Hot Take: Mental Illness results from bad diet/habits/lifestyle
Many people go through what they call "depression". The statement from the Greylion associate's family said "suicide is not rational".
What if I told you that suicide is rational? Just hear me out would you.
Ever wondered why depression is even a thing?
Why would your body want to isolate yourself from others even to the point of offing yourself? In nature when animals get sick, they isolate from the pack in order to protect the pack from getting sick. They also quit eating (aka fasting), which promotes autophagic immune response to combat sickness.
Combine this with my completely autistic research, diet/lifestyle = mental health. Eat like shit, feel like shit. Sleep like shit, feel like shit. If you eat/sleep your way to sickness, expect your body to want to isolate from everyone. This is innate to us as humans/animals.
Who would have guessed a career that promotes abusing caffeine, alcohol, minimal sleep, high carb food, and a perfectionist work ethic would impact your "mental health"?
In an industry that likely consumes more caffeine than most, we wonder why anxiety and depression are rampant. Color me shockedβ¦
Coffee addicts hear me out⦠you're running your health into the ground.
That illusion of "love" of coffee, is just anticipation of a dopamine/serotonin release, which creates dependency. Starbucks calls it "that first sip feeling". Once you're hooked, they know you will pay $5 for some brown seed sludge that you could get at the grocery store for $1.50.
See video below for how coffee makes you fat and anxious.
Caffeine withdrawal was a bitch for me, but now that I'm off thanks to fasting, I genuinely love investment banking and life in general. It's an indescribable calmness.
Combine no caffeine with a low-carb diet, the lack of sleep becomes much more bearable.
Face life head on without a crutch. It is difficult, but that is a life most fulfilled.
Thank you for listening to my toilet Ted talk. End rant.
This was written on a phone; please understand the writing may suck as a result.
So basically your entire post is about the fact that caffeine leads to dopamine release? Are you going to tell us in your next post that chocolate and sex also are the first cause of depression?
Just watch the video βDoes coffee make you fat and anxiousβ on YouTube. His research is 10x better than me posting while I shit.
I agree with a lot of what you said but this made me laugh out loud for some reason
This take is just bad. Sure, could better diets and lifestyles help cure a lot of the depression out there ... probably, but dude come on.Β You know suicide is not something that can be cured with lifestyle changes overnight.Β Its a tragedy and clearly show signs of someone who probably needs some real help.Β
You more or less boil everything down to a few things like Diet exercise and sleep.Β Completely ignoring other stressors in someone's life. You have to look at the whole picture and in the case of theΒ Greylion associate there is just not enough info from one news article.Β Β
+1 SB. Yup....or think about all the people with childhood trauma....you know maybe if they only ate more carrots things would be better....come on.
What is the link between PTSD and diet?You fail to account for individual ability to handle stress.
Take a quick google search for better articles. Again, Iβm on a phone here. The thesis holds up
https://www.dentinstitute.com/posts/lifestyle-tips/we-are-what-we-eat-aβ¦
case in point: Anthony Bourdain ate well and practiced judo and was an overall healthier guy in his older age than when he was younger, and look how he ended up.
Bourdain just got gutted inside and out by some girl half his age and killed himself over it lol not some folk hero people make him out to be
He was also a (heavy?) cocaine/drug user in the 80's. Probably fried his brain. Also being a chef is more stressful than most people think, maybe even more so than IB (attention to detail, perfectionism, constant and real-time critique, managing people/cooking process, etc.).
Being a chef doesn't automatically mean you eat well and healthy.Β
It seems like you guys are essentially saying the same thing.. better diets and lifestyles could help the vast majority of people suffering from depression and anxiety while there are also some people out there that would need more help. Both of those ideas can exist together.
This is completely correct. Itβs well studied that lifestyle choices can worsen depression, but donβt directly cause it. If youβre clinically depressed, lack of sleep and horrible diet will make you feel worse, but does not cause depression in of itself. Surprised OP seems to struggle with this pretty straightforward concept.Β
Yeah exactly - well phrased.
I do agree that lifestyle changes can cure most people with depression. However there are factors that cant be ignored about this subject.
Genetic factors, there are people that have severe hormonal imbalances that suffer severe depression even if they do everything perfect, workout, clean diet, normal social life, CBT on a regular basis and still are depressed. These are people that have to be on certain mediciation to balance hormones.
However I think this group is very small and most people that are feeling 'depressed'Β can be helped by better lifestyle choices, learning to be tougher, more resilient.
I actually am concerned with the mental health 'movement' and 'acceptance'. Where not only is it ok, but now encouraged, to:
- see a therapistΒ
- be medicated with anxiety/depression meds
- label anything and everything as traumatic, PTSD, etc.
- take an absurd amount of 'me time'
- struggle with regularities of life
Dont get me wrong, the above all have their place - and not denying legitimate needs for therapy or medication. But it's a HUGE $$$ growth area over the next decade and with that will come the push to make it mainstream. Everyone needs to talk to a therapist. Everyone has baggage they cant bear. Everyone needs pills to help with their issues.
