Mental Health

[Jit]

Last year I was diagnosed in one session with a psychiatrist with major depresssion, anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive, and bipolar II (mild). I took antidepressants for a year, then stopped because the anxiety worsened. Recently I began taking Zoloft again because my anxiety got out of control. I eat a lot of sugar, even though I know it is contributing to my problem. I have uncontrollable cravings at times. I am also 25 lbs overweight.

I have been reading about macrobiotics for some time and enjoyed David Briscoes book, A Personal Peace. Most of the time I eat pretty healthy and have decided to transition to a macrobiotic diet. A naturopath told me I was protein deprived and encouraged me to start eating chicken and eggs last spring, which I have been, to help stabilize my blood sugar. I was vegan for 2 years prior to that. She also prescribed lots of expensive supplements (fish tabs, royal jelly, b vitamins). I stopped going to her because I couldn't afford it anymore. I have also spent lots of money in therapy for the past four years.

I need some encouragement. I know deep down macrobiotics is the answer to a personal peace, but it's so hard with all the temptations. I want to be off this roller coaster ride once and for all! How do I start my journey?

[LisaW]

I would recommend reading the The Self Healing Cookbook by Kristina Turner to get started. You can get it from Barnes and Noble for about $16 dollars. Keep things simple initially and see how it goes. For the sugar cravings, you can try a Sweet Vegetable Drink. It takes about 3 days to get the cravings under control. I'm not a big fan of supplements of any kind. The food that we consume should provide the nutrients we need. Aduki beans would be a good source of protein and are delicious with butternut squash. As the squash is cooked, it gets sweeter and should also help with the sugar cravings. I found this to be the case for myself. Hope this helps.

[Roy Collins]

Hi Jit. I think that your decision to begin macobiotics to help with your bipolar disorder with obsessive-compulsive component is quite a wise choice. I have known a numbe of people with this disorder (have been married to two of them) and I have witnessed their being able to manage wide mood swings by eating the standard macrobioitc diet and avoiding most animal foods and simple sugars.

The high amount of complex carbohydrate intake from eating whole grains and vegetables aids in the increase of the neurotrasmitting chemical that brings peace to your body (serotonin). Animal food on the othe hand greatly inhibits release of this.

There are some really good basic macrobiotic cokbooks as well as books on macrobiotic theory that you can purchase at low cost from the George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation by calling 1-800-232-2372. Their new book catalog came out today.

I hope this helps.

In peace, Roy

[tsunami62]

get yourself some chinese herbs from an experienced practitioner.

[nevrenson]

I have been reading all the wonderful advice from all the great people , my husband has Bipolar he can't be without his meds , he tried many time going off of them everytime it was a huge disaster for the whole family. Micro does help but not to the point of being off the meds. I gave this a lot of thought and to me it's important to have a balance in life , good attitude ,healthy food and mind but in our case it does come with some drugs attached...


all the best, Nellie

[tsunami62]

I don't think its a good idea to come off any medication too suddenly, rather I think that chinese medicine can work well with western meds when prescribed by someone with experience and knowledge in mental health treatment. Correcting an underlying imbalance can be a very long and complicated process.

[nevrenson]

Just a thought my husband who has diabetes and bipolar tried doing the macro diet but after a few days with his sugar out of control gave up and said he needs to be more on a protein base diet, I tried very hard to convince him with no success . That was the end to our macro days, I feel so bad that we did not give it a chance because I feel that macro would be very good for us...

[Klara]

Nevrenson,

You can be a mixed couple, like we are. You can eat differently than he does, and always have available appealing foods if he is interested. You can't force other people to change, but you CAN eat what appeals to you. It is much more challenging, I know!!!!! But with good intentions, lots of mental thought, and effort, you can eat more mb - also as it's a lifetime process, you can take your time :>) and just add better quality food as is comfortable. He may or may not join in for the ride, but don't make that your main objective.

Being a mixed couple, my hardest challenge was being my own advocate, not giving in to food which is all around (doesn't have to be perfection, just always improvement (improvement can also mean 2 steps up, and one step down) and if you're cooking his foods, to also serve his food with joy, not with a sour face. I know - not easy.

And there are foods that one can make more for a transitional diet - add more fish and beans for the proteins - maybe he'll accept that. Or add much more vegetables when making meat or dairy dishes - he may not realize it's getting healthier.

Don't have to give up!!!!

Klara

[barita_lola]

well, some people have different ways of dealing with issues like this. some people want to let others know about what they're going through and gain a large support group.
others (like u and, me actually) prefer to only confide in close friends or family members. people deal with these situations differently so the girl that you're talking about probably doesn't just want attention and is really seeking help by gaining a larger support group.

[Klara]

I am soooooooooooooo totally for creating support groups, whether they be just one good friend, the internet discussion groups, a valued teacher or a regular group that meets and helps each other. Of course, ideally it would be great if those you live with support you, but as I already posted, you can't demand that of anyone. I've posted often, here and other places, for everyone to find other mb people wherever they can, in the yellow pages (bet you didn't think of that!!!), on bulletin boards, especially in local health food stores or other health venues, in links on the different mb sites, in the back of Macrobiotics Today, in local newspapers - be creative, and there's always invite someone over for dinner if they seem interested - it's good to influence others as well as be supported by them.

btw, I'm so glad to see more posts here on cybermacro - kudos to all who reignite old topics.

Klara

[jfitty]

I know how you feel I am new to this as well and I have trouble not eating all the bad stuff, but so far I have found it has helped with my anxiety and OCD..... I try to just avoid the food I cant have and replace it with the healthier and nicer macro recepies I have found.

Julie

[TenBalance]

Hey Jit,

first of all: do never give up! And life is great, remember that!

Nutrition plays a huge role in our daily lifes. That's why I suggest to balance your diet with macrobiotics and an alkaline diet.

Both will balance your inner fluids to a healthy pH level, which will create mental clarity, regenerates your body cells and reduces the forming of fat cells inside you.

Green vegetables, all day long, as much as you can, as often you can. Still, pamper yourself from time to time with something you really like, nobody can always and only live healthy.

I wish you all the best,

Take care,
Mel