depression & diet

squishprincess
squishprincess Posts: 371 Member
in Motivation and Support
i'm a chronically depressed person, have good days but also bad. but when i go into depressive episodes i don't have much of an appetite at all. i'm not really an emotional binge eater, everything just gets suppressed. the extent of me eating/drinking something to make myself feel better is i'll have a glass or cup of sweet tea. lately i've been going through a lot of anxiety and depressive episodes again, and with no appetite i have no motivation to eat or even workout (i still have been walking at least, did some yoga yesterday). i make myself eat some but i could go hours and hours, maybe even all day with just a small bit of something when i get depressed or stressed/anxious. i don't know what i'm really asking for, maybe some tips to feel better? foods to eat during this time? talking to people doesn't really help me much ever, but maybe some others know what i'm going through..

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    You need to get help from a professional. Best of luck
  • Lily_0
    Lily_0 Posts: 3
    I'm sorry you're going through this! I can definitely say that fruits, vegetables, chicken, and fish help me out when I'm feeling like this. Sugar and processed foods tend to make my anxiety worse. I know a bad mood can make you want to reach for cookies/ice cream etc, which is ok to have once in a while :wink: , but it usually makes it worse in the long run. Whatever exercise you can get in will make a difference in your mood! Like you said, you have been walking and have done a little yoga; that's great! Maybe a light jog or a bike ride to get your blood flowing and endorphins running a little more. *HUGS*
  • squishprincess
    squishprincess Posts: 371 Member
    You need to get help from a professional. Best of luck

    that would be ideal, but as i live in very tight circumstances i can't. i don't have medical insurance/money or transportation so at the moment it's out of the question...
    I'm sorry you're going through this! I can definitely say that fruits, vegetables, chicken, and fish help me out when I'm feeling like this. Sugar and processed foods tend to make my anxiety worse. I know a bad mood can make you want to reach for cookies/ice cream etc, which is ok to have once in a while wink , but it usually makes it worse in the long run. Whatever exercise you can get in will make a difference in your mood! Like you said, you have been walking and have done a little yoga; that's great! Maybe a light jog or a bike ride to get your blood flowing and endorphins running a little more. *HUGS*

    i definitely do love veggies and eat them every day, regardless in some form or fashion. i'm don't really turn to icecream or whatever when i'm feeling down, since i don't typically eat loads of cookies or sweets in general. i would love to jog and stuff but as of this week it's nothing but rain! thank you for your suggestions, jogging does feel good especially when you can listen to music and tune out the world for a little bit. :heart:
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    I mean, there are days that I feel down. I basically tell my brain to stfu and do it anyway. I force myself to eat, even if I am not hungry. Sometimes just eating a nutritious, healthy meal helps me to feel better. Exercising almost always helps as well.

    I hear both are wonderful for combating depression.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    I've struggled with depression since I was a kid. But thankfully when I'm depressed it's more moodiness, lethargy, lack of motivation for certain things. I'll still exercise and eat normally though, I just can't NOT do these things. But then things like homework/studying, cleaning up after myself/the house, making an effort to be social, this all becomes unimportant. I even changed my class schedule one year so that I only had to leave the house twice a week, and hten I just stayed home all the time otherwise and played an online MMORPG all the time. And then I will be really "lazy" and just want to lay around all day doing nothing. So it can be difficult to go workout but then I make myself do it.

    What I'd recommend is talking to your doctor about your symptoms and ask to be referred to a psychologist, and you may want to consider medication. I've done regular/scheduled therapy on two occasions, and in both cases I had a hard time opening up. First time I was younger and had to be given tasks/"games" to do in the office otherwise I just was too nervous/shy to say anything. Second time I had a hard time saying anything until I started taking anti-depressants. For me they really helped me feel comfortable talking about things, but also just made me feel better in general. I'm not sure if you need to go to your GP first though. In order to be put on medication, I had to go to a few sessions first to determine if meds were appropriate, therapist decided yes, went back to GP for prescription. Been off for a little while now but I do consider going back on it because I do still have some issues overall with this now that I've been off the meds for a prolonged period. But they helped me so much with motivation and everything, I even did a bit better in school but I still had a lot of issues with anxiety and I dont' know that the brand I was on was really a perfect match for my symptoms of both depression and anxiety.

    Otherwise, if you really cannot go to a doctor (do you have insurance at all, can you buy some?), then consider some self-help books. my last therapist had me using 10 Days To Self-Esteem or something. I didn't love it, only parts of the book actually resonated with me. But I don't think I'm keen on the cognitive behavioural therapy approach - I'd much rather either straight behavioural or straight cognitive lol. But browse the library or bookstore, see what jumps out at you.
  • squishprincess
    squishprincess Posts: 371 Member
    @ana3067

    i do read up on self help things from time to time but a lot of the time it just.. doesn't really help. (doesnt help that i was a very pessimistic person before i became depressed, lol) i feel you about the ''''lazy''' things. i'm unmotivated all the time. basically the only things i do are exist to eat, exercise, and sleep. it's very boring and lonely tbh. i think it would help if i were able to get a job but with no transportation and living in a small town in texas, public transport is out of the question. plus i have no experience, so the places ive tried applying to never call back. if i could just get out of the house more i have a feeling it would help, but i'm cooped up and stagnant...

    i dont have a doctor/GP, i lost my insurance over 2 years ago after i turned 18. i don't have any income, but my dad does and every time i talk to him about it, paying for insurance i mean, it gets pushed to the side. or turns into arguments which doesn't help my anxiety. the cards have not been in my favour for a long time in a lot of ways, lol. i am trying to make myself eat though, just get sick at my stomach often.

