How I Started Managing Symptoms Through Diet

[annexthecelt]

Hi everyone -- I'm here to share my story about how I halted the majority of my symptoms through diet change. :)

I've suffered from depression for my entire life -- mood swings, crying spells, thoughts of suicide. Even when I was a toddler, I felt like the world weighed heavy on me. This continued into my early adult life, and worsened with time.

In 2013, I suffered a psychological / existential trauma that amplified my pre-existing issues as well as added paranoia, obsessive thoughts and constantly questioning reality, feeling disconnected from my body [like I'm not really "here"], and non stop anxiety. I no longer felt like a person -- I felt like a thing.

I tried many things to help and suffered for almost 2 years in a hellish place. But then on Jan 21st of this year, my husband mentioned a book called Potatoes Not Prozac. I haven't read the book yet but I read a few synopses-- basically, it discusses sugar "sensitivity" and how consuming refined sugar and white flour [and not enough complex carbohydrates] can cause depression.

I was always a pretty healthy eater -- organic, mostly vegan, etc -- but I still ate sugar pretty much daily. [The average American eats 100 LBS of sugar in a year!]

I thought to myself "I've been eating sugar forever -- if it's been worsening my depression and PTSD, how will I know for sure unless I cut it out?"

I did in fact stop eating sugar laden foods the very next day -- no more desserts, sugary drinks, condiments with added sugar, EVERYTHING -- and replaced them with fruits and vegetables, complex carbs like sweet potatoes and squash, and the occasional whole wheat pita or brown rice. And I'm shocked to say that I had no depressive mood swings or PTSD attacks for 24 days straight. It's a miracle.

[Side Note! I made the mistake of eating more than my fair share of whole wheat pitas on V-Day and I became very depressed for the remainder of the night and into the next morning. I'm now doing research into Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity as well. Sounds like there's a correlation between wheat and mental health issues, too. I stopped eating wheat products since then and I'm feeling completely balanced again.]

It's a big sacrifice to stick to a diet like this, but it's so very easy to say "no" knowing that if I say "yes," I may go into a downward spiral. Being sugar free and gluten free is my new religion.

There's a chance that a diet change won't help you but I implore you to try it because it dramatically brought my PTSD down to almost non-existence. I'd love to know if anyone is interested.. :)

PS - if this story inspires you to look into healthy eating, I'd highly recommend watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead as well as Hungry for Change on Netflix.

 

[J_trustno1]

Cool. Happy to hear your success story. I have noticed this in myself as well. But I am more affected by external sources which leads to eating refind foods and sugars. However, when I am not getting external factors affecting how I feel , I pretty much eat healthy and feel happy.

I yet have to deal with wheat because it is most likely to related to my autoimmune disease (which DOES affect your mood and depression hugely).

 

[annexthecelt]

Yeah, there are different factors for everyone. I wish you the best luck with your healing process!

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I think its great that you changed your diet and it helped you. I've changed my diet drastically as well and it has really helped me. I don't do sugar free (OMG that would KILL me given my extensive list of no-no foods due to allergies and sensitivities), but I am soy free, gluten free, corn free and excitotoxin free. (I have an even longer list of foods I can't eat as they cause migraines or give me an allergic skin reaction.) I really do believe that the excitotoxins are the worst in terms of my moods and agitation. Soy is right up there, too, due to the effect on hormones and high copper content, as copper is an agitating metal. I don't eat artificial sweeteners, either, as most are just chemicals that can really mess up our systems.

I do agree that it seems like a HUGE sacrifice. I avoided going gluten free for YEARS. I said it would be too hard. Then I inadvertently went on a gluten free, corn free diet for a month (it was low carb and coincidentally free of those two things) and OMG my skin cleared up, my body felt better, etc. I reintroduced those items to my diet and BAM, muscle and joint pain, skin problems, etc. Everyone is amazed at how I stick to such a strict diet. They don't realize that when they see a donut and think "YUMMY!" I simply think "PAIN!" Yes, it really IS that automatic! I have no desire for such foods anymore. It isn't a sacrifice when the alternative is feeling wretched for days on end (I really don't get how people are unable to make this simple connection and still think that I'm missing out? Weird.) But, on the upside, gluten free food has a reputation for being YUCKY so guess what? Nobody ever steals my food! I love it....

The only PITA part of it all is eating out. Not so much on the gluten free side of things, rather on my pepper allergy. Peppers are used as colorants in nearly everything, and most people/restaurants don't know that. I have to avoid yellow & orange foods for this reason.

 

[Chava]

Eating well matters a lot. Sugar and stimulants aren't really my friends. I need a lot of good, whole food nutrients because my body uses up loads of energy just doing simple things. But I also need trauma therapy. I eat extremely well and still have meltdowns. So for me, the regulation and symptoms is not about my diet (though good nutrition helps anything) as much as it's about my nervous system and what my body has learned about safety at a deep level.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

Cured? No. Found something that help you manage your symptoms? Yes. Managing what is a question: it may have little to do with actual PTSD that diet is helping you.

 

[annexthecelt]

Solara & Chava, I'm excited that you've found methods to help you :)

Ayesha: What are you saying exactly? I can't decipher your tone since we're writing.

 

[moonbeam]

Its understandable that eating better has helped improve your health and mood, thereby making it easier to fight off some of the symptoms of mental health issues. I am glad this has helped improve your quality of life.

But please don't say cured. The trauma that members on the forum have undergone can not be "cured" by improving their diet. Please don't spread the false idea that its curable by just changing what we eat. It minimises the seriousness of PTSD and the trauma we've endured.

 

[annexthecelt]

Sorry to offend anyone -- notice that I said "nearly cured" and not "cured." It sure as hell feels like it's almost gone, and I want to help as many people as possible if diet is in fact worsening their symptoms.

I'm new to the PTSD community, so I don't know the etiquette.

Can I edit the title? I'm not sure how.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

@annelaclair I fail to see how your PTSD could have been 'nearly cured'. Maybe that's a poor choice of words on your part?

Do you have studies that back you up (not movies), actual research studies?

 

[mephoto]

I did not read everyone's replys, but I agree with @moonbeam. You are on to something though @annexthecelt . I work in health and fitness, and believe there is a link between physical health and mental health. I started eating Paleo last year, and when I stick to it I find I am in better moods, more active and less easily triggered. Cured? No, but I definately understand where you are coming from. Healthy diet and exercise keeps me away from alcohol, it gets me out in public, finding new ways to prepare and cook food kept me busy, no mood swings related to sugar or caffeine, and it definately helped me sleep better ... However I have to be careful not to use it as almost a "treatment" where I spend addictive amounts of time and the gym and obsessively only eat certain foods.
Different factors go into making me trigger, distractions help, and diet is a good distraction when I do it healthily.

 

[annexthecelt]

@Ayesha It was a word choice based on my subjective story. Don't get me wrong, the symptoms are still there. They're just extremely more manageable now.

Again, how can I edit the title?