Depression/Anxiety?

[KRose]

Day 16 here.

And wouldn't you know this is when my cravings should be ending, energy through the roof, the magic is coming through.... yet I'm all AND none of those things. That came out wrong. Let me try to explain.

I have been diagnosed with PTSD resulting in an anxiety/panic disorder that I refuse to be medicated for, and have been psychologically treating for 8 years. During the past 8 years there have been bouts of depression, sometimes very severe. I have also been on and off Paleo for 3 years while dealing with an eating addiction (I once was a friend of Bill...) and this is my 2nd or 3rd attempt at W30 (never finishing).

Then 16 days ago I decided I had had enough of the cr@p and the BS to last a lifetime and jumped in and never turned back. For some reason I didn't really have many cravings, no crazy dips in energy or even sickness in those first days. Meal planning and prep was second nature. I was even getting those "I'm happy for no reason at all except for the fact I'm alive and well" moments/days. All amazing; I even know deep in my heart I will finish my W30 for the first time ever and stick to a Paleo based dietary intake after, and clean up every few months with W30 from now til eternity. Its all good.

But for the past 48 have been absolutely miserable. Crying out of shear sadness, crying til I couldn't breathe, knowing a panic attack was coming. staying in bed for hours, knowing this is how depression stages start. Don't get me wrong, I have energy; I rode my bike to the park and had a picnic for lunch... never smiling once. So very strange for me. I am bored with being sad, bored beyond belief. I have read two 400 page books in the last 3 days out of boredom. And being bored makes me sad, sad makes me keep to myself, and the cycle continues.

I am wondering if this has happened to anyone else mid W30.... complete and total sadness for no apparent reason.

[Kirsteen]

I really feel for you and I wish I had better advice but all I can say is hang in there, you're worth it. My health problems have all been physical but they did seem to get worse mid W30 before they started to improve again. Sorry there's no advice I can give but I just wanted to say be kind to yourself, keep nourishing your body, we're rooting for you and I really, really hope things improve for you soon.

[Emily]

What you describe does sometimes happen to me, unconnected to whether or not I'm doing a Whole30.

For me, when that happens it tends to be circumstances in my life. Can you identify any issues that you feel like you aren't moving on? Anywhere you feel hopeless?

You said that you didn't want to be medicated; I respect that. For me working with both talk therapy and medication made huge, huge changes in my life. Medication helped get me some space while it was needed. That may not be the case for you; I just wanted to share my experience.

A completely unrelated thought-- do you know where you are in your menstrual cycle? I can have down days for no apparent reason a few days before my cycle starts.

Hang in there. This will pass.

[Fenderbender]

I feel for you.... I have struggled with the same and know what you are going through and I hate being medicated...

I think you are too focused on finding" cause and effect "which can lead to greater anxiety/ cortisol/ stressed endocrine system= depression in sensitive people ... If all the other W30 "benefits " are kicking in....... Relax and don't stress about W30. Depression/ anxiety will come in waves, and I find it best just to ride the wave and listen to what it's trying to tell me about my life and learn from the current bout, rather than trying to fight the wave and get smashed into the shore.... ( seems like you are trying to do that)

Also good amounts of Folic acid have been clinically proven to naturally raise serotonin levels, I'd ask my doctor about trying to supplement with it, and the proper amount for you... Hang in there!

[Renee Lee]

I was going to pop in and ask the same question about your cycle that Emily did. Additionally, how are your Vitamin D levels? It's winter now, so it's always low hanging fruit to ask this question. Maybe it's not an issue since you're in southern California, but it's still something to look into.

Keep going! So happy for you that you've had enough of the crap and are going to finish this W30! It's an accomplishment!

[jeepifer]

Question for you, do you consider a supplement you can start and stop without any issues to be "medication"? When I have low or down days, or am feeling overly emotional, I take some 5-HTP for a quick, natural serotonin boost. I read about it a few years ago, in a natural cures book, and it's changed my life (for the better!).

There's a great book, called "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross. Lots of helpful ideas/suggestions in there too.

[susanm]

Renee makes a great point with vitamin D. I've had deficiency and I believe it affected me very much so. Even though it was consistently low on blood tests my doctor never mentioned it till recently. Also, might you be affected by your monthly cycle? I often find myself wondering why I feel crappy and then realize days later that it was PMS. I hope you feel better soon!

[Candice@allthingsyogi]

I can relate and find that yoga, writing, and friends make it much better.

I applaud you for being so real on this forum. It is not easy to do and its neat because your feelings are universal.

[KRose]

Hi everyone!

