Food to improve your mood! Dietary changes to decrease depression

Depression, as it is referred to in this series of articles, refers to depressed mood, unexplained feelings of sadness, low energy. Trying the tips in this series of articles may help reduce these symptoms but they are not a substitute for formal treatment of clinical depression (feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, significant impairment of daily functioning and thoughts of suicide).

For exercise ideas for reducing depressive symptoms, check out my previous post: https://therapistspeaks.com/2021/01/11/exercise-as-treatment-for-depression/

A poor diet is associated with increased rates of depression. Depressive symptoms are common in those whose diet largely consists of fast foods (hamburgers & pizza), processed pastries (doughnuts, muffins), foods high in sugar content, and foods with preservatives (1).

Conversely, addressing your diet and making healthy changes will help decrease your likelihood of depression! This article will explore several dietary changes you might consider to increasing your chances of fighting off depression.

First, a ‘traditional’ diet composed of beef, fish, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced risks of depression (1). Additional considerations should be considered but this diet is a good alternative to fast foods, etc.

A Mediterranean diet has been linked to reductions in depression. This diet consists of increased amounts fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish and poultry (grilled not fried), and decreased amounts of red meat and whole-fat dairy (2).

Mediterranean diet: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/mediterranean-diet/art-20047801

A Ketogenic diet has demonstrated antidepressant and mood stabilizing effects. This diet includes high fat, low to moderate proteins and reduced carbohydrates. Common foods on a Keto diet include meat, fish, butter, eggs, cheese, heavy cream, oils, nuts, and avocados. Foods higher in carbohydrates such as grains, rice, beans, potatoes, sweets, milk, cereals, fruits are reduced or eliminated from the diet (3,4).

Keto diet: https://www.ruled.me/guide-keto-diet/#what-to-eat

The most heavily researched dietary factor associated with reductions in depression is increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids especially those high in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Omega-3 acids are commonly found in fish, nuts, and seeds and fish oil supplements (5,6).

Preliminary findings indicate that adding a variety of vitamins and minerals (e.g., a multivitamin) helps reduce depression (7).

Maintaining healthy gut bacteria is associated increased availability of the most common neurotransmitters associated with decreasing depressive symptoms (serotonin and dopamine) (8).

Interestingly, a study involving adults whose diet consisted of standard potions of meat reported improvement in mood when switching to a vegetarian diet (9).

Though long-term benefits are yet to be determined, Therapeutic fasting, which involves brief periods of fasting (up to 48 hours) with water and gradual reintroduction of foods such as fruit and rice is associated with improvement in mood and sense of well-being (10).

I hope you have found this article helpful! Subscribe to my blog for regular updates.

Be well,

🙂

Jacka F.N., Pasco J.A., Mykletun A, Williams L.J., Hodge A.M., et al. (2010) Association between western and traditional diets and depression and anxiety in women. American Journal of Psychiatry, 167: 305–311.
Sanchez-Villegas A, Delgado-Rodriguez M, Alonso A, Schlatter J, Lahortiga F, et al. (2009) Association of the Mediterranean dietary pattern with the incidence of depression: the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra/University of Navarra follow-up (SUN) cohort. Arch General Psychiatry, 66: 1090–1098.
Dsouza, A., Haque, S., & Aggarwal, R. (2019). The influence of ketogenic diets on mood stability in bipolar disorder. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 41, 86–87.
Brietzke, E., Mansur, R. B., Subramaniapillai, M., Balanzá-Martínez, V., Vinberg, M., González-Pinto, A., Rosenblat, J. D., Ho, R., & McIntyre, R. S. (2018). Ketogenic diet as a metabolic therapy for mood disorders: Evidence and developments. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 94, 11–16.
Lopresti, A. L., Hood, S. D., & Drummond, P. D. (2013). A review of lifestyle factors that contribute to important pathways associated with major depression: Diet, sleep and exercise. Journal of Affective Disorders, 148(1), 12–27.
Partaka, M. R. (2020). Healing naturally: An integrative health approach to treating anxiety and depression [ProQuest Information & Learning]. In Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 81(2–B).
Yeum, T.-S., Maggiolo, N. S., Gupta, C. T., Davis, B. J., Nierenberg, A. A., & Sylvia, L. G. (2019). Adjunctive nutrition therapy for depression. Psychiatric Annals, 49(1), 21–25.
Jacka, F. N. (2019). Targeting the gut to achieve improved outcomes in mood disorders. Bipolar Disorders, 21(1), 88–89.
Beezhold B.L. & Johnston C.S. (2012). Restriction of meat, fish, and poultry in omnivores improves mood: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Nutrition Journal, 11:9.
Fond, G., Macgregor, A. ,Leboyer, M., Michalsen, A. (2013). Fasting in mood disorders: neurobiology and effectiveness. A review of the literature, Psychiatry Research, 209(3):253-258.

