I kind of agree with both of the above thoughts. I've made very drastic lifestyle and dietary changes to get myself well. I am not particularly prone to depression. If I am "depressed" for more than three days, it is usually bad anemia. I had no idea how bad my anemia was until it got better and my body just worked differently. Being anemic was my norm and I just didn't know one's body could feel different and work different.
On the one hand, I think that if one goes far enough with dietary and lifestyle changes, more can be done to address the underlying physiological problems than most people realize. On the other hand, I am aware that depression can be a response to feeling helpless about your life. Drugs won't fix that. Making different choices does more for that kind of depression.
Again: I'm not very prone to depression. I am prone to getting angry in the face of stuff like that. But the same principle applies: Stewing about things isn't healthy and doesn't make one feel better. I have found that the best antidote to my tendency get angry about stuff is to DO something, no matter how small. Since I tend to be the "bounce off the walls" type, I tend to make good friends with folks who are prone to depression. (Two bounce off the walls types can be a very destructive combination whereas depressed folks find I liven things up and I find they help ground me.) So I have assisted a couple of people with both the behavioral and dietary stuff the promotes their depression.
For me, getting healthier has been a fascinating study in using negative outcomes of life as feedback for what I need to correct in my own thought processes and behavior. I don't even know how to adequately put it into words. I think the best I can do is the explanation I once gave my son when he was younger: That life is like a video game and you either learn from your mistakes or Game Over, only we don't have a reset button. So life-threatening events are a big wake-up call that "hey, stupid, you can't keep doing that". The trick is to figure out what things you can't keep doing.
I think I have dug my grave deep enough and should probably just clam up now. :-D
On the one hand, I think that if one goes far enough with dietary and lifestyle changes, more can be done to address the underlying physiological problems than most people realize. On the other hand, I am aware that depression can be a response to feeling helpless about your life. Drugs won't fix that. Making different choices does more for that kind of depression.
Again: I'm not very prone to depression. I am prone to getting angry in the face of stuff like that. But the same principle applies: Stewing about things isn't healthy and doesn't make one feel better. I have found that the best antidote to my tendency get angry about stuff is to DO something, no matter how small. Since I tend to be the "bounce off the walls" type, I tend to make good friends with folks who are prone to depression. (Two bounce off the walls types can be a very destructive combination whereas depressed folks find I liven things up and I find they help ground me.) So I have assisted a couple of people with both the behavioral and dietary stuff the promotes their depression.
For me, getting healthier has been a fascinating study in using negative outcomes of life as feedback for what I need to correct in my own thought processes and behavior. I don't even know how to adequately put it into words. I think the best I can do is the explanation I once gave my son when he was younger: That life is like a video game and you either learn from your mistakes or Game Over, only we don't have a reset button. So life-threatening events are a big wake-up call that "hey, stupid, you can't keep doing that". The trick is to figure out what things you can't keep doing.
I think I have dug my grave deep enough and should probably just clam up now. :-D