Sorry so late posting, I still dont know how to get notified that people are replying to my post; I promise I'm not ignoring you!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your comments and concerns, the ideas are greatly welcomed. I think Fender made a great point of me trying to find a "cause and effect" and that the fact is I do have depression and anxiety which I have been self medicating with food for years and now that I refuse to do that, I'm looking for a reason or a place to blame, when the fact is, some times you just gotta ride the emotional waves. This is what I signed up for by not taking synthetic drugs, right?

I will definitely look into the Folic and Vit D sides of things, and some homeopathic remedies as well, nothing can hurt right now.

As for the cycle side of this (men look away at this point, you might not wanna read this...) that's a really great point! To be completely honest (because if you haven't noticed I know no other way to be) I was on the pill for 8 years all the way up until the start of this summer (health insurance ran out) so I decided it was time to give my body a break (I was taking it to control acne and my cycles; before the pill my cycles were out of whack!). So after the last pack I had my period as normal then stopped having any sign of a period/PMS/cramps for 4 months... 4 MONTHS! I swear I was about to call those "I didn't know I was pregnant" people even though I knew I wasn't pregnant... Then came October 1st and I randomly started.... and didn't stop... at all.. for 31 days! Insane! So when I decided to start this in November I'm sure subconsciously I knew I was going to try and re-correct my overly medicated and now-in-withdrawals uterus... So maybe this is PMS (although I've never, ever had it this severe of for this long) and I've just forgotten what it's like... all great points!

Thanks to everyone who has read, is reading, or will read these posts. It means the world to those of us going through the unknown.

[chaiwallah]

hey. I'm too low to post right now, just want to say thankyou to all who've posted in this thread. x

[SassieM]

I have had a low mood since starting on the whole 30. I have eaten this way before very happily, but this time, I just can't smile..I have reasonable energy and am sleeping better, but just flat..IIs it the low carbs?? I am confused though because I have felt terrific on a paleo style diet before. I am wondering if I do need some more fruit, I am curious to see if anyone else has this low mood on the whole 30??

[betsyl33]

I just want to thank everyone who has posted in this thread, especially the OP. I am exactly on Day 16, and I have been feeling down today.

I appreciate everyone's openness and comments.

[jpketz]

I hit an emotional rough patch at a similar point in my Whole30. Like one day all the joy had drained out of my life for no apparent reason. I'm chalking it up to topsy turvy hormones trying to find their set points for the first time in forever. The third week things got better, and now that I'm W30 + 25 days, I haven't hit a similar low.

Someone a while back on this thread recommended a book, The Mood Cure by Julia Ross, a big proponent of amino acid therapy for mood stabilization. It's worth a read. She runs a clinic for addiction recovery (including food addiction) and has had remarkable success with Glutamine, 5-HTP, L-Tyrosine, DHCP, et al, sometimes in lieu of SSRI's.

[ScoutFinch]

Yesterday was Day 16 for me, and I also hit a low patch, very surprised by it as well. PTSD is so odd, in that it will catch you or hit you or slam you to the floor on what seems like no provocation. I think all of the comments here about how all hormones, not just estrogen (or as I like to call it, The Devil's Serum, though I am post-hysterectomy and no as troubled by the swings that can come with it), come into play, and how when they are getting regulated it makes so much sense that our mood and outlook would be all over the place, too.

I wonder if it would be possible to put the mid-point up as a flag about this for people? It seems to be a somewhat common experience, at least for those of us dealing with problems that harm our mood as well.

Keeping good thoughts that we all hang in there for the duration! So far it's proving to be a life-saver for me, despite the difficulties.

[jpketz]

I wonder if it would be possible to put the mid-point up as a flag about this for people? It seems to be a somewhat common experience, at least for those of us dealing with problems that harm our mood as well.

Since you raised the question I went back and looked at the Whole30 Timeline, which is a great resource for getting a "preview of coming attractions" when you're considering W30, and a way to stay sane when you're on Day 4 and wondering why you suddenly want to strangle (and then eat) small animals.

The timeline talks lots about energy swings, not so much about emotional swings, per se, except for the aforementioned week one testiness. In fact according to the timeline, around the midpoint things typically start to get better, albeit dreaming increases as your brain desperately tries to get itself some damn ice cream! (or maybe that was just me ).

Of course they make it plain that not everyone experiences the W30 process the same, and I would add that anyone dealing with anxiety/depression, PTSD, et al, before W30 may experience a different kind of timeline altogether, at least one that is more of an emotional roller coaster. I'd be really curious to know more. I know for me there were definitely emotional lows that seemed to accompany those midpoint energy troughs.

Even before I ran across W30 I've been fascinated with the physiology of mood/emotions and to what degree we "are what we eat". Or maybe more accurately how "we feel what we eat" and this forum provides a wealth of anecdotal evidence.

Good thoughts, indeed. And do hang in there!

[nana]

thanks for. sharing your testimony to God's goodness Happy Easter........He is my source of strengh as well