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Mental Health
Greetings all,
Just wanted to drop a note in the hopes that somebody out there would have a tip or two in dealing with a weak mental disposition, namely anxiety and depression and all the off shoots of that.
The illness has been something I have been struggling with since puberty, peaking around the time I was 18. I have been on an array of psychotropic medications for about 4 full years and was finally able to ween myself off a year come June. Ever since then I've been searching for alternative methods to keep myself in good shape.
Being off the medications, I do feel better, but mainly because I think I am actually "feeling" something. I am doing alright for myself, exercise & meditation (with sparodic accupressure treatments) have been a big help, but I thought I could benefit with some dietary guidelines, which is how I came across macrobiotics.
I have been a Vegetarian for 2 1/2 year, a Vegan for about 6 months. I've also taken a bit of a turn for the worse in the past few months with newer symptoms of fear of people, timidness almost submissiveness around strangers, increased anxiety & nervousness, and a heavy oppressive/depressive feeling on my chest. I feel somewhat weak - a startling sound will set me jumping out of my seat! It's not a physical weakness but more of a spiritual essence one. I don't mean to exagerate my condition; I'm not homebound and am still leading a fairly normal life. But of course I'm concerned that my condition might get worse. The new element to my condition is that my moods are getting a tad erratic, I find myself getting irritable and angry (perhaps to compensate) around the people I know and love.
I suppose the question is, are there any ultra specific macro foods I should be focusing on? Am I right in assuming that the symptoms I described above are more excess yin / lack of yang? If so, what are good macro yang foods -- I would even be willing to try a little white fish in the form of sushi if it would help!
I think I had a pretty good diet in the past, I abstained from regular coffee and soda consumption, junk food, etc, despite the seldom/occasional binges. Since I've been reading up on the diet I have cut back on a lot on my fruit consumption, and I think I've benefited in subtle ways. Popping around the different macro website the other might -- maybe it was even this site -- I read an article about how soy products can be damaging if taken too often. It then occured to me that I do consume a fair amount of soy bean products, probably a few servings a day: from soymilk, tofu, tempeh, to all the subsititutes found in fortified foods.
I suppose I'll try and taper down with that and see what happens. Any feedback or advice will be greatly appreciated.
Yours,
Daniel
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