(Kathy) need info-mental health

[Guest guest]

Kathy, I received this article a few months back with a web-site. Maybe it

will be helpful for you.

Vegigran

http://b25.ezboard.com/fdepoproverafrm10.showMessage?topicID=427.topic

 

 

In considering depression and anxiety, its important to keep general,

lest we end up over-analyzing and complicating what can be a

straightforward issue. Depression at its simplest represents a lack

of ability to formulate energy. Depression is commonly seen as

referring to low mental outlook, and feelings of hopelessness. This

indicates a overburdening of our brain cells, or nerves, whereby

they've lost their ability to function optimally and efficiently to

create and organize energy production throughout the body, the brain

included. However, because the body is a whole, other parts of the

body are necessarily involved, particularly the glandular organs, such

as the adrenals, thyroid, hypothalamus, and pineal, which are

important in prompting increased energy production throughout the

entire body. The body by way of its various glands, produces hormones

to regulate brain, glandular, and muscular activity.

 

In our modern day lifestyles, and especially in our eating habits, we

all abnormally drive our bodies beyond their normal capacities

without realizing it. We have gotten ourselves into a habit of

excessive stimulation in order to overcome prior feelings of

tiredness, or enervation. The tiredness originates in previous

excesses of activities, of which eating poor foods is the worst

energy usurper. Since most people are unaware of and remain untaught

of the harmful energy depleting ways of their unhealthy habits, they

begin to fall victim to an endless search for ways to keep their

energy high, such as eating when feeling down, entertaining

themselves with t.v, movies, drugs, and other excessive activities

when bored, lonely, or otherwise fatigued. This habitual pattern of

stimulative behavior, which is not respectful of the body's need for

rest and recuperation after activity, leads to the excessive

stimulation of those glands and tissues in our bodies that are

responsible for creating energy.

So for example, the adrenal glands, instead of being able to rest

when a person is feeling down or tired, are forced to work overtime

again as the person indulges in a slice of pizza. Not only do the

adrenals tire out, but also the thyroid which creates hormones to

stimulate the adrenals, and the hypothalamus which creates hormones

to stimulate the thyroid. In this process, neurotransmitters are used

by the brain to relay messages, and eventually the neurotransmitters

themselves become short in supply as the glands and nerve cells that

are forced to produce the various transmitters tire out and wear

down. When our bodies lose their ability to produce normal levels of

hormones, transmitters, and other important chemicals for bodily

processes, we experience depression -- a lack of ability to function

energetically.

 

Concurrent with the development of depression throughout the body,

and particularly in the brain, is anxiety. Anxiety is really an

internal recognition by the body of a threat to its existence. It is

a feeling of insecurity that is the result of excess burden put on

the body, burden that is starting to go beyond the body's ability to

resolve. People call this stress, but it is really over-stress.

Stress is a good thing, overstress is a bad thing. Over-stress occurs

when we eat foods not of our biological adaptations, when we over

exercise, or overdo anything. In response to stress, our brain will

activate itself and the entire body to correct the situation, but

when the brain is continually forced to do this, its very ability to

do this is lessened, since it can never rest enough to regenerate and

restore its functions. We end up having feelings of stress build up

due to following excessive habits, but after the brief stimulative

period, we are not able to develop enough hormones, neuro-

transmitters, and other chemicals to resolve within us the stressed

state of our cells. So we continue to feel this tensive state for

unusually extended periods of time. A person who is anxious has

little ability in that moment to handle more tasks and will avoid

situations that even only slightly stress them.

 

To the extent that a person abuses their organs, brain cells, and

body in general with excessive stimulation, and in conjunction with

their predisposed various strengths in glands and organs, will the

person experience the severity of anxiety and depression in their

life. Depression and anxiety slowly build up over decades, even right

from birth if energy usurping practices are followed. The individual

who manages to overcome these problems by incorporating truly

healthful practices into their life in the greatest degree will come

to see how in their former lives their depressive and anxious

symptoms slowly increased, as they remained oblivious and ignorant of

the consequences of their harmful actions.

 

A return to raw food eating provides the body with an immensely

reduced digestive load while providing vast quantities of energy. It

will take a period of time for the body to heal its glands, nerves,

digestive faculties and other tissues, but as it does so, its strong

function will return and symptoms of depression and anxiety will fade

and disappear. It usually does not happen overnight, as a person who

is depressed and anxious has much lessened ability to create energy,

which is required for healing. However, depending on the person and

the intensity of the depression, recovery can sometimes be very fast.

Sometimes just simple little activities like eating too late are all

that are preventing the body from being able to re-generate adequate

nerve energy reserves over night and thus causing it to experience

depression.

 

It is important to note that, at their roots, all depression and

anxiety are physiological problems and all physiological problems are

chemical problems, or chemical imbalance. Depression and anxiety are

said to be mental and emotional problems, but it must be noted that

our mental and emotional processes are undertaken by our nerves that

make up our brains and which extend everywhere throughout our bodies.

Our nerves are supported by all other tissues in the body, including

our glands, muscles, blood vessels, lymph vessels, and mucous

membranes, even as our nerves serve these various tissues. It's a

whole, interconnected, interdependent system, all for one, one for

all. All of these organs, including nerve cells, are constructed of

and are creating billions of interacting chemicals all of the time

which we experience as the process of life. It is through our nervous

system that we are consciously aware of this life process, due to the

electrical currents thusly created in nerve cells.