Child of rage, reprise.

*Caution: Please be advised that this writing contains depictions of child abuse and neglect which may be upsetting for some readers.

As he lay there exhausted, with his hands and feet restrained to the bed, he once again returned to being a sad, broken little child. In his rage, he fought long and hard earning a bite into one of the sitters, a small clump of blond hair from one of the nurses intertwined in his fingers, and five adults left out of breath. Now, he was reduced to the 10-year-old boy, who appeared much younger, whimpering like the small child he was never afforded the chance to be.

Matthew was born addicted to crack cocaine. His mother was unable to break her addiction while she was pregnant. The first week of Matthew’s life was spent in the NICU going through withdrawal from cocaine. Rarely was there a waking moment when Matthew was able to be consoled. At times he would have to be removed from the unit because his cries would upset the other infants.

Matthew was discharged twelve days after being born and his mother brought him to the flop house where she lived. She was unable to stop using cocaine though had the wherewithal to not breastfeed and instead gave Matthew whole milk (because formula would have been too expensive).

Matthew developed a flat spot of the back of his head from being left in his crib for extended periods of time.

Matthew spent the first four years of his life in a run-down house surrounded by active drug users. He and his older brother fought for food (as a form of entertainment for the mother and her friends). At age four, he witnessed a man being murdered over drugs. When the police arrived they took the children, who were bruised and had been living on white bread and ketchup packets, into protective custody.

The children’s aunt was able to adopt them both. She is a good, loving, kind Christian woman who has given the children a safe home. Sadly, both children are well known in several mental health facilities around town (including our own).

Matthew is 10. He is tough. During his last inpatient stay, it took four large security guards to restrain him. He is a master card player. He likely has a genius-level intellect, He, however has no ability to regulate his emotions or process experiences that don’t meet his expectations.

Today, Matthew was asked to leave group because he hit another child (who is autistic) for not sharing crayons. Matthew tried to apologize but because his behavior was unacceptable, he was not permitted to stay.

Matthew began walking up and down the hallway screaming obscenities. The head nurse asked him to sit down and to do some deep breathing. Matthew flopped down on the floor and started beating his head on the floor- so hard that I felt the reverberations through the concrete from my office some fifteen feet away.

I ran out as the nurses were lifting the inconsolable and raging Matthew and making their way down the hall. He bit one nurse on the arm and wrapped his tiny fingers into the hair of another. I wrapped my arms around his legs to stop him from kicking and keep him stabilized. We brought him into the isolation room and we was screaming, fighting, cussing, and begging us not to lock him in. But, we had to.

We all stepped away from the door and tried to make awkward jokes to help deflate our emotions. began processing. The head nurse examined the bite mark which fortunately had not penetrated the skin. One nurse stayed to monitor Matthew while the rest of us returned to our respective offices and stations.

After thirty minutes of screaming, banging his head on the soft rubber walls, and kicking the door (which echoed like thunder through the whole unit), Matthew began trying to strangle himself with his tattered shirt. The nurse who was monitoring him called for help and we altogether helped remove Matthew from the isolation room and place him on the restraint bed. He did not fight us but instead went almost limp. We followed protocol and placed the restraints on his tiny wrists and ankles.

Once he was safely restrained, we all knelt by the bedside. One nurse began stroking his hair. Another began softly speaking to him saying “it’s ok baby… you’re ok.” We all put our hands on him, patting him, and letting him know he was ok.

In that instant, Matthew became the small child he was never afforded the chance to be and cried for his mommy.

*This story is based upon real events and real people. For the privacy of the patient, any potentially identifiable information has been excluded or modified.

