone. I have said in response to people telling me how inherently unhealthy I am and that I am going to die that my bloodwork is phenomenal and that vegetarianism is no longer seen as an unhealthy dietary lifestyle. If people choose to argue, I may ask them how much thought about fruits and veggies goes into the standard american diet and remind them that about 90% of Americans don't get the recommended amounts of fruits and veggies, so why are people so concerned about the "immense amount of work and caution it REQUIRES to be a vegan" when plenty of people walk around malnourished because while they eat meat and cheese, they also don't eat enough of the other stuff. (Also possible as a vegetarian and vegan, of course.) But I ONLY do that when people challenge me or mock me. What I don't get is why so many people DO care that I choose not to eat meat. Someone told me that was anti-Christian because the Bible tells us to eat meat. Because I'm sure Jesus is worrying about THAT right now!

girlonfire15

I would guess this correlation is due to a higher degree of sensitivity

This is why people don't like vegetarians. Stop acting superior.

I didn't mean this as a superiority thing at all. What I meant was that vegetarians, on average, are a lot more sensitive and emotional, especially when it comes to animals. I don't see how that makes them superior.

^^ Pretentious much?

People who eat meat are genetically predisposed to not being able to be sensitive?

No, I'm saying that it's a common trait among vegetarians, but it's absolutely not exclusive. You'll find a higher concentration of the bleeding heart, save the furry little animals types among vegetarians. I really don't intend to be pretentious, but this is an observation that I've made that I'm sure many people, vegetarian or not, would agree with.