How nutrition and vitamins have helped me in my struggle against depression

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Raising awareness about mental health is great!

I love the initiative, thanks @naturalmedicine for this opportunity to give people a platform to write about these topics. I think often there's a sort of taboo not to talk about it, at least that's also what I remember from when first having to deal with depression. I didn't feel as if I could speak up and definitely didn't find support at the time to make me feel more at ease to speak up. This also meant that I started to feel I should hide my feelings behind a big smile (mask) to make sure no one would suspect that I felt depressed. It's nothing to be ashamed of, I know that now, but I also know very well that (especially without a support system) it can feel as if you're alone in this.

I've been in and out of depressions for over ten years

I don't remember exactly how old I was, but ten years or longer is long enough to recognize patterns and triggers that may lead me to fall into a depression again. Although this isn't been something that I've realized during the first few years, but rather the last years instead. I'm grateful for the fact that I now see and recognize where it may go wrong if I don't act upon it. This is a huge relief and has only been made possible by the fact that I've been brutally honest with myself to see what causes the depressing state of mind. Although during a depressing day or weeks, thunderclouds hang above my head, talking about feelings isn't really something that I'm keen on at the time when it's already there, I have learned to at least talk about it afterward. For some reason, once the darkest feelings have faded, I'm able to talk about it again. While these feelings are there, I can't.

I'm grateful that I have a supportive partner

I feel blessed by the fact that I have a supportive partner by my side that knows these up and downs and accepts me for who I am. I don't say it's not challenging for him as well at times, because I know it is, especially when he's also not feeling like superman (lol) we sometimes end up having arguments that get quite heated. But we also know how to apologize and acknowledge that we didn't mean it and were driven by other things like a depressed mood or whatever may be causing it. I'm very grateful for the fact that I can talk it out with him, although I'm often not able to at the time because my mind feels so blocked. I at least try to write about it as words may come easier and I can let him read it.

Winter depressions

These are something that is known to many people dealing with depressions. The days are getting shorter and this means there's simply less daylight, to me that's a huge trigger of falling back into depression again. I know this, and this is actually the very first trigger and sign I could recognize in some of the reocuring patterns. It's probably the easiest to recognize as well, especially as this trigger doesn't seem to be loaded with a lot of taboo anymore. People speak very freely about the fact that winter makes them feel depressed, and often maybe even laugh it away while doing so.

Every single year, as soon as summer is over, I start feeling down and notice a lack of energy. Getting out of bed is getting harder and harder and with the cold temperature at night I feel my body is also aging as I wake up feeling like an old lady. Pain is never great as it will easily drag you down if you aren't careful. I let this happen year after year.

This year it was different

For the first time, I've been eating a lot (a lot lot more!) vegetables and avocados combined with salmon for example. Where the previous years I didn't even touch fish, now I've been adding a lot of fish to the menu and I've been noticing my mind is so much clearer! Not only do I notice my mind is clearer, but I've also learned that I actually love a lot of these healthy things. I can truly say that I make delicious salads nowadays!

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On top of that, we also started overdosing vitamin C during the previous lockdown when we thought we should at least try to boost the immune system of our daughter who was a pain in the butt when it came to eating at the time. Thankfully, now she's being our champ and starts to enjoy more food (yay!) but these are the huge differences I've changed in my eating habits and I really notice a HUGE difference in my mental state.

Almost November

So I have to admit, that the body aches are still here since the cold has arrived, this hasn't changed from last years. BUT the fact that I get up with a much clearer mind, is keeping me from falling in the trap of not getting out of bed and getting back in bed in the afternoon for a nap. I have done this only once in the past months, and that was because I was having a cold. I allowed myself to rest that day and that was enough. I do still experience afternoon dips sometimes, but I don't allow myself to fall into the "have a nap" trap anymore because it will only make me feel worse in the end. I will have a nap, and wake up feeling like crap, and angry at myself for wasting hours of my day. On top of that, I will also not feel like cooking and then we all eat something unhealthy again. It was a vicious cycle!

This schoolyear, I've managed to put food on the table before my boyfriend and daughter arrived home without struggling while I also still had a very productive day. Now this may seem normal to others, but trust me when I say that usually I was starting the cooking only after boyfriend arrived at home until this September, and we had dinner quite late (especially for our daughter).
I struggled getting all done, and with that I easily fell in the unhealthy food trap as well. All is so connected. Today I can proudly say that I can do much more in a day than I thought I could 6 months ago, and I'm happy with that. I actually feel very useful and happy during the weekdays as I feel productive while I still end up putting dinner on the table at a decent time as well.

For me, it's 100% clear that if I would allow myself to take the healthy food thing to the next level, I will even feel better and probably also lose some discomforts of my bodyaches compared to now.

Overdosing Vitamin C

The reason we started overdosing vitamin c is because we both saw many documentairies about this topic and truly believe this can help you heal from many things. We buy it in our local Bio store in powder form. I'm not a doctor so always do your own research of course, but especially now the virusses are in the air more than ever, I started taking higher doses again every day.

Did you ever notice a connection between your mental health and food and or vitamins? You're more than welcome to leave a comment!

Take care of your mental health, you're worth it!

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Absolutely if you take care of your body you can take care of your health and that also includes your mental health.

Since I have PTSD I have to take extra precautions on being aware of my mental health. And having a service dog really helps.

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Glad you're taking care of that, my experience is that the healing process is a bit easier when you're aware of the triggers. Sorry to read you also have PTSD, I'm familiar with this, and although I've always known that I should take better care of the nutrition intake, it was too easy to fall back into bad behaviors, especially when feeling bad..