Born Under a Bad Sign

“Born under a bad sign… I’ve been down since I began to crawl” -Albert King

I have worked with a handful of clients who have concluded that bad things happen to them because of destiny, being unlucky, God hating them, being cursed, paying for transgressions from a previous life, or just simply being bad. They were easily able to provide evidence to support their position including having suffered abuse as children, experiencing premature death of loved ones, and seeming to always be the one getting into trouble (both as a child and an adult). These people were entrenched in their position and seemed to embrace and integrate it into their sense of identity. Their primary relationships were with people who had similar perceptions of themselves.

My interpretation of what they are saying is that, due to some omnipotent force beyond their control, that their life is oriented toward pain, loss, defeat, sadness, failure and ultimately suffering (or at the very least, a lack of peace, happiness, and contentment). They feel rejected by life.

This is a profound belief for a person to have of themselves.

Often, these people have not been treated with the dignity and respect that they, along with all people, deserve and thus I explicitly incorporate it into my treatment plan for them. The effective use of empathy and a consistent application of unconditional positive regard is critical. I see myself as serving as a liaison between them and humanity through offering a corrective experience with someone who cares for them. I listen to their stories and apologize for past hurts they have endured. I identify and celebrate their strengths. I offer them comfort and support. We find commonalities in our lives. We laugh. A lot.

In stark contrast to these individuals’ appraisals of themselves, I find them to be incredibly inspirational. They have endured a great deal of heartache and pain and have somehow survived. Their strength and tenacity are enviable. I am honored to be a part of their recovery/ journey.

My Counseling Philosophy

I believe that the meaning of life for all living things is to grow, thrive and when it is time, to die. All living things naturally engage in this process. For people, this process can become slowed or derailed by issues such as non-integrated trauma, messages received about self (especially during formative years), and an array of possible physiological issues (caused by genetic or environmental influences). This belief is aligned with the humanistic traditions of psychotherapy which suggest that given the appropriate environment, people will have a tendency toward self-actualization. Carl Rogers stated: “The organism has one basic tendency and striving – to actualize, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism” (Rogers, 1951, p. 487). My beliefs inform my approach to my work with clients.

My general approach to working with clients is to build a therapeutic alliance with them while collaboratively determining what I may be able to help them with. To achieve this, I work to understand the client’s worldview and attempt to develop a sense for what it feels like to be them (or at least understand their experience within the current context of their lives). Through listening and asking questions I work to find factors which are contributing to the individual’s challenges. These factors generally include beliefs about themselves, others, or situations; dysfunctional behaviors they are engaged in (e.g., chronic drug use) or sometimes a general lack of direction (e.g., purpose in life). Very often, the predominant issue in their life is that they have no one with whom they can have honest conversations.

I believe that much can be gained through honest discourse. Through honest conversations with others, people can learn to develop meaningful relationships. I frequently act as a surrogate for others to practice talking about their inner thoughts, feelings, and desires which they can hopefully transfer to other relationships in their lives.

I try to remind myself that everyone is doing the best they can with the tools they have to work with or within the context within which they exist.

I believe that life is hard. Therefore, I try to offer comfort and support to all my clients. I am direct with my clients with my insights, but I also infuse humor (when appropriate). Laughter is important to me. I believe in laughing often. My personal hardships and experiences allow me to respectfully make light of even the worst situations.

I use self-disclosure when I feel that it could be helpful to the person or to the relationship. I try to show my humanness when I can.

I know my place. If I am meeting with a person who is 25 years old, I ask myself, what in this hour of this person’s life can I realistically expect to accomplish?

If I incorrectly approach a topic with a client, or if my speculations are erroneous, I own my mistakes. I apologize. I admit when I don’t know. This is directly related to the value that I place on relationships. If I acknowledge my mistakes, it models healthy behavior. If I admit when I don’t know, I show that I am ok with not knowing, that I don’t expect myself to know everything, etc. I apologize when I am aware that I may have overstepped a boundary or when I have said something other what is true.

Finally, I seek to inspire. I seek to challenge people’s beliefs about themselves and to consider there may be more possibilities. I want people to find peace and to experience the joys of living. Despite my sometimes-cynical personal nature, professionally, I am an idealist of sorts. I have a (Doctor Who 🙂 )poster in my office which reads: “I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and dreamer of improbable dreams.”

Rogers, C. (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory. London: Constable.

I hope you are well. 🙂