Depression success stories?

[Charlie4444]

I deal with zero ability to socialize and have fun with anybody, it's like my brain really has zero of anything that used to be me.  I'm 23 now, and this happened at age 20, but before age 20, I played golf, did trips and activities with friends, went to a lot of parties, liked to drink socially, played soccer, played music, went to concerts, chased girls, etc.  I don't do any of this stuff anymore, and when I try, it's like I never liked it in my life.  I be with friends and have zero feeling of fun or enjoyment, zero interest in golf, and after a sip of beer, all these symptoms are magnified and I become really silent and tired and depressed, when before I used to drink and it would make me feel good, and often function better at parties.  Now, I function worse after some alcohol, which doesnt make sense to me, and don't tell me to change my values on this one!  Is there anyone who has had this and reversed it and got their old self back?

[blackrhino]

hello charlie,
I was reading that high meat helps with brain function.You should start there,theres a post on this forum.I hope that helps

[blackrhino]

forgot to add that you could become your own success story!

[Alive]

Hi Charlie, I had a similar depression start when in high school. I think it was related to a microbe imbalance through eating sugars and carbs, low exercise, and being stifled by family and school. One day I was feeling great and having fun with friends and then the next I was tired and depressed. I have never coped well with alcohol (though experimented with plenty of it copying peers) and often wonder if this is due to my body already being overloaded with yeast waste products.

The best thing that helped me was fun exercise, especially walking up hills and mountain biking since these are really enjoyable for me and therefore easy to do. Once my breathing and heart rate got going then I started to feel much better. The other things that helped were cutting out sugars (except some fresh fruit), carbs (saying no to all grains, potatoes...), processed foods (fried, salted...), and eating high proportion of raw vegetable & fruit
 (I'm new to RAF so can't comment on this yet).

There is also the emotional side - recently I did a couple of psychodrama sessions which helped me see my responsibility  for my own behavior, and even if I am tired or depressed I still need to be in the moment in any situation to express myself as things happen. I have heard good things about Rebirthing - where you breath very deeply to clear trapped emotions, but have not done it yet.

Also, most importantly, remember to love yourself - as you are the one person who will always be there for you! So you can acknowledge how you feel, be truthful about it, and accept that this is how you are right now. Over time by caring for yourself and doing what it is that is best for you (including doing nothing if that's what you want) things will improve.

[Alive]

Also searching this site for 'depression' is very interesting with lots of success stories.
High meat seems to be mentioned a lot - now I've read more I'm really looking forward to trying it!

[Charlie4444]

Thanks for the responses from both of you, but nothing new, or nothing that I haven't already tried has been said.  I mean I've really experienced an entire personality alteration that is horrifying, that I've scoured the internet and have only found one or two other peopple who have claimed to have a similar experience, though I did finally find someone out there describing the same thing as me.  I've been trying high meat, and it's not bad for me, but for it curing me, it does very little. I think the only way is to be entirely on stimulants for the rest of my life, or get the circuts in my brains replaced and reconnected.  For over three years I haven't felt like I'm me, or I'm in control of my thoughts and actions.  You know that scene in the exorcist where the little girl writes "help me" on her own stomach from inside, that describes me well. 

[wodgina]

Hi Charlie

I second high meat does nothing for depression.

[TylerDurden]

High-meat got rid of my depression. I will admit that I used huge amounts of "high-meat", though. Aajonus's recommendation of just 2 marble-sized pieces of "high-meat" a day did nothing for me, whereas 2 bite-sized chunks a day or even a whole plateful of "high-eat" a day, did wonders for me.

[wodgina]

I've been reading your post for years and this is the first that you have said you have had depression. You have talked of mood boost's before from high meat before not recovery from depression.

[TylerDurden]

I've been reading your post for years and this is the first that you have said you have had depression. You have talked of mood boost's before from high meat before not recovery from depression.

