Resources

Objective ...

Re-balance brain chemistry

- increase serotonin naturally 

- increase dopamine naturally

Develop better, longer, deep sleep to clean the brain

Super Summary ...

Eliminate sugar, alcohol and high G.I. carbohydrates

Eliminate artificial sweeteners

Eliminate processed foods

Increase good gut flora

Introduce good whole plant food

Increase exercise - around sunrise and sunset

Increase testosterone production with some light weights 

Develop good deep sleep habits 

Starve bad gut flora ...

No sugar 

No alcohol

No flour - bread, toast, cakes, pizza, pies etc
No breakfast cereals - they're rubbish - vitamins and minerals are sprayed on after baking.

Reduce gluten

Avoid antibiotics

Grow good gut flora ...

Greek yoghurt

Fermented foods - kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, kefir

Prebiotic foods - onion, garlic, bananas, artichokes

Reduce, even eliminate, red meat

Eat good food ...

Start your day with eggs - any eggs - barn laid or free range

Fresh whole foods - vegetables, salads, legumes, beans, lentils

Alliums - garlic, onions, leaks, spring onions

Nuts - almonds, walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, pistachios

Polyphenols - dark chocolate, rooibos tea, red grapes, dark plums

Dairy - milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yoghurt

Fish - salmon, tuna, ocean fish

Organic chicken, turkey (tryptophan for sleep)

Carbs - whole potatoes, sweet potatoes.

Fruit in the afternoon - stone fruit, apples, watermelon, blueberries,

Exercise ...

Use sunrise and sunset to improve mood and sleep regulators

 - go for a walk early morning AND late afternoon 

Build up to longer rhythmic exercise like swimming, cycling, jogging

Eliminate subcutaneous (toxic belly) fat.

Mental strength ...

Stop procrastinating.

Do the most important things each day first.

Turn off ALL screens by 6pm

Leave your phone outside the bedroom

Repeat positive bible verses or affirmations

Overcome every excuse in your mind and connect with one or two people

Stop watching porn ...

Just stop

It's a trap

Don't go there 

Use the time to get out and exercise or garden or do weights

AND in time, invest in healthy, real, relationships.

Reduce cortisol ...

Morning (AM) vitamin C

Morning (AM) aerobic exercise

Lots of hugs

Develop good sleep ... 

10-15 mins in bright sunlight each morning - no sun glasses

No screens (TV, PC or phone) after 6pm 

No caffeine after 10am including tea, coffee, coke, red-bull etc

Read a good book with a steady warm light (no white CFLs or LEDs)

The following steps are not a replacement for a properly constructed corrective and preventative maintenance plan.  They are presented as an emergency action plan to help arrest a downward spiral.
  

1.   STOP STOP STOP eating all sugary, processed foods - bread, flour, pizza, alcohol, sweets

2.   turn OFF all screens and go for a walk ... a long walk, in a forest, beside a river, lake or creek.

3.   eat some dark chocolate

4.   eat some kimchi, sauerkraut or natural Greek yoghurt for dinner

5.   eat some 100% natural ice cream eg. Bulla, or even better, Mungali Creek biodynamic ice cream before going to bed.

If you are feeling genuinely suicidal, then it's time to reach out to family, friends, LifeBlood, Life Line or Beyond Blue.  Don't be embarrassed. You are not alone.
 

You're here because life, with all it's stresses, has got on top of you.  It's now time to reclaim your life with a few changes spread over the next couple of weeks.

If you follow these steps you may dip a little lower for a day or two but then you will start to turn the corner.  Hope will return in a month.

Eliminate ...

1.   all processed foods and sources of gluten
     -  no bread, flour, pizza, takeaway foods, sweets or alcohol

2.   red meat - beef and lamb

3.   stop watching 50-60hz screens - computers, phones and TVs after 6pm 

4.   stop watching pornography.
   
   

Establish a routine ... every morning and evening.

5.   start walking at sunrise and sunset

6.   build up to a brisk walk and then a jog or a bike ride

7.   hit a tennis ball rhythmically against a wall at lunch time for 20 mins, outside in bright daylight

8.   go to bed at a regular time and read a good book - ideally, fiction

9.   set your morning alarm for the same time every day.
   
   

Change your diet ...

