Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has had personal experiences or someone they know who has had experiences with mental disorders being alleviated with the help of raw foods. I know the diet isn't the only factor in disorders, but it definitely contributes to well being. Since going raw, my chronic feelings of despair have vanished. I feel peace and joy that I had trouble accessing with cooked foods.

Thanks!

I had experienced a mental fog for so long it was normal for me. since being raw the mental fog has lifted. I also have been depressed for a long time I still get depressed yet it seems to be more manageable and I feel stronger to pull myself out of it. I am surprised at how calm I have become and more in touch with true feelings and emotions. I also have went through a time of anger and that was'nt fun for my family. Day by day I am feeling stronger and stronger concerning depression and dispare. A lot of time the dispare is because of my situation but for some reason I feel at ease that things will work out. I find myself praying and thinking of God. I am more positive in my thinking and also more aware of environmental issues. Going raw has been a life changing experience for me and I don't want to lose that by eating cooked food.

I've had very similar experiences to what you both describe and now, even only being raw for a 2 months, I feel like a whole new person (emphasis on "WHOLE". I'm starting to understand that being raw is so much more than what we are putting in our bodies... that for me, there is an incredible sense of empowerment that comes with it... taking control over the energies I choose to introduce into my being has been amazingly transformative. I used to be depressed all the time, angry without knowing why, filled with self doubt and self-loathing... using junk-food, alcohol and drugs to numb myself, thinking that someday it would all pass and I would be ok.
I still have bouts of sadness and anger... some have been intense during this transition, but now it feels like it's moving through... and out of me. Before it felt like I was trapped in a circle, now it feels like a spiral...the negative crap finally has a way out!!! Even writing this, I'm on the verge of tears, remembering the emotional pain that was so present every day for as long as I can remember... but they're good tears of release and relief!
To be sure, cooked food is numbing and deadening... I'm not sure how much it causes emotional/mental pain, but it sure makes it more difficult to overcome. I would love to know of any research that has been done on this subject. I can't help but think, "if I can feel so much peace in my soul now, what would this world be like if everyone ate an organic raw diet?"

SUGAR.

and any refined carbs. If you can't go all the way raw, at least go WHOLE - meaning, transition with whole grains, which are not "bad carbs". (sugar is nowhere near a whole food, btw, despite Whole Foods carrying it)

The book "Sugar Blues" traces the history of mental illness back to the rise of the sugar trade. Me personally, I noticed a significant surge in mental clarity just from cutting out all sugar & all refined carbs a few years ago before I did raw, then even more clarity & energy when I went raw. I've recently added whole grains back in (i.e. the kind you buy in a bag & cook or sprout yourself - not whole grain bread or similar products), as they seem to really reduce my appetite. For awhile sugar had crept back into my diet, as it didn't seem like such a big deal considering all the raw fruits & veggies I was eating... but it does make a BIG difference. My energy levels soared when I once again got rid of the sugar.

-Without the stimulating effects of cooked & processed foods, medications and drugs......you will be setting the stage for health and stability. Set your goals and keep them.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

azrael Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hello everyone,
>
> I was wondering if anyone has had personal
> experiences or someone they know who has had
> experiences with mental disorders being alleviated
> with the help of raw foods. I know the diet isn't
> the only factor in disorders, but it definitely
> contributes to well being. Since going raw, my
> chronic feelings of despair have vanished. I feel
> peace and joy that I had trouble accessing with
> cooked foods.
>
> Thanks!

I recently dealt with severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. I couldn't go one night's sleep without horrible nightmares. I also couldn't stand in lines or drive over bridges without having severe anxiety attacks. This hit me suddenly and was surprising for someone who'd been an otherwise cool, relaxed, always ready to laugh person for most of his life. I tried psychotherapy, but that didn't work, at least not quickly enough. When my last therapist suggested heavy doses of Lexapro after only my 2nd session with her, I decided to drop that scam and create my own treatment. 9 months after going raw, I'd consider myself healed. To lose control of one's mind is among the worst things in the world, and I have no doubt that processed and cooked foods along with the American war culture/hyper-violent/materialistic lifestyle play a prominent role in our mental illness epidemic. Among many other adjustments, I quit my stressful job with the govt. and turned off my tv and my oven. I don't know if going raw alone will do the trick, after all, we constantly ingest unhealthy things through our bodies AND our minds, but it's definitely been one of many crucial changes that work for me.

P.S. The doctor who tried to get me on Lexapro also told me that it would cause dry mouth. Her cure? Sucking on copious amounts of hard candy, which she had in candy dishes strategically placed all around her office. Very bizarre.

Wow, it is great to hear of additional people who have had such profound changes in their mental well being with the change to a raw diet. I knew from my own experience that the potential to overcome depression is there, but it is great to hear about Devric's experiences of overcoming anxiety related disorders too.

Like Devric, when I went raw I completely dropped the television too. It wasn't even a conscious choice. This television just completely became uninviting to me. I also left my boring job and have become motivated to discover ways to create income that are much more in line with things that satisfy me on all levels. I have been making money with my artwork finally! MauiGreg says that cooked food is numbing and deadening. It is the same thing with television and an uninspiring job. We remove these things from our lives and possibilities open to us.

I am curious if anyone has had a relief of symptoms that are associated with disorders that are generally believed to require drugs for proper treatment, such as Biopolar Disorder. I would love to hear about everyone's experience with any mental health related issue if they have one.

devric

real funny what u said about the doc having candy strategically placed in front of the office

insanity

but very hilarious

yes, I had severe bipolar and was hospitalized for most of my 20's. some dr's diagnosed me schizo. not sure what it was, but I'm off all my meds for two years now and managing. raw food has contributed greatly to this stability. Actually, I know I could not have done it without raw : )

peace
venusian

wow! that is so awesome venusian! I am so happy to hear this.

