Hank_The_Tank wrote:I know this may not be a popular subject on these boards given all the manly-men and strong women, but curious of everyone's thoughts and to see if I can get any serious responses.
To head off the storm...I know..."Prayers"
I have really struggled with my overall mental health over the last few years and it seems to be only getting worse. I really struggle with worry/anxiety/stress/general happiness, to the point now where it is really interfering with my day to day life and doing my job. I know I should just be a man, suck it up, rub some dirt in it...but unfortunately this thought process doesn't get me far.
What are some of the ways you deal with these sort of issues other than smoking cigars, drinking, counting your blessings and prayer?
My doctor started me on Effexor but it definitely isn't working, at least at the low dose I am on. I go back next week to discuss how it has worked. Most likely they will just up the dosage for the time being.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!
Hank. I have experience with this. Western medicine will not help you because medical doctors only treat the symptoms with a pill and not get to the root cause. This is because the pharmaceutical companies have a monopoly on "health" care and want to keep you sick. If you're not sick, they don't make money. They use hot chicks as pharmaceutical reps to wine and dine the doctors and give them studies (funded by Big Pharma) to show the drug's "effectiveness." Now, everyone reading this will say, "This guy is a conspiracy theorist." Sorry, but we spend the most out of any other developed nation on health care, have the most expensive health care system in the world, yet we're the sickest and unhealthiest country in the world! What does that tell you. Below is the solution.
A couple of things are going on here, and they're easily fixed. First and foremost, you have a gut flora issue. Your gut is 80% of your immune system. Research has found that the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus had a huge effect on GABA (an inhibitory neurotransmitter that is significantly involved in regulating many physiological and psychological processes) levels in certain brain regions and lowered the stress-induced hormone corticosterone, resulting in reduced anxiety and depression-related behavior. So get a good probiotic. The one I use is a multi-strain probiotic from InnovixLabs (check Amazon). I don't know if you have a blender, but you can also get some chocolate protein powder (gluten free), almond or coconut milk, and a good GI (gasto-intestinal) repair powder (I use Leaky Gut Defense from Pure Theraputics...again see Amazon). Mix together with some powdered peanut butter (gluten free) and you have a very tasty shake!
You also probably have a vitamin D3 and B12 deficiency. Get a really good D3 supplement and check out Beyond Tangy Tangerine 2.0 from Youngevity. It's the best multivitamin you can buy. It's a bit pricey but worth it! If money is tight, find something in your budget. But you need a multivitamin that has a ton of B12 in it. I'm not talking about One-a-Day that you get at CVS or RiteAid either. It's like consuming rocks. Ignore all the medical doctor BS about vitamins being a waste of money or dangerous. Vioxx killed over 60,000 people and Merck is still in business! How many people has vitamins killed??? Use Amazon and read reviews.
Now for your diet. You have gut issues mostly because you're consuming things like gluten and probably dairy as well. Baby steps though. Your body won't absorb the probiots or vitamins if your gut is inflamed. You need to eliminate gluten. That's no wheat, barley, rye, or oats. Sorry, but you'll be buying Omission beer from now on, or something else that's gluten free. Wine is great too. Gluten is like poison ivy to your intestines. You can buy gluten free bread, pretezels, chips and all kinds of other ****e that you can think of. It's not as daunting as you would think. If you don't cut out gluten, you most likely won't feel better. Your body will stay inflamed and your anxiety will stick around.
I hope this helps. Let me know if there's anything else I help with. Oh, and I almost forgot...GO BLUE!
Adam