10.   start eating whole foods and natural fats

11.   use olive oil, avocado oil and butter ... do NOT use bran, canola, peanut or vegetable oils. 

12.   eat eggs for breakfast

13.   introduce chicken, turkey, salmon and tuna into your lunchtime salad

14.   aim for 70-80% plant based meals

15.   eat dark chocolate as a pick-me-up.
    
    

Address the circular thinking ...

16.   go to BigW or KMart and buy an A5 or A4 notebook and start writing

17.   get all that circular thinking out of your head and onto the page

18.   when the circular thinking returns, remind yourself that you don't need to rethink it.  It's done, finished, dealt with.

19.   create an action plan to address the stress and run it past a good friend.

Start drawing on God's promises ...

20.   write them down on flash cards and claim them.
    
    

Once you're back on an even keel, the following steps will help build a resilience-bank against future bouts of depression.  Grey clouds may loom on the horizon every so often, but you will soon have enough experience to know that you can get on top of them quickly and push them away.

Eliminate ...

1.   all processed foods and sources of gluten
     -  no bread, flour, pizza, takeaway foods, sweets, beer, wine and spirits.

2.   stop watching 50-60hz screens - computers, phones, TVs after 8pm 

3.   all sources of pornography.
   
   

Establish a routine ... every morning and evening.

4.   get outside at sunrise, read your bible and pray

5.   maintain regular aerobic exercise ... a brisk walk, jog or bike ride

6.   lift some weights every other day

7.   hit a tennis ball against a wall for 20 mins, outside, at lunchtime and get into a rhythm.

8.   go to bed at a regular time and read a good book - ideally, fiction.
   
   

Change your diet ...

9.   start eating whole foods and natural fats.

10.   use olive oil, avocado oil and butter ... do NOT use bran, canola, peanut or vegetable oils. 

11.   eat eggs for breakfast

12.   introduce chicken, turkey, salmon and tuna into your lunchtime salad.

13.   aim for 70-80% plant based meals

14.   feed the good gut microbiome; starve the bad.

Balance the hormones ...

15.   invest in good quality sleep and reduce ghrelin production

16.   reduce cortisol through exercise AND learning to breath

17.   reduce the belly fat

18.   rebuild your testosterone levels 

19.   rebuild your serotonin and dopamine levels.
    
    

Expand your horizons  ...

20.   find a cause that 's bigger than you, and commit

21.   take up a creative hobby like gardening, piano, guitar or even golf

22.   grow your own chemical-free fruit and vegetables and eat clean.
     

Connect with good people - family and friends.

23.   maintain your family connections

24.   invest in a men's action group.
      

And remember to:

25.   journal your inner thoughts/doubts/fears

26.   hand your concerns to God in prayer

27.   periodically review your journal and thank God for His answers.
    
    

Conditions like advancing age, exposure to constant stress, unresolved grief and certain environmental factors can inhibit production of these essential hormones and neurotransmitters.

Low dopamine levels can cause depression, loss of motor control, loss of satisfaction, addictions, cravings, compulsions, low sex drive, poor attention and focus.

The primary foods for triggering the neurotransmitters are proteins. Increase consumption of fish, eggs, chicken, turkey and reduce red meat. Dairy products like milk and cheese are also high in protein and help raise dopamine levels

Food sources of dopamine increasing tyrosine include almonds, avocados, bananas, dairy products, lima beans, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds.

• Apples

• Almonds, Walnuts

• Beets

• Blue-green algae

• Celery

• Chicken

• Cucumber

• Fish

• Ginseng

• Green leafy vegetables

• Honey

• Cheese (low fat)

• Capsicum

• Tofu

• Watermelon

• Cottage cheese, 

• Yoghurt - greek, unsweetened

Also add a multi-vitamin containing vitamins B, C and E as well as iron, folic acid and niacin.

Dopamine levels are depleted by stress, certain antidepressants, drug use, poor nutrition, and poor sleep. 

Foods such as sugar, saturated fats, cholesterol, and refined foods interfere with proper brain function and can cause low dopamine. Consumption of saturated fats and cholesterol should also be reduced because they can clog the arteries to the brain, heart, and other organs.

Alcohol, caffeine, and sugar all decrease dopamine activity in the brain.

Aspartame (Diet Coke etc) also depletes dopamine production.