Venusian,
Your story is so inspiring. That is an amazing transformation.

Aloha Nui Loa!

If you were crazy before raw foods, raw foods will tone it down, but you still will be crazy. Raw foods will help ou heal feel normal.. raw foods is not a total personality wiper away, you are the one who changes you, and you do by makinging the right choices, and raw food is one of them

what is crazy?

Ha! la_veronique beat me to that post!

I've always wondered that. How do we define crazy or insane? Is a person who gets sick while living in this culture crazy, or is their sickness a sane, normal response to an upside down world? Which then makes me remember that old cliche about the victors getting to write history, which is very true. I believe that the victors also get to say who's crazy and who isn't. This would make me, according to the current crop of materialistic, war hawking, SUV driving victors, a complete lunatic, something I'm quite proud of by the way. Geez, it drives me crazy just thinking about it. That's how sane I really I am, according to the losers that is. Say what?

Brain allergies can cause mental illness. Google the studies thay have done, with mental pts in hospitals, taking away gluten, from their diet. Many of them get discharged, after going gluten free. They did not know, at the time of study, that they were gluten free, so is not a mind over matter.

There are many etiologies, for mental illness.

Raw egg yolks make me have wierd thoughts. For another person, it could be healing. Soy makes me grouchy. My ex husband said I completely changed when I boycotted soy.

I don't like to go on tangents, tho, because something is not good for me, saying it is bad for everyone. I know that is not true.

I think "crazy" is a pretty insensitive choice of words. People who are struggling to overcome emotional/mental health issues have enough hardship to endure without having to deal with the "crazy" label. I believe just as people who become physically ill because their bodies can't handle the myriad toxins in our world, people who are labeled "crazy" are often those who cannot numb themselves to the toxic energy that permeates our culture.
Crazy to me is; Being able to walk through a supermarket filled with the carcasses of inocent animals without feeling sadness or outrage. ...or believing that there is such a thing as acceptable levels of toxins in our food. ...or believing that war is the answer to anything.
So often, those who are labeled crazy are just great people who are suffering with their sensitivities to our death-centric mass culture.

Sorry to rant...just my opinion.

Aloha Nui Loa

I agree that "crazy" is insensitive, thank you MauiGreg. I even wonder about using the word "disorder". For me, it falls into the realm of disorder if one has trouble being able to cope and experiences severe pain. I agree that we have to be able to numb ourselve somewhat to the reality going on around us to be able to cope. But at the same time I believ that we all deserve to live at ease in our minds. If raw helps this process for some people then I am so grateful for that.

By the way, if anyone knows of any scholarly articles related to raw foods and mental health I would be grateful to hear about it.

Another ingredient in the raw diet that might cause mental healing on it's own is lithium. Lithium is found in trace amounts in sea water so sea salt/sea vegetables have lithium in them.

So someone going on the raw diet and dumping table salt for celtic salt or dulse might get an improvement in their bipolar disorder and credit the raw diet in general when it was really just that one ingredient.

I have gotten anxiety attacks similar to those described above since my first pregnancy.
However, I'd been high raw already a 3 good years before that. Still, 9 years later I struggle with it, but raw DEFINITELY makes it better.
The symptoms vary...some phases, I can't stand in a line. Don't wanna go through a tunnel. Can't drive fast. Can't drive slow. Can't stand crowds. Don't want to leave the house. Can't sit next to someone.
Of course I DO these things anyways (except for driving the freeways, where having an attack is a serious danger for others and me). I live with it. But when that phase comes again, which is usually triggered by stress, I am confident that raw foods, especially a 100% raw habit is helping with the symptoms.
In addition to that, I use common sense - go to bed early, try to reduce stress, do things that are fun...."taking it easy".
It super duper sucks when you feel that there are times that those feelings govern my life and body. Let's be strong!

I saw a neurologist about this a long time ago back home and he recommended the "common sense" thing and gave me valerian root (no physical reason for my condition was found)
Here in the US, I am very sure I will be offered medicine for social anxiety or agoraphobia. But seeing that most if not all meds I have taken in the past don't sit with me well and make my head even foggier, I don't want to even try them.
My friend fainted from prozac so just hearing this is making my skin crawl.

I think someone mentioned this, but I have also read about schizophrenia and being resolved with a gluten free diet. I think it was in a clinic where there were a lot of people with schizophrenia. It may have been in Norway or Sweden.

I know a holistic doctor who says many people are depressed because they are deficient in Vitamin B (I can't remember now which one, but they should usually all be taken together or provided through the diet anyway). He has helped them resolve their depression with improved diet and B supplements.

Lastly, is all those cases where many people with mental disorders have been helped (including depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia) with Omega 3s. Whole books have been written on those cases - including the original one called Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill by Udo Erasmus.

I just wanted to throw in what I remembered on the topic...

There are long-term raw vegans whose diet seems to have cleansed and healed their physical bodies, but who seem to have mediocre results with their emotions and intellects.


I think this was hinted at or illustrated in the INHS (Dr. Goldberg) website - an obsessive or else nasty nature can perservere despite ideal diet and cleansing. Some people have poisonous egos and I wonder if continued cleansing will ever help them. I guess we'll see...

MauiGreg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
I believe just as people who
> become physically ill because their bodies can't
> handle the myriad toxins in our world, people who
> are labeled "crazy" are often those who cannot
> numb themselves to the toxic energy that permeates
> our culture.

> So often, those who are labeled crazy are just
> great people who are suffering with their
> sensitivities to our death-centric mass culture.
>
and an awesome opinion at that! i love what you said

Me too!

great words mauigreg very wise!

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist