# Treating Mental Illness Naturally



## lokasenna (Apr 7, 2019)

This thread is to suggest and discuss methods of treating mental illness naturally, meaning without meds. Research articles, theorizing, speculation, and anecdotes are all welcome. If it needs to be said, nothing here is intended to function as medical advice.


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## The red spirit (Sep 29, 2015)

Not getting involved in psychiatry prevents you from getting them in the first place


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## lokasenna (Apr 7, 2019)

The red spirit said:


> Not getting involved in psychiatry prevents you from getting them in the first place


Indeed, though I've come across a disappointingly small number of people who're aware of that. What helped you to realize this, if it's not too personal?


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## SilentScream (Mar 31, 2011)

Mindfulness and self awareness are my top two go to "natural" treatments.


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## strawberryLola (Sep 19, 2010)

I suspect that the over prescription of antibiotics on the effects of candida affects a lot more people then most of the population realizes.

Think about it- why are so many people depressed these days? Besides the paradox of modern technology, if we take a pill that's grown from mold, just really how bio-aligned is it with our physical health??

Candida naturally occurs in our bodies, but when we take antibiotics, candida can grow so fast and is the leading cause for chronic fatigue, leaky gut, and a whole host of other symptoms that destroy the quality of life for most people. 

It's literally your body nacrosing in a bath of slime. And people wonder why they're also hooked on carbs? Candida thrives on carbs, and when a healthy gut is wiped out, it's no wonder the vast majority of people feel like crap like nothing makes sense but it does, just not how we approach conventional medicine (which is so outdated and archaic).


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## lokasenna (Apr 7, 2019)

Jawz said:


> Mindfulness and self awareness are my top two go to "natural" treatments.


I'm glad that works for you. 

Tai Chi and Feldenkrais are good ways of promoting both those things, as well as a zen-like awareness of body, breath, and mind, while calming the nervous system. 

Being aware of your own emotions and thought patterns is a skill most people need to work to actively develop. Stress and trauma tend to get locked in the subconscious, especially during childhood, and create deterministic behaviour patterns, where a person will react to stimuli that reminds them of the past as if they're still living in the past, thus rendering them unable to consciously control or understand why they're feeling the way they are and doing the things they're doing. 

Anyway, that's changeable, but it takes a lot of patience and introspection and the ability to balance self love and self-criticism without veering into extremes on either end. Ultimately what it comes down to is acceptance. Only though acceptance of oneself can one change.


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## SilentScream (Mar 31, 2011)

I agree with the people who say that medications are at least in part causing some of the problems they're also simultaneously treating, and at worst making people worse. At best they're doing little more than having a placebo effect. 

I've noticed that whenever I go through a major episode, I need to go back inside myself and make myself consciously aware of my amplified feelings and remove the stressor. I've currently identified my latest trigger (it's a new one and it's actually based around empathy and over-identification with the problems and issues of others). I'm working out a solution to that so I don't get triggered again in my future. 

Mindfulness is a surprisingly scientific approach because it basically involves observation, identification and solution development. It's not all hippie mumbo jumbo even though it seems like that on the surface.


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## strawberryLola (Sep 19, 2010)

Alternatively, supplementation of B vitamins can really uplift one's mood, especially through natural food products like nutritional yeast. 

Even probiotics helps, fermented foods naturally high in probiotics also contain high in amounts of B vitamins (the raw and organic kinds).

Reduce carbs, especially. Carbohydrates (sugars) can alter mood pretty fast due to our drop in blood sugar levels. As we age, our hormones can have an effect. Sleeping helps to buffer moodiness from hormonal shifts (especially for women when we reach that time of the month :shocked:!).


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## lokasenna (Apr 7, 2019)

strawberryLola said:


> I suspect that the over prescription of antibiotics on the effects of candida affects a lot more people then most of the population realizes.
> 
> Think about it- why are so many people depressed these days? Besides the paradox of modern technology, if we take a pill that's grown from mold, just really how bio-aligned is it with our physical health??
> 
> ...


These are all good points. The gut produces and holds 90% of neurotransmitters, and disruption of the microbiome has been linked to psychiatric disturbance. The enteric nervous system connects the stomach to the brain, and inflammation as well as various pathogens and toxins can easily travel from one location to the other. Antibiotics have mental illness symptoms listed as possible side effects, so that is well recognized in literature, though you are unlikely to find a doctor who'll admit to that if they're even aware of it. 

Probiotics are helpful in repairing the gut and controlling candida provided they're not genetically modified, but people who are more sensitive should avoid some strains since they can cause SIBO, and that leads to a whole nother host of issues.


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## lokasenna (Apr 7, 2019)

Jawz said:


> I agree with the people who say that medications are at least in part causing some of the problems they're also simultaneously treating, and at worst making people worse. At best they're doing little more than having a placebo effect.
> 
> I've noticed that whenever I go through a major episode, I need to go back inside myself and make myself consciously aware of my amplified feelings and remove the stressor. I've currently identified my latest trigger (it's a new one and it's actually based around empathy and over-identification with the problems and issues of others). I'm working out a solution to that so I don't get triggered again in my future.
> 
> Mindfulness is a surprisingly scientific approach because it basically involves observation, identification and solution development. It's not all hippie mumbo jumbo even though it seems like that on the surface.


Yeah, its not mumbo jumbo at all. It leads to structural changes in the brain.


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## The red spirit (Sep 29, 2015)

lokasenna said:


> Indeed, though I've come across a disappointingly small number of people who're aware of that. What helped you to realize this, if it's not too personal?


Wisdom (social sciences are too soft and good for manipulating)


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## lokasenna (Apr 7, 2019)

The red spirit said:


> Wisdom (social sciences are too soft and good for manipulating)


I love this forum.


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## SilentScream (Mar 31, 2011)

lokasenna said:


> Yeah, its not mumbo jumbo at all. It leads to structural changes in the brain.


The science around determining brain structure changes is inconclusive at this point so I'll wait on that. 

What I will report is that I genuinely _am_ very different from the person I was in 2011. Whether it's because of wisdom, life experience or just an entirely different brain structure due to therapy and daily practice of mindfulness is all guesswork at this point.


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## The red spirit (Sep 29, 2015)

lokasenna said:


> I love this forum.


With time you will learn to only love certain parts of it.


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## buttons1 (Feb 24, 2019)

There's a few things that are kinda obvious: 
- Therapy; and here whatever therapy works for you. We have good results with cognitive behavioral therapy but things like mindfulness also come into this topic.

- A healthy diet. I cannot stress this enough. Eating badly will worsen your psychiatric conditions. All of them.

- Physical exercise. Pretty straightforward here. Endorphins are released and also the body is healthier. 

- Regular sleep schedule. Sleep has a massive effect on mood.

- Regular activity schedule. Lack of structure and long periods of time without anything to do - eg staying all afternoon alone doing nothing - usually don't help, particularly in things like depression. 

Bear in mind though, that while you can help a lot and sometimes even treat people exclusively with those measures - like cases of light depression - all of that doesn't necessarily remove the need for medication. If there's schizophrenia, or things like bipolar disorder or grave depression, there's no way around it. You'll need medication to help.


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## Handsome Dyke (Oct 4, 2012)

Access nature. Limit Internet. Cultivate and follow one's own circadian rhythm. Seek balance in all activities (rather than over-consumption/addiction). Pursue healthy hobbies. Set appropriate goals.


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## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

you can do therapy without taking drugs


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## shameless (Apr 21, 2014)

Hydration 
Sleep
Proper balanced diet 

Ensuring enough exposure to UV 
Vitamin Bs help with mood
Magnesium helps with nervous system for anxiety/panic disorders

Light!
Just mean, keep blinds/curtains etc open 

Therapy

Socializing and hobbies and interests which require getting out and about

And also there are stand by drugs which can be more so a PRN for extreme cases of anxiety or panic attack. Instead of daily use. Stand by use is always an option they have stuff which is not narcotic and can assist. (I have these because I refuse to take daily medication but realize sometimes my insomnia or hyperactivity or anxiety can turn to mania and I learned in such cases it’s better just to have stand by PRN. Avoids panic attacks or emotional distress from exertion. This is more so reserve for when I can’t get proper sleep with a few days. Better to just tranquilizer myself temporary instead fight it :laughing:


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## Bunniculla (Jul 17, 2017)

For people with non severe forms of mental illnesses, I believe self reflection, taking responsibility for the mind's wanderings and practice will help a lot. This depends on the severity and type of mental illness too. Not every case is the same.

