How to Overcome Depression

KEY: ch:chapter . da:draxe.com . dj:drjosef . nf:nutritionfacts.org . nih:nih.gov . ted:ted-talk . x:x.com

[1] Definition: Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes.

[2] 30% experienced, 20% currently: Gallup poll.

[3] Symptoms: Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes.

[4] Causes: illness or exhaustion 1Ki 19:5-8, Gen 21:15-16, Psa 6:1-7, Psa 22:14-17, Psa 31:9-12, Isa 38:1-2, Jhn 1:5; fear 1Ki 19:1-3; failure 1Ki 19:4, Exo 4:1, Num 11:11-15; futility Ecc 1:14; external 2Co 1:8, 1Ki 19:3-4, Psa 42:1-11, Psa 88:1-18.

[5] Remedies: Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes.

[6] Depression common: NIH > Depression article.

[7] PBD: plant based diet, lowers tension anxiety depression anger fatigue, improves digestion energy sleep physical functioning productivity emotional well-being & quality-of-life (nf/PBD & nf/PBD, see also Antioxidants below).

[8] Nuts: signficantly raise BDNF level, supports good mental health; best nuts for depression: walnut almond cashew brazil pistachio (nf/nuts & best nuts).

[9] BDNF: brain-derived neurotrophic factor, low levels linked to depression schizophrenia; increased via fasting exercise & negative calorie balance, daily exercise quadruples; diet: flavinoids good, high-fat bad; top foods: apples orange tangerine grapefruit blueberry strawberry raspberry blackberry cherry plum grape kale spinach cabbage lettuce tomato onion peppers and more; tip: enjoy your favorites here often & introduce more over time (nf/BDNF & nf/BDNF, see also Nuts above plus Turmeric and Fat below).

[10] Carbs: diets low in carbs lead to depression, carbohydrate-rich food helps brain release serotonin & trytophan promotes feeling of well-being, low glycemic index (GI) is best (nih/carbs & GI-guide).

[11] Folate: deficiency linked to depression, as well as more severe longer episodes and more relapse; top foods: spinach asparagus avocado lentils beans chickpea peanut walnut hemp flax sesame seeds (nih/folate & nih/folate & top foods).

[12] Honey: is an antidepressant superfood; look for raw organic and sourced from one location: sidenote: never feed to children under 1yo (nih/honey & da/honey).

[13] Saffron: better than drugs, works immediately (da/saffron & nf/saffron & nih/saffron).

[14] Walnuts: high in omega-3, cuts depression 26% (da/walnuts & nih/walnuts).

[15] Chlorella: decreases depression & detoxes/heals liver (nf/chlorella).

[16] Turmeric: 1tsp/day ups BDNF 50% in 1mo (nf/turmeric @ 2:25 & da/turmeric & news/turmeric).

[17] Tryptophan: low levels lowers mood triggers depression; top foods: soy peas spirulina chlorella pumpkin sunflower hemp chia seeds oats and more (nih/tryptophan & top foods).

[18] Lions mane: significantly improves depression and mental health (da/lions-mane & nih/lions-mane & nih/lions-mane).

[19] Antioxidants: protect against depression, but only from food sources not supplements (nf/antioxidants & see ORAC).

[20] Fat: a high-fat meal drops BDNF increases depression brain dysfunction and memory loss within hours (nf/fat @5:12-5:47).

[21] Fish: mercury in fish toxic harms brain, significantly ups mental disorder depression suicide risks; sidenote: no benefit to getting omega-3 from seafood, better to eat plant foods instead (nf/fish).

[22] Pork: tapeworms cause depression chronic headaches/migraines brain tumors (nf/pork @0:55).

[23] Meat: inflames brain, ups major depression and suicide risk; removing meat fish poultry eggs significantly improves mood in 2wks (nf/meat, see also Food #11-13).

[24] Water: so important, see Happiness #16 and Kidneys #35.

[25] Tea: chamomile tea alleviates depression; hibiscus tea is an antidepressant (da/chamomile & da/hibiscus).

[26] Coffee: increased caffeinated coffee intake decreases depression and suicide, 2-3 cups/day in morning good range for most people (news/coffee).

[27] Alcohol: is a depressant that depressed people take to anesthetize themselves from their depression; it degrades the sense of well-being with a fake sense of well-being, leading to a vicious downward depression spiral (from Descent book).

