Has anyone experienced racing thoughts, anxiety and worry for small stuff while on raw foods?

I don't feel very grounded when I eat raw, I feel over active in my mind and I end up with a head ache because of it.

I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem. I switched back to my old eating habits because of this primary reason.

Any thoughts or experiences anyone knows of?

Oh yes, indeed, I have had that in the beginning and whenever I had/have a detox episode later on.
Headaches are a typical detox sign, by the way, that is often helped through drinking water. You can slow down detox by eating some cooked whole grains or other vegan fare. Racing thoughts, ungroundedness and anxiety are also caused by withdrawal from certain foods, and food additives.

I recommend taking a step by step approach rather than an overnight one, if you are not ready to hang with the detox symptoms for a while (I wasn't, so I went slowwwwww and it really wasn't bad at all). Maybe getting some more information would help you in your next attempt. Don't let this attempt discourage you, get as much info as you can and then maybe go a little slower? It's all very well worth it!!

It took me well over two years to transition to a high raw low fat diet with some cooked legumes and steamed veggies, which is healthiest for me. The key for me was to progress slowly as well as to work on the emotional stuff that comes up. And to learn through experience and a lot of reading what works best for me.
My life has been changed dramatically!

Good luck to yoU!

i have experienced this but honestly i hesitate to point the finger at raw foods and say , I am not raw because raw foods made me "fill in the blank" , i think that is too easy an out to blame the failure on the food.

i had alot of emotional thing to address , and after 5 years of struggling through detox i finally managed a whole year 100% but it wasnt untill i axed all the things that were wrong in my life, bad job, bad marriage, bad thoughts, bad health, bad habits, and stopped turning to food and blaming food and using food to try and fix all my problems.

so to answer your question, yes and no lol (hows that for being decisive lol !)

maybe try to get into it a little slower and slow down the detox and then you can give the lifestyle a truly fair shake and be happy at the same time

itdoes get better and it does get easier, some of us take along time to transition some of us go overnight . It took me a long time to transition

think of it this way ... you stepped out of your comfort zone and got slapped for it and ran back to where you were comfortable again. Maybe next time just take it one step at a time and as Davy Z Mason says .. move foreward when you feel comfortable



...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2009 08:28PM by Jgunn.

I'm naturally anxious, very very anxious...And I know that, in my case, raw food multiplied that feeling...So i eat cooked legumes and steamed vegetables now and i feel better that way.

I experienced this during the second week of going 75% raw--I too have dealt with a low level of anxiety/depression normally but in the detox phase, it was really crazy--sudden depression, catastrophic thoughts, couldn't calm myself. It did pass in a few days. Interestingly, having passed that phase, I now find myself happier and calmer than ever, and have no need for any anti-anxiety (natural) agents I had been using before.

If I had educated myself a little better I would have known to expect the emotional detox part, but I was only expecting the physical. If I did it over again I think I would have made a slower transition--I was also using kombucha tea and wheatgrass along with the mostly raw diet. Probably it was too much.

I can't say my experience was related to detox, cause it lasted for months...

Sugar was used to put me on a emotional roller-coaster.

I didn't know what was happening then and thought everybody was living the same way than me.

Good riddance! I'm so happy now to be 100% raw and to have kick sugar out of my life.

At least for me, anxiety was due to eating desserts and sweets.

When I was transitioning, even ONE little cookie would cause afeter effect of anxiety and depression.

Getting plenty of exercise really helps lessen anxiety. Also, it's good to focus on working hard at something you believe is really productive, while taking time out for fun stuff too.

Eating too much dried fruit is not good for balance, since it's so concentrated in sugar.

I find that water-fasting once a week (36 hours) is very helpful.

I like sometimes using an online nutrition calculator so that I know I'm getting enough nutrients. Lack of certain nutrients can contribute to an imbalance that can cause anxiety.

Also, as people above have said, it's probably better to go a little slower, and include steamed veggies in the diet until going all raw is comfortable.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2009 12:28AM by suncloud.

I sometimes wonder about "macrobiotics": a theory that defines foods as being either yin or yang.

According to macrobiotics, people in colder (yin) climates should generally eat more yang foods, and people in warmer (yang) climates should eat more yin foods. Vegetables are generally more yang, and fruits are generally more yin.

It kinda makes sense, because more yin foods grow in warmer, sunnier environments. More yang foods grow in colder, wetter environments. When it's sunny and hot, it usually feels really good to eat fruit. Sometimes when it's cold and wet, eating fruit makes us feel colder.

According to the theory (as I remember it), too much yin can cause anxiety. Too much yang can cause agression.

If this is true, maybe people in colder climates should eat more greens and less fruits; and people in warmer climates should eat more fruits and less greens. I'm just theorizing, but I think it's interesting.

Sorry I should have written "sugar used to make me....


suncloud : Very interesting post about yin and yang foods.

If nature have us born in this cold country, for sure we should have something to eat hereand not rely 100% on food grown 2000 km away.