I think I have mentioned it before. It's just that I had acute anxiety as well, which had an even worse effect on me, so I mentioned the latter far more. Sounds unlikely, since they seem so opposite to each other, with depression involving listlessness, lack of motivation and feeling low etc. etc., and anxiety meaning one is in a constant state of artificial terror for no valid reason except hormonal imbalance, but it is possible to have both:-

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200310/anxiety-and-depression-together

[wodgina]

They are the same thing. If you had really had them you would know.

 

[TylerDurden]

They are the same thing. If you had really had them you would know.

You know, there is nothing more unpleasant than someone who pretends that someone else is just making it up, when there are no grounds for believing such. Granted, there are hypochondriacs everywhere who invent fake conditions on a regular basis, but I do not have those characteristics. If I did, I would still be inventing ever new health-problems right up till now, whereas I have already stated that I had recovered ages ago. As regards depression and anxiety, they are 2 distinct, wholly separate states, as recognised in psychological circles. Afaik, though I'm no MD, depression means a lowering of mood/listlessness/lack of motivation and anxiety means being in a constant state of anxiety/fear/terror etc. I had both such conditions, therefore.

That said, I have already encountered such wilful lack of acceptance of reality among my own family. Well over a decade ago, I used to also have to sleep in the afternoons for several hours due to chronic fatigue, couldn't exercise at the gym without collapsing  and had appalling stomach-aches among many other conditions(some of which my relatives actually noticed at the time), but my own relatives  since then have altered their perceptions by pretending that I never had any such health-problems in the first place. I can see why, in a way - some of those relatives are very old, so have a faulty memory so only want to remember the good bits, but the younger ones have no such excuse - it's obvious that they are so leery of my rawpalaeodiet that they cannot, on a psychological level, accept that my rawpalaeodiet has healed me, so they pretend to themselves that I never had any health-problems to begin with - after all, to their limited mind-set, a raw-meat diet kills, so  when deaths don't happen, even after many years, they have to come up with some distortion of reality to explain away this inconvenient truth, to fit in with their paradigm.

I am aware, incidentally, that the mind does play a role in health, given the placebo effect, but only a very minor part. Health-problems really do exist, not just in the mind.

[wodgina]

Maybe I was wrong with my last post. Sorry.

I think the psychological aspect is strong (IMHO of course...)

[LePatron7]

Some things that could really help are..

1) Exercise
2) Sleeping at a decent time (when it's dark sleep)
3) Getting sun
4) Following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for carbs. This cuts out grains, dairy, potatoes, and other bad carbs
5) Eat lots of fats, from avacados and animals.

Those are all things I've done and they've helped. I suggest you forget about alcohol. For people with neurological problems they're no good.

I used to get depressed. I had a lot of the same problems you did.

But I started eating my version of raw paleo, and I got back into things I like.

I started playing basketball and working out again.

I make it to all my family social happenings.

The only thing I'm slacking on is the girls department. I used to have no shortage of girls. Now there's no girls. But this is mainly because I don't meet any since I'm not in school, and there's none at my job.

Ps. The scd/gaps diet battles neurologocial problems

[Alive]

Good link Tyler - I also have both depression and anxiety. SSRIs (now I feel like doing something, even though there's still no point to life) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (is that thought true? Is that thought useful?) have provided some help... but I am still sure it is  diet + exercise that is really going to make the difference.

Charlie , if you live in California you might be able to legally try medical marijuana - the new varieties (such as cannatonic) which have 50/50 ratios of cannabidiol (CBD)/THC-acid have been shown to have strong anti-psychotic effects, especially when consumed raw. When fresh and raw even the THC-acid is not psychoactive and is an anti-psychotic, versus when cooked / smoked it becomes THC which can induce psychosis in some people.

Russo: "The endogenous cannabinoid system acts as a modulator in fine-tuning a lot of these systems, and if something is deranged biochemically in a person's body, it may well be that a cannabinoid system can bring things back into balance."

GW's Cannabis grow room / CBD as an anti psychotic
http://preventdisease.com/news/12/022912_The-Power-of-RAW-Cannabis-is-Turning-Heads.shtml
http://40dayrawcannabisjuicechallenge.blogspot.co.nz/

[joej627]

Hey man,

I have done a lot of work with shamanism lately.  There is so much stuff that is in the unconscious mind and energy field that we are not usually aware of.  So ready? best definition of healing ever?

-"Healing is the application of love to somewhere inside that is hurting"

So if something is wrong, you have to communicate with it.  What is hurting, what is causing this?  As natural beings created in the universe it is our soul's want to be happy, loving, and to enjoy nature, life, and other people.  So you have to figure out what it is that is preventing this natural expression to take flight.  It could be dietary or toxin related.  I know heavy metal toxicity is very common and needs to be treated often to get better.  As far as spiritual causes, there are numerous reasons.  Traumas, power loss, soul loss are all big.  You can become disassociated from certain parts of yourself.  If someone has a severe car accident it is possible for part of them to split off out of fear.  Nobody wants to be in their body in a car crash.  Anyways, i know shamanism has the ability to treat things including depression and other similar issues.  I'm not saying this is the answer for you or for everyone, but it's a field that is relatively lost in modern american culture.  I would recommend seeking out a shaman in your area and seeing if they can't figure out what the problem is.

[goodsamaritan]

I deal with zero ability to socialize and have fun with anybody, it's like my brain really has zero of anything that used to be me.  I'm 23 now, and this happened at age 20, but before age 20, I played golf, did trips and activities with friends, went to a lot of parties, liked to drink socially, played soccer, played music, went to concerts, chased girls, etc.  I don't do any of this stuff anymore, and when I try, it's like I never liked it in my life.  I be with friends and have zero feeling of fun or enjoyment, zero interest in golf, and after a sip of beer, all these symptoms are magnified and I become really silent and tired and depressed, when before I used to drink and it would make me feel good, and often function better at parties.  Now, I function worse after some alcohol, which doesnt make sense to me, and don't tell me to change my values on this one!  Is there anyone who has had this and reversed it and got their old self back?

I've never experienced depression.

My 2 cents is I always have known or have long term goals in my life and medium and short term goals to achieve those.  When I achieve a dream, a new one takes its place. 

I know the meaning of life for myself and I live by my code.

And I do things that make me happy.  Not what society tells me to think.

Just like you, I've changed in my preferences of what I want to do. 

The things I like to do lately are:

- go on road trips
- go fishing
- girls... yes of course
- go out with kids
- hang out here in rawpaleodietforum.com

What happens to you when you drink alcohol is normal for many people.  Alcohol is crap.  Never made me happy. 

[Charlie4444]

You know, there is nothing more unpleasant than someone who pretends that someone else is just making it up, when there are no grounds for believing such. Granted, there are hypochondriacs everywhere who invent fake conditions on a regular basis, but I do not have those characteristics. If I did, I would still be inventing ever new health-problems right up till now, whereas I have already stated that I had recovered ages ago. As regards depression and anxiety, they are 2 distinct, wholly separate states, as recognised in psychological circles. Afaik, though I'm no MD, depression means a lowering of mood/listlessness/lack of motivation and anxiety means being in a constant state of anxiety/fear/terror etc. I had both such conditions, therefore.

That said, I have already encountered such wilful lack of acceptance of reality among my own family. Well over a decade ago, I used to also have to sleep in the afternoons for several hours due to chronic fatigue, couldn't exercise at the gym without collapsing  and had appalling stomach-aches among many other conditions(some of which my relatives actually noticed at the time), but my own relatives  since then have altered their perceptions by pretending that I never had any such health-problems in the first place. I can see why, in a way - some of those relatives are very old, so have a faulty memory so only want to remember the good bits, but the younger ones have no such excuse - it's obvious that they are so leery of my rawpalaeodiet that they cannot, on a psychological level, accept that my rawpalaeodiet has healed me, so they pretend to themselves that I never had any health-problems to begin with - after all, to their limited mind-set, a raw-meat diet kills, so  when deaths don't happen, even after many years, they have to come up with some distortion of reality to explain away this inconvenient truth, to fit in with their paradigm.

I am aware, incidentally, that the mind does play a role in health, given the placebo effect, but only a very minor part. Health-problems really do exist, not just in the mind.