    i am hoping, that if/when i move to california next year in the spring with my boyfriend, i will be able to get therapy with his help and also find a job/pay for my own medical appointments & insurance.
  • africanmasq
    africanmasq Posts: 53
    I'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling with this. I can relate, and I know it's not easy. I don't have better advice than anyone else who has posted, but I hope you'll be able to get help on your boyfriend's insurance soon. And yes, exercise and just being outside are huge helps for this kind of thing. All the best.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    @ana3067

    i do read up on self help things from time to time but a lot of the time it just.. doesn't really help. (doesnt help that i was a very pessimistic person before i became depressed, lol) i feel you about the ''''lazy''' things. i'm unmotivated all the time. basically the only things i do are exist to eat, exercise, and sleep. it's very boring and lonely tbh. i think it would help if i were able to get a job but with no transportation and living in a small town in texas, public transport is out of the question. plus i have no experience, so the places ive tried applying to never call back. if i could just get out of the house more i have a feeling it would help, but i'm cooped up and stagnant...

    i dont have a doctor/GP, i lost my insurance over 2 years ago after i turned 18. i don't have any income, but my dad does and every time i talk to him about it, paying for insurance i mean, it gets pushed to the side. or turns into arguments which doesn't help my anxiety. the cards have not been in my favour for a long time in a lot of ways, lol. i am trying to make myself eat though, just get sick at my stomach often.

    i am hoping, that if/when i move to california next year in the spring with my boyfriend, i will be able to get therapy with his help and also find a job/pay for my own medical appointments & insurance.

    Have you looked at any self-help workbooks? The one I mentioned is a work book with exercises. Although I also found that lots of it wasn't really helpful. I remember one exercise that I did like though, which was writing you like.. big fear I guess? at the top of the page. And then you'd write out underneath it the positive things about yourself that I guess undermine that negative fear. So for me it was "being unwanted." I don't remember exactly if this is how the exercise went though; if this sounds interesting to you I can look through the book again to find the instructions for it.

    Two things I would suggest though:
    1) have you considered forcing a sit-down with your dad, telling him about all of this, asking for his help?
    2) could you look into volunteer work? Or simply looking at more potential possibilities for employment? Honestly experience isn't always everything. I work in retail and a lot of the time if we get in a bad resume, it's bad because of poor formatting, bad spelling, they put useless crap there like "i really like to ski and paint daisies" - this has nothing to do with the job, why are you mentioning? OR one of my favourites: "Fluent in English." lol. So perhaps consider revamping your resume, make sure that when you apply you are on your own (no friend/boyfriend) and go in with as much authority and confidence as possible. I was able to get my first job in high school without any experience so I'm sure you can find something. You might just need to be willing to look at more places. And look online for any volunteer experiences. Do you have any career or post-secondary aspirations? If so then maybe see if there's anything you can volunteer with that is related to this.
  • charlottegirl14
    charlottegirl14 Posts: 6
    Most towns/cities have some type of free medical services somewhere. Please find the one closest to you and go! You do NOT have to feel this way! You need the help of a medical doctor and probably some good medication. Chemical imbalances can cause this type of problem and it can be controlled. Please find some help so you can feel good!

    In the mean time, try something you can drink, like protein shakes, or other nutritional shakes. Your body will eventually rebel if you don't put some nutrition into it.

    Big Hugs!!
  • squishprincess
    squishprincess Posts: 371 Member
    Have you looked at any self-help workbooks? The one I mentioned is a work book with exercises. Although I also found that lots of it wasn't really helpful. I remember one exercise that I did like though, which was writing you like.. big fear I guess? at the top of the page. And then you'd write out underneath it the positive things about yourself that I guess undermine that negative fear. So for me it was "being unwanted." I don't remember exactly if this is how the exercise went though; if this sounds interesting to you I can look through the book again to find the instructions for it.

    Two things I would suggest though:
    1) have you considered forcing a sit-down with your dad, telling him about all of this, asking for his help?
    2) could you look into volunteer work? Or simply looking at more potential possibilities for employment? Honestly experience isn't always everything. I work in retail and a lot of the time if we get in a bad resume, it's bad because of poor formatting, bad spelling, they put useless crap there like "i really like to ski and paint daisies" - this has nothing to do with the job, why are you mentioning? OR one of my favourites: "Fluent in English." lol. So perhaps consider revamping your resume, make sure that when you apply you are on your own (no friend/boyfriend) and go in with as much authority and confidence as possible. I was able to get my first job in high school without any experience so I'm sure you can find something. You might just need to be willing to look at more places. And look online for any volunteer experiences. Do you have any career or post-secondary aspirations? If so then maybe see if there's anything you can volunteer with that is related to this.


    i will look into that workbook of exercises and see if it can be of aid, thank you. i do write and it helps, even if a little.

    the problem with having a sit down with my father, is that it almost always turns into a fight, and he is Very Bad about playing a pity card and undermining my problems and dismissing them because "he's depressed too". which i don't doubt he is, after my mother passed away a few years ago he hasn't been the same and his anger issues only grew worse. he's just a very emotionally manipulative person, and he drinks so it doesn't help. it's just a toxic environment i live in, which is why i can't wait to move in with my boyfriend.

    i would love to volunteer at places, just no opportunity arises. my main issue is my location. also my boyfriend lives in california so he can't join me to go apply at places, hah. plus most places i go into to apply say you have to apply online. oh i love this day & age, lol. so far all i really can do is be patient and focus on trying to mentally stay as healthy as i can, while not forgetting about the physicals too. i appreciate you taking the time to respond to this thread, i'm sorry if it seems like im blabbing about my life too much!

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