It's fucking pathetic if you want the hard truth. Almost ALL of the people that struggle with mental health in todays age do so because of their lifestyle choices and not because of some chemical imbalance in their brain. Hell, the majority of women in their 20s and 30s these days are on medication for something other than making sure they dont get pregnant. However, people either lack the self awareness to realize this or lack the drive/cajones to fix it. So you have your typical urbanite hopped up on meds because they are told it's ok - but dont realize that hey it's not natural to live alone at 33 with a cat in a shoe box sized apartment working 50+ hours a week making marketing materials for some soulless company and drinking wine/beer 5+ times a week. Instead of fixing the symptoms fix the underlying issue. It's hard and will take patience/perseverance but it's doableΒ
but
It's almost like people have been convinced to live a certain way, their body is now rejecting it, but they just choose to double down.Β
Mental illness cured. Give this boy a Nobel Prize.Β
Seeing the path is easy. Walking it is not. But everyone can do it
I went on a trip with a girl for awhile and this was exactly her. She had been taking anti-depression meds for years while she worked in DC working 60 hours a week and going home to pound a bottle of red wine every night at the apartment she shared with her mom. I brought it up that maybe instead of just continuing to do the exact same thing that has apparently made her need to get on meds she should look into changing her situation but she didn't like that... she would tell me that I don't get it. To me anti-depressants are the same thing as lap band surgery for fat people. Instead of actually changing their diet and exercising they just get a procedure done so they don't have to actually change anything or have any self control.
So according to you, how should people fix the underlying issues?
There is no one size fits all approach. It's about being honest with yourself, who you are, what you want (not what you think you want, not what you've been told you want), and what it takes to get there. It takes a lot of self reflection through a critical lens as well as the willingness to act on it
If someone believes they are depressed or anxious they likely have issues with one, or multiple, of the following:
- relationships
- finances
- insecurity
- physical health
- purposeΒ
- opportunity
- agency, or likely a belief of a lackthereofΒ
- fear of failure, which drives comfort as individuals are willing to take chances, bet on themselves, push themselves, etc.Β
- envy, stemming from lack of appreciation. Amplified by social media.
Fortunately all of those things are fixable. But the vast vast vast majority of people, as I stated earlier, lack either the introspection to ever diagnose their own feelings or the ability to take ownership and make major lifestyle changes to improve in those areas. It takes both to combat it.Β
As someone with actual depression (i.e. no I cannot just fix it with 8 hours of sleep and a weight-watchers diet), I agree that social media has increased the rate of people claiming mental illness and really putting blame for their own issues onto a factor they can't control. Any good therapist will tell you that while it is not your fault you experience mental health issues it is your responsibility to manage it and have it not affect others. However, I think the increase is good and bad as it means more people actually get help unlike in previous eras but more people try to use it for clout, like anything.
I think you are complaining about those who don't really have mental health issues and are milking it for their own benefits, as opposed to legitimate mental health issues. I can tell you I have a loving family and gf, good job with good culture, sleep well, and have little issues. Is my diet sometimes bad? Yes, but by no means is that the cause of my mental health issues. Its always good to get therapy, professional or not, but please don't assume the people you speak of are the reality of all mental health sufferers.
Really, those who speak the loudest on this are the fakest. I don't want to generalize on how people suffer but true depression sufferers don't brag about it, they hide it and run away from it. Unfortunately, its hard to describe without it seeming like bs, but trust me I had to be dragged to the initial therapy and forced there before any of it stuck.
TLDR: You're right, but just be careful as the people you speak about in no way represent actual mental health issue sufferers. Mental health problems are real.
The majority of women in their 20s to 30s are on medication for depression and anxiety.
Not 10%, or 20%, but the majority. All diagnosed as legitimate by some professional or another. That isn't due to a chemical imbalance, but lifestyle choices.
Of course this doesnt apply to everyone, and why it can be so difficult to talk about this subject, but it is a very serious issue people are facing
Ok, I'm going to stop trolling and actually write something constructive since we have lost another one of our own.
There is tons of research out there on the potential causes of depression and it's not something singular like diet. It is a confluence of factors. No I'm not going to do your research for you, you can literally google it.Β
Half the posts on this thread are basically "walk it off" "eat better" and a dangerous combination of arrogance and stupidity. Congratulations fuckwads, pat yourselves on the back.
Not defending these posts, but have to keep in mind the audience here. Median age is probably like 20 years old. These posts remind me of a younger me. They donβt know any better, until it happens to someone they know or even themselvesΒ
There is no argument. You have an opinion and it is incorrect.
All the data has shown that suicide is indeed an irrational problem.Β 95 to 89% of people who attempt suicide and survive do not end up dying of suicide no matter how many hamburgers or coffees they scarf down.Β That shows that suicide is usually an unwise, emotional impulse.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/means-matter/survival/
The entire idea of abstaining from dopamine is nothing but bro-science to me.Β Dopamine is simply the chemical that makes you want to do something you enjoy again.Β I've seen people in the self improvement communities advocate not listening to music, not taking warm showers, not jerking off, not using social media, not using entertainment, not browsing the internet, no sex (they call it "NoFap Hardmode" ππ) etc. and thinking they'll get superpowers or bullshit like that.Β Even if you get yourself off the typical scapegoats then you'll just find new activities you enjoy and continue to do them thanks to dopamine.
This thread is a joke. Some people are born with chemical imbalances.
Yes, improper daily habits can increase the likelihood of depression. Others can do everything perfect and get a lot of sleep and still have a chemical imbalance.Β
Some people encounter stress in their 20s or 30s at levels not experienced before and the brain misfires. Even with women, postpartum depression is common.Β
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