[28] Aspartame: toxic artificial sweetener, lowers dopamine serotonin release in brain, hurts learning, increases depression headaches seizures insomnia; found in diet soda sugar-free yogurt desserts cereal gum tabletop sweeteners (nf/aspartame & nih/aspartame).

[29] Coconut water: marketed to relieve depression but no proof, study was on swimming rats 🤨 (nf/coconut-water & see Food #9).

[30] Roseroot: significantly improves depression fatigue productivity mental/physical performance and quality-of-life; clinical study was 340mg 1-2x/day 12wks (da/roseroot & nih/roseroot).

[31] Vitamin D: prevents depression (da/vitD & see Food #42).

[32] Magnesium: prevents and treats depression (da/magnesium & see Food #44).

[33] Vitamin B12: low level linked to depression, 1mg/day recommended (nih/vitB12 & see Food #43).

[34] Grief: if you’ve suffered the loss of someone/something close, you're allowed to feel depressed, that is natural & there's no set timeline; some ways to handle it include: do your best to come to terms with it & commit to being the best you can be right now (read Gift above, see asterick* below, and here's Scripture comfort for grief).

[35] Light: red light therapy aka PBM can really help, moderate depression 85sec/day for 30days, major depression 823nm wavelength 2x/wk for 8wks; for seasonal affective disorder aka SAD or winter depression: white light therapy is effective, try light bulbs between 5000k and 6500k; aligning circadian via light treats depression (nih/red-light & nih/light & news/bulbs & nih/circadian).

[36] Birds: seeing or hearing birds drops anxiety and depression; tip to start day: watch sunrise, listen to birds, give thanks, set goals, get after it and have fun 😀 (news/birds & nih/birds).

[37] Sleep: poor sleep habits lead to depression, 7-8 hrs ideal for most (see Sleep Intro #15 #31).

[38] Sauna: good antidepressant effect, one session lasts at least 6wks (news/sauna).

[39] Fasting: intermittent fasting enhances mood, decreases suicidal behavior ups feelings well-being euphoria calm alert vigilance—once you get past the first 3days of irritability lol; best fasting habit: eat in 6hr window, fast 18hr/day, women 8/16 is good (nf/fasting & nf/fasting and see Food #15).

[40] Posture: it's impossible to feel down when you are up, pay attention to your posture, head down shoulders forward slumping creates depression poor memory & negative word recall/speech, chin up shoulders back is best (da/posture & nih/posture).

[41] Exercise: very powerful rarely prescribed, home and group exercise better than drugs for depression; side effects: better strength endurance muscle tone libido sleep cholesterol longer life decreased body fat; exercise changes your brain, better mood energy memory attention (nf/exercise & nf/exercise @6:11 & ted/exercise).

[42] Thoughts: our life is what our thoughts make it, anger fear frustation cause DNA changes, we must take every thought captive, capturing thoughts rather than letting them chaotically run rampant improves emotions (from Switch above ch4) … you spend most of your life inside your head, make it a nice place to be (😌); thoughts create feelings, to change harmful thoughts, replace them with those that support growth (from Gift above).

[43] Expression: is the opposite of depression, what comes out of you doesn’t make you sick, what stays in does; you can’t heal what you don’t feel, sit down invite the feeling in keep it company, then decide how long you’re going to hold onto it. remember that feeling is just a feeling it’s not your identity, so release the past drive on by you’re not living there anymore (from Gift above).

[44] Self-growth: sometimes depression can teach a person something they can learn no other way—if reframed as something good and not something bad; example: Lincoln and Churchill had dark depressions that gave them deep moral insight & analytical thinking, which was used to help others (from Therapy above).

[45] Multitasking: rapid incomplete shifting of thoughts/tasks hurts neurochemicals, creates ADD and ADHD; deep intellectual thinking increases neural networks positive moods focus concentration organization task completion (from Switch above).

[46] Being helpful: by lifting the burdens of others we lose our own; being helpful alleviates depression and increases life satisfaction, however there are healthy limits to this, moderation is key (see Pro 19:17 and nih/being-helpful).

[47] Peer pressure: so many kids today are diagnosed with mental disorders anxiety and depression that they are expected to have mental issues. it’s the new normal, and those that don’t feel left out (from Therapy above).

[48] Aromatherapy: bergamot lavender chamomile sweet orange and more can relieve depression anxiety loneliness insomnia (da/aromatherapy & news/aromatherapy).