What is your diet?

[TylerDurden]

it generally varies. For most of the past 10 years I've been eating a diet that is mostly raw wild game, with plenty of raw organ-meats(either from grassfed, organic cattle or wild game), plus lots of raw wildcaught seafood(mostly raw shellfish),  raw fruit to a lesser extent, and a very little raw vegetables. I have not been that bothered as regards buying organic fruit, though I refuse to buy any  fruit from supermarkets. In recent times, due to supply-difficulties, I have been eating raw organ-meats only rarely, and almost always eating raw wild game muscle-meats instead of grassfed meats, along with raw fruit/veg as usual.

Oh, I used to eat "high-meat" in large quantities, but, in the last couple of years, due to problems re other people sharing flats etc., I have not been eating it very often, besides I don't need it any more having healed myself,  and when I do eat it, I generally put it out in plastic containers in the garden rather than the fridge so as to speed up the aging process of the meat.

[jessica]

Thanks for the responses from both of you, but nothing new, or nothing that I haven't already tried has been said.  I mean I've really experienced an entire personality alteration that is horrifying, that I've scoured the internet and have only found one or two other peopple who have claimed to have a similar experience, though I did finally find someone out there describing the same thing as me.  I've been trying high meat, and it's not bad for me, but for it curing me, it does very little. I think the only way is to be entirely on stimulants for the rest of my life, or get the circuts in my brains replaced and reconnected.  For over three years I haven't felt like I'm me, or I'm in control of my thoughts and actions.  You know that scene in the exorcist where the little girl writes "help me" on her own stomach from inside, that describes me well. 

ive felt a lot like this before, and have actually tried to beat this out of me and beat me back into myself, ive tried to run from this by moving here and there, ive tried to smoke and drink this away....none of those things work.  what helps is being honest with yourself about what you do like, and what you are capable of doing and maintaining your best level of happiness, of course it helps to get your daily life into a pattern where you are having a diet that is healing, pooping regularly(IMPORTANT!) getting a lot of sunshine, fresh air, doing enough exercise(not over exertion but getting the blood flowing and lots of deep breathing).  but even a perfect diet and exercise routine alone do not make for a full and happy life. making small goals for yourself that dont involve anything in particular except that they are fun for you do to...like for me its to go camping at hot springs, or going hiking somewhere different.etc.  another think you should consider is the use of entheogens...mushrooms in particular, in very small doses and only with respect and for medicinal purposes they can really restructure your thought patterns, and in a good way.  this is by far the best treatment i have ever had for the exact feelings you are describing...in fact i am hoping to get some soon because i have sunk my lil soul down in that pit, and while i am actually climbing out slowly, its like there is a familiar block in my head and heart that i know they help open.......anyway charlie hope you are feeling better and finding solutions

[Alive]

Hi Charlie,
one more idea - have you tried a diet high in fresh raw vegetation, say 70~90% with the remainder being raw animal food? The vegetation would include leaves, florets, fruit, sprouts, stems, flowers, berries etc.

I would avoid nuts, un-sprouted seeds, and dried foods, especially dried fruit as its digestion is very different from fresh fruit.

Given the a net alkaline forming diet is believed by many to provide the optimal conditions for metabolic function it makes sense that this could provide an enormous difference to your mental state.

I am very interested to hear how you get on with this.
Mike

[Charlie4444]

I'm finding that they aren't really any depression success stories.  There's really no cures on this site, nor others on the internet, just stories of improvements and coping, but no cures. It's really a nasty, living, working disease that wants to thrive.

[Dorothy]

Doesn't Tyler's experience count?

[blackrhino]

I would try the amino acid,tyrosine.It helps depresssion.

[sabertooth]

I fought with depression for a long time. I've developed a holistic approach to treating depression. My treatment includes the Raw paleo diet,high meat, sun bathing, exercise, sex, good deeds , seeking religion and meaning, raising a family. I was using small amounts of Marijuana, but have since weened myself off of it.

ALAN WATTS: RETURN TO THE FOREST 1/3
here is a perspective on shamanism