For people with extreme and severe mental illnesses (true psychosis/schizophrenia/etc), I really am not sure if they can "survive" without medication and other forms of external help.


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## moonmilk (Mar 25, 2019)

Bunniculla said:


> For people with extreme and severe mental illnesses (true psychosis/schizophrenia/etc), I really am not sure if they can "survive" without medication and other forms of external help.


This is the first thing that came to mind for me. Mental illnesses vary greatly

Personally, I have social anxiety disorder and some symptoms of depression but only a diagnosis for the former. I would describe it as moderate in its intensity now but it was quite severe until I started taking meds

There are several natural things that I have changed:


I eat well. Healthy fats, lean protein, fruits and veggies, lots of water
I take supplements like omega-3 and magnesium. I don't know how much this helps but it hasn't hurt
I'll admit that exercise is hard. It's difficult for me to find the motivation to do it. Until late last year, I lived near this beautiful park with a trail that stretched for several miles, wooded areas and a lake. I looked forward to going there even when it was cold. I haven't found a replacement for it, unfortunately
Talking to my friends. This is an important one for me
Taking care of myself. My skin, my hair, not too much or too little sleep. Even if it's something as simple as using makeup-removing wipes before bed

It was easier to do these things after the meds. I guess they gave me a push and made me feel more, idk, human. But to those who can become well without meds, that's great


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## Archon of Life (Aug 29, 2018)

I used to be in a very terrible state of mind. Depressed (or occasionally manic) and neurotic six ways to Sunday, a few years ago. I once saw a therapist for it, and I enjoyed their company somewhat, but they had no clue what the bulk of my problems were. Now, I did have a very rough way of things in my childhood, and the talks did help me unravel that a little bit, but the things that happened in my childhood never really depressed me. Baffled me a little, maybe. Left me wanting to figure them out, but not really shook. 

The real problem was my food sensitivities. I was like most other millenial kids growing up, eating and drinking whatever I pleased. Of course, almost all of it was garbage. A triple stack nutella sandwich was my favorite bedtime snack, and I drank soda like it was going out of style. Somehow I never became overweight -- likely due to a lower than average lipid count in my genetics -- but I still paid a price that I was unaware at the time. Because I'd been on the good old See Food And Eat It Diet all my life, I didn't know how bad I was feeling relative to how good I could have been feeling. Both in my body and especially in my mind. I thought that was simply how my body was. I had no clue I could feel truly good every day, because I didn't even really know what good was. It'd gotten so bad that I dropped out of high school, because I gave absolutely no shits about it and almost no shits for life in general. I never had the vigour for life because I never felt up to the challenge of facing every day head on. 

A couple years ago I fell down the Youtube rabbit hole of health videos, thanks to my brother who had become a personal trainer for a large gym chain. If it wasn't for him, that might not of happened, but it did and I'm very thankful for it. Things like only eating once a day for a couple of hours, the keto paradigm, cutting out everything sweet, meditation, etc...seemed kind of bullshit to me at first. But I threw caution to the wind and took the plunge in the off chance I could somehow feel 'better'. 

Best decision of my entire life so far. I've NEVER felt better in body and mind. As I'm typing, I'm standing on my porch, laptop on the railing, and I basically don't feel my body. I barely feel the weight in my soles, there's not a single ache or pain in my body, and I've typed all of this so far in about five minutes because my mind is so sharp. I NEVER run out of energy in a day except when it's time for sleep, and even then my body is still firing on all cylinders, my mind just needs to rest. If something unexpected happens in a day, it's basically like the old trick with the plates and table sheet. The table sheet is yanked out from under the plates but the plates hardly move. Surprises barely faze me because I'm ready for them. Lastly but not least, I'm always just so happy. I've only been in a bad mood like, once, in the past two months. 