[49] Always/never: always and never are two words you should always remember never to use. 😉

[50] Suicide: toxoplasmosa brain parasite 30% people have, creates suicidal thoughts & schizophrenia, to prevent avoid pig poultry pork ham chicken, to treat eat beans greens take B12 & folate; coffee cuts suicide risk in half, two to six cups/day good, eight or more bad (nf/brain-parasite & nf/prevent-treat & nf/coffee @0:00-0:43).

[51] Causes: know the common causes of depression—disconnection from meaningful work/people, values trauma nature hope more—and move toward things that meet your true needs (read Connections above).

[52] Sunrise: early sunlight very important for physical & mental health; joy comes in the sunrise stay there good things will come later 🙂 (news/sunrise & fun/sunrise).

[53] Therapy: can become counterproductive, habitually voicing negative thoughts is major predictor for depression, good therapy should train one to stop ruminating on negative things (from Therapy above, see also x/therapy).

[54] Self-pity: is the worst of all disease; excessive thinking about oneself grows anxiety and depression (from Therapy above).

[55] Scripture: Psalm 143:3-10 illustrates depression path to victory: starts dwelling in dark thoughts v3, then satan attacks v4, to overcome remember good times v5, rise up v6, ask God for help v7, listen for answer v8, pray for deliverance v9, seek wisdom and leading v10 (from Battlefield above) … see also Psa 34:18, Psa 40:1-3, Psa 9:9, Psa 27:14, Psa 73:26, Jer 29:11, 1Pt 5:7, Mat 11:28, Pro 3:5-6.

[56] 5G & EMF: known since 1800s electromagnetic frequencies cause depression and many other health problems, see Cancer #50 for more on how to prevent it from harming you.

[57] Imbalance: brain chemical imbalance is fixed through certain foods and spices: green tea apples berries grapes kale onion cinnamon clove nutmeg oregano (nf/imbalance).

[58] Medication: drug companies only publish positive findings, when unpublished data reviewed drugs are no better than placebo; of all available treatments antidepressant drugs riskiest most harmful, should only be used in severe cases after all other treatments tried and failed; drug side effects: sexual dysfunction weight gain insomnia nausea diarrhea withdrawal and more likely to be depressed in future (nf/medication & dj/risks) … drugs blunt pain, do not fix or cure, effective as alcohol and more addictive, transform short-term pain into chronic addiction, be very hesitant (from Therapy above).

[59] Screen time: more screen time worse mental health higher suicide risk; targeting late-night passive use is most important as it ups next day suicide risk (news/screen-time & news/late-night).

[60] Birth control: hormonal contraceptives alter neurochemistry serotonin dopamine, known to trigger/increase depression sadness pessimism reduced libido, especially during first 2yrs, progestogen & ethinylestradiol riskiest, oestrogen least depression risk (nih/birth-control & nih/birth-control & nih/first-2yrs).

[61] Acupressure: effectively treats mild-to-moderate depression; best pressure points: em-2, liv-3, li-4, gv-20, 10sec each firm but comfortable (nih/acupressure & best points).

[63] Where to start: consider this simple approach: 1 perfect your diet (how many highlighted foods can you eat? can you try all of them in next few weeks/months?). 2 move your body fix your posture. 3 if depression is job relationship or trauma related make a change (see astericks** below). 4. pray and believe for good. 5. lastly, seek medication.

[64] Prayer: faith makes you well (Mat 9:18-22); words change molecules, watch how water and rice change; words have the power of life & death (Pro 18:21), speak life over your health.

* Grief: for whatever it’s worth, I still grieve people I lost 10yrs ago. I expected something that meant everything to me, it didn’t happen, and time hasn’t healed. Instead of focusing on what was lost, I try to focus on what is left: the choice to enjoy each moment and embrace life as the miraculous gift it is.

** Where to start #3: read Cheese … for job: read Perfect and take 16personalities test—both give your-most-meaningful-work info; for relationship: read Bait and Boundaries; for trauma: read Gift and Forgive … also, consider life-coaching. therapy is more common but tends to dwell on negative past, life-coaching should focus on creating positive future, both serve a purpose but moving toward something good is a good place to be (throw off every weight and run your race -Heb 12:1).

👉 End note: if you made it this far, nice job. 👏👏 And if you want more, here's: How to View Food.

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Whatever brings you to this page, I wish you great health and hope on your journey.

Be strong and believe. You can do all things (Phil 4:13).

Peace and Love,
Ben