 

This infinitely complex system of chemical, then cellular, then

glandular, and finally nerve reactions occurring in our bodies is

always automatically striving to maintain that state of balance that

we describe as total well being, or health. It is a system that is

dependant upon wholeness of action. This means that it is also

dependant on getting whole foods into it, foods which are also

biologically and physiologically correct for it. When all its needs

are met correctly, the body in its whole will function optimally. To

the extent its whole needs are not met, it will suffer dis-comfort,

or dis-ease, or chemical imbalance. Depression and anxiety are two of

these symptoms of imbalance.

 

So anyone who has regularly abused themselves in the past with

unhealthy habits will undoubtedly have suffered some extent of

anxiety or depression, no matter how light. Who suffers more or who

suffers less is determined by the extent of the bad habits and the

particular strengths and weaknesses of various organs (a person's

diathesis, as is said, or their constitution, or tendencies, or

inheritance, or genetic makeup, etc). Were a person not to indulge in

bad habits, then their diathesis would be irrelevant. Some people

will experience depression or anxiety since, say, their dopamine

producing cells get overworked first, while others will experience

asthma as their lung cells get overworked. Those who continually

indulge in poor health practices all suffer various levels of the

innumerable ailments of modern life, but its only when the ailments

become severely aggravated that we tend to recognize them and call

them particular dis-eases.

 

So, are we anywhere with all the discussion? We aught to be by now. A

person could go on for years describing all the various chemical,

nerve, and organ reactions going on in the body in regards to

depression and anxiety, but it would get us nowhere closer to

understanding what to do to resolve the problem. We already know that

depression means lack of energy production and that anxiety means

inability to overcome threat to oneself. But now that we know what

causes needless energy loss and what puts unnecessary threat upon the

body, namely unhealthy energy depleting habits, we automatically know

what to do to resolve the problem ---adopt healthy habits as they

pertain to the situation we find ourselves in. So a person needs to

eat whole healthy foods, refrain from excessis of behavior, develop

emotional calm, get fresh air and adequate sleep, enjoy sunshine, and

so on. Rest is very important, and it may even be necessary to fast

for a few days, a week, or more, before adopting more sensible active

health habits, such as eating fruits and vegetables.

 

Because diet is the number one major culprit of health destruction in

our age, it is the one area, when improved, that gives the greatest

results in depression and anxiety. It may take time for the body to

resolve the healing required in our nerves and organs, but it will

come so long as good habits are continually fostered and persevered

in.

 

Some notable poor dietary habits that lead to depression and anxiety

are: overeating in general, eating too much at one meal, eating

concentrated foods (particularly sugary foods like dried fruits,

which drive our adrenals and dope our brains with excessive glucose),

eating late (after say 6pm), eating haphazard combinations of foods,

eating spicy and stimulating foods, pursuing foods as a comforting or

exciting activity in order to avoid low feelings(called emotional

abuse), eating beyond needs dictated by activity level, eating for

entertainment, eating foods that are supposedly healthy like sea

salt, vinegar, wine, garlic, and others that only serve to stimulate

cleansing but not actual healing, binging, purging, eating before

noon, eating heavy foods early in the day instead of later,

overeating particular types of foods, especially the heavy more

concentrated foods such as avocados (excess fat), nuts and seeds

(excess protein and fat), and dried fruits (excess sugars), eating

unripe fruits that don't satisfy appetite, mixing foods to

overstimulate appetite (eg: fruit bowls, large complex salads with

tasty fatty dressings), prolonged and excessive starch or

concentrated sugar consumption, and generally speaking, overeating,

once again and again and again and.....

 

Growing up, I was a specialist in the overeating department,

unknowingly, and if there was one thing that was gonna kill me, that

was it. I suffered immense amounts of anxiety and depression from

overeating, and I only made the connection after I improved my diet.

Then I realized what an extreme food alcoholic I had been all my

life, particularly a starch and sugar addict. I tried all sorts of

procedures and a few medications to get over my depression/anxiety,

some of which seemed to work, but which I dropped once I discovered

my main problem was food addiction. It takes time to develop sensible

eating habits after a life time of abuse, but the good feelings that

one remembers as a child slowly return and dominate ones

mental/emotional/physical state as pure raw ripe fresh whole foods

dominate the diet. If I hadn't experienced it, I wouldn't believe it

possible, but its so obvious to me now.

 

Other lifestyle factors are important to consider as well, such as

fun exercise, sleep, rest, sun, social activities, intimacy or love

expression, fasting if necessary, abstaining from excesses of all

types, development of emotional calm, good water if necessary, bodily

cleanliness and purity (I don't mean soaps, etc here), productive

work, mental stimulation, enjoyable emotional expression, security of

life and means, warmth, aesthetic environment, and others.

 

Of course once a person resolves their habits that lead to depression

and anxiety, that person must remain aware that depression and

anxiety are where their body first demonstrates a breakdown when bad

habits are indulged. Thus they can expect to feel poorly once they

indulge badly. I note in myself when I sometimes overeat (still here

and there, eh, can ya believe it!! --though I don't overeat anything

near like I used to) that the next day I start to get the slightly

down feeling slightly reminiscent of the past. It's a good reminder

to keep towing the line. But of course, feeling great is an even

greater reminder.

 

A person needs to be patient with themselves, persevere, remain

attentive to improvements, and thus develop a sense of control and

admiration of oneself. Living healthfully automatically generates

those feelings that we associate with confidence and comfort. Living

unhealthfully removes us from those feelings because it creates

imbalances within our bodies, and as our nerves sense and experience

those imbalances, we experience feelings of non-conconfidence, worry

and foreboding. It's sometimes a more challenging route to choose

health improvement over drug therapy or other misapplied solutions to

depression and anxiety, but the rewards run much deeper.