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Meet Greta
Depression marred Greta's first degree as an international student in the UK, after difficulties adjusting and shocking events within her family. Despite a recent diagnosis of fibromyalgia, she is looking forward to a new independent start on her masters...
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Also in "Tackling Depression"...
"I just kind of lost my appetite for my life, I guess. I took pleasure in depriving myself of my biological needs. It was another way of hurting yourself without doing it directly. It also seemed to dampen down all the feelings."
Safa
“I also put on about a stone of weight which depleted my confidence even further. I had had anxiety problems and moderate to high levels of food abuse in the past. As a recovered bulimic I was wary not to make a habit of eating for emotional reasons, however I failed a few times and had a few bulimic relapses.”
Fayola
“As things from back home had starting cropping up in my mind again, I had been having eating problems and lost a lot of weight, because I just didn't have an appetite. As I worked to get better I would set little goals, like making myself something to eat.”
Ben
Students Against Depression
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Understanding Food & Mood
Yuck
Depression affects eating habits
A common warning sign for depression is changes in appetite and weight.
Often low motivation for preparing food combined with low appetite leads to poor food choices and irregular eating patterns. For some people, there might be increased appetite for inappropriate foods and weight gain.
Either way, these habits tend to intensify depression.
Food affects mood
Specific foods directly affect brain chemicals and eating patterns affect blood sugar levels, both of which play a role in mood levels.
Also mood affects food choices, so vicious circles can get set up, contributing to the depression habit spiral.
How to eat yourself happier...
-
Eat regular meals, especially breakfast
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Stable blood sugar levels help to stabilise mood and prevent cravings. Eating regular healthy meals and snacks also boosts the metabolism, ensuring that energy is used effectively.
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The ideal pattern is to eat breakfast, midmorning snack, lunch, late afternoon snack, dinner and late night snack.
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It might help to complete a few daily meal plans initially until the habit is established. You could use this printable
meal planner
sheet, which includes some meal and snack suggestions.
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Choose tryptophan rich proteins...
Tryptophan is an amino acid essential for the production of serotonin, which is the brain chemical which helps regulate mood. It is found in poultry, oil-rich fish, beans, baked potatoes, oats, nuts and seeds.
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... combined with healthy carbohydrates
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Carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals are needed to help uptake of serotonin in the brain. So eat healthy (whole food) carbohydrates together with the protein foods.
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Ideas for snacks include a handful of nuts and raisins, peanut butter on wholemeal bread, or fruit with seeds or yoghurt.
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A healthy complex carb supper or late night snack can be useful for helping to fall asleep.
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Eat enough omega-3 & -6 oils
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Increasing evidence links low consumption of these oils to depression, as well as many other health problems*.
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Omega-6 fatty acids are found in many vegetable oils, including soybean, safflower, corn, sunflower, flax and walnut oils. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in flaxseeds, hemp, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and oily cold-water fish.
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Avoid crash dieting or over-restrictive eating habits
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Crash dieting sets up its own downward spiral contributing to the depression habit spiral:
Self denial and obsessive dieting → low mood, depression, worry etc → binge/comfort eating → guilt, upset, self hate → self denial/obsessive dieting... and so on.
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Along with increased exercise, the healthy eating patterns described above could help with weight regulation as well as depression.
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Check for any depressed thinking habits
Unrealistic perfectionism about body image and all-or-nothing approaches to eating are very common in first-world consumer cultures. Use the strategies for challenging depressed thinking to make sure such habits aren't contributing to depression-inducing eating habits.
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Be aware of medication side effects
Check with your doctor about how any medication might affect your appetite or food choices. Some anti-depressants react with certain foods, some increase appetite and some reduce it. Be extra vigilant about all the above strategies when on medication.
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Find out more about food and mood
If you are interested in finding out more about food and mood, read the Mind Guide to Food and Mood Handbook (see link on other useful websites page).
Next:
increasing exercise
>
>
Links
More about other
warning signs
More about how depression works:
the depression habit spiral
,
depressed thinking
,
stress, anxiety & anger
More about other strategies:
tackling depression
,
finding what works for you
More about cultural influences on depression:
depression in context
More about medication:
what do doctors offer?
,
medication pros and cons
Check page references (*):
references and sources
© 2007 Charlie Waller Memorial Trust
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Award for Innovation 2006
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