But I think it's really true that happiness comes from the inside so whatever good you put in there, is helping the outside as well :)

Thanks for stopping by! Appreciate it!

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I have PTSD because I'm too dumb. I have too big of a heart and I help others even though the mental toll is high.

However I do get to spend my life with an amazing puppy dog.

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First of all, that pup is adorable <3

Second, I don't want to say I've experienced the same, as we all walk our own paths. But I do relate to the fact of feeling dumb at a certain period in my life trusting the wrong people and getting myself into huge debts because I was blind .. So this has taken a toll on my mental health for years, do know that seeing how you didn't stick up for your own mental state (because of a good heart) is the first step to never make that mistake again!

I've been there done it twice (yes, I was stupid to walk in the shoes twice as well) and you'd say that's dumb, but honestly, those phases were the biggest life lessons (including the freaking ptsd that I got for free).

I hope you will enjoy that little cutie and stand up for yourself, it's not easy, but you'll get there! Take care :)

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Yep and may we all learn to be better humans. Trusting isn't always bad. It just doesn't seem.like it's smart until you find good people.

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Yes, let's all learn to be better humans! And a lot of good people in our lives :)

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Food and vitamins have a great influence on people's moods, many psychologists recommend changing the diet in favor of improving the mood of their patients. It's good that it works for you. Eating fruits is also excellent for depression, especially bananas.

What I like best about this post is your honesty and transparency. Many people hide their depression behind a smile, that is true, so I admire your courage to express here with openness your experience. Thank you for sharing.

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Thank you @adiwathrive! For stopping by and leaving an in-depth meaningful comment! Appreciate that. As I also wrote, I was one of these people that felt that depression should be hidden not spoken about.. I see that differently now, but honestly I think that those that don't have a support system by their side that encourages them to speak about it won't feel that they should. Let's hope we raise more awareness and change this!

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YES! Good food, always. Vit B and iron are BIG ones for me. The better I eat, the better I feel. I am really glad to see a post that addresses DIET - there's a LOT to be said for eating well and making sure we are eating the right things - makes a huge difference! Great post, and thanks for sharing - keep up the good work!!!!

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Yes, for sure there's so much to share, but I fall back into the traps quite often, #guilty! I know it though, and I notice that when I realize it, I can make the change back easier. Life is full of lessons, this is just one of them.. I already made so many changes, Rome wasn't built in one day either, right? :) Thanks for stopping by and the encouraging words <3

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Curated for #naturalmedicine by @drrune.

This is a crucial matter! And in my experience, it's not just about the food we eat, but about the information we consume and the energies we expose ourselves to. Thank you for this contribution!

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This is a crucial matter! And in my experience, it's not just about the food we eat, but about the information we consume and the energies we expose ourselves to. Thank you for this contribution!

Very very strong point there @drrune! I agree 100% with you. I didn't do so until some years ago, but now I cut out negative energy as soon as I notice that it's affecting my mental state. It doesn't really help that I;m very sensitive to that anyway (picking up energies) but I've cut out TV years ago to give an example. I don't want to be fed with panic and fake news ;) There's still the internet of course, but that doesn't affect me as much as the tv (news etc) used to do in the past ;)

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You know that vitamin C is also excellent for supporting the immune system and the cardiovascular system, so you have made an excellent choice. I am glad that you have substantially enriched and improved your diet, it is not for nothing that there is a saying that says: "we are what we eat". I congratulate you, because I believe you have a chronic depression, one of those terrible ones that are characterized by lows and anxiety attacks. I am very familiar with this condition, and I know well that it is due to a neurotransmitter production problem, which almost always requires medication and specialized therapy. I hope you keep your mood levels and that you can keep depression at bay, absent from your day to day. A big hug and blessings for you, your daughter and your partner.


Sabes que la vitamina C también es excelente para reforzar el sistema inmune y el sistema cardiovascular, así que has hecho una excelente elección. Me alegra que hayas enriquecido y mejorado sustancialmente tu alimentación, no en vano hay un dicho que dice: "somos lo que comemos". Te felicito, porque según creo tienes una depresión crónica, de esas terribles que se caracterizan por bajones y crisis de ansiedad. Yo estoy muy familiarizada con este padecimiento, y sé bien que es por un problema de producción de neurotransmisores, que casi siempre requieren medicación y terapia especializada. Espero que mantengas tus niveles anímicos y que puedas tener a la depresión a raya, ausente de tu día a día. Un gran abrazo y bendiciones para tí, tu hija y tu compañero.

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Glad it helps you. I regularly take many vitamins and watch my food but nothing has resulted in anything good yet :D

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Did you also try to overdose vitamin c rather than adding some vitamin tablets only? As for me personally, taking these multi vitamin tablets only, is not helping in any way, but my boyfriend has been reading in about overdosing vitamin c for a long time, and all these docs about it are quite memorable as in it kept nagging in the back of my head, we SHOULD do that rather than postponing it. I'm really talking about taking several grams at once, btw. If you didn't try that yet, I'd say give it a go, read in about it first, and then decide :) I hope it helps!

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No, I didn't overdose vitamin C. I take 50mg pills daily and eat natural food that contains vitamin C. As we speak, I am currently compiling this same topic since I have been talking about it these past 3 years. I also take other supplements like vitamin B complex and some nootropics to help me with my depression. My friend often joked that my room is like a mini drug store.

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