So...what exactly have I done to be feeling so good? 



MOST IMPORTANT: Diet. This is above all else. The ketogenic/paleo diet is the way for me. I mostly do keto but sometimes I'll have a paleo meal that may or may not kick me out of dietary ketosis, but it's all good either way because...

Intermittent fasting. I time my food intake to mimic how my genetic ancestors might have done. Which is to say, a hard day's work of procuring game and finally feasting on it at night time. I only consume calories in a 2-3 hour window, and only have water, tea, and coffee outside of that. 

Exercise. If anyone these days still doubts the validity of the benefits of exercise, well, I'm not very sure what to tell you. What can't be doubted, at least, is growing more confident in your physique (and therefore your interaction with the world) as you sculpt it into what pleases you. I started out for the mental benefits, but now my body is shaping up very nicely and it makes me happy. 

Sleep. Most days need eight hours of sleep for their brain to be firing on all cylinders, and some can get away with only six. Sleep is not optional for productivity. Just ask Jeff Bezos. He's an advocate for a solid eight hours. 

A meaningful job. The most difficult of this list to do, I imagine. I have a job that I both enjoy and can grow in, with a very good boss. It's a nutrition store, which is right up my alley in case anyone can't tell by now...most of my posts having been in this subforum. 



These five things have transformed me into a borderline manic asshole pretty much 24/7. I have so much energy and happiness I honestly can't control myself sometimes, and kind of come off as rude because I'm so in the zone and confident with everything. I've done this all myself without the help of doctors or their prescriptions, and I highly believe most people can do the same. 

I've run out of time right now, but later I'll post links to things regarding the list. But do feel free to do your own research.


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## GusWriter (Jun 13, 2012)

lokasenna said:


> These are all good points. The gut produces and holds 90% of neurotransmitters, and disruption of the microbiome has been linked to psychiatric disturbance. The enteric nervous system connects the stomach to the brain, and inflammation as well as various pathogens and toxins can easily travel from one location to the other. Antibiotics have mental illness symptoms listed as possible side effects, so that is well recognized in literature, though you are unlikely to find a doctor who'll admit to that if they're even aware of it.


This in response to @*strawberryLola* 's candida post. Often the candida and other stomach issues can be triggered by long-term Ibuproferin use for those who have bad headaches. It's a chain effect that can end with anxiety due to over-active adrenals.

If anybody knows of a natural cure for frequent bad headaches, would like to know.


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## prplchknz (Nov 30, 2010)

GusWriter said:


> This in response to @*strawberryLola* 's candida post. Often the candida and other stomach issues can be triggered by long-term Ibuproferin use for those who have bad headaches. It's a chain effect that can end with anxiety due to over-active adrenals.
> 
> If anybody knows of a natural cure for frequent bad headaches, would like to know.


I don't know of any, but i used to get daily headaches, always above my eye, turns out i needed glasses and was straining my eyes to see. I don't know what kind of headaches you get or anything so what worked for me probably won't work for you....

ok so i see a lot of stuff addressing depression but what about more severe disorders like bipolar and psychotic type? also i think it depends on how severe the depression is if it's minor then yeah perhaps those things will work. But if it's severe it probably won't.


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## lokasenna (Apr 7, 2019)

GusWriter said:


> If anybody knows of a natural cure for frequent bad headaches, would like to know.


I'd think it would depend on the type of headache. Tension headaches have different causes than sinus headaches which have different causes than migraines, etc. This is anecdotal, but I know of people who've had luck with turmeric and magnesium for migraines.


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## SilverFalcon (Dec 18, 2014)

Georgia Ede M.D. : The Carnivore Diet for Mental Health?






I did not have mental issues, but it helped me tremendously with auto-immune issues which are source of many mental diseases as well.


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## Monadnock (May 27, 2017)

There was this website a few years ago that I remember going through, called Alternative Mental Health, the website of an institution called Safe Harbor in Pasadena, CA. Really good resource. The most interesting thing I remember was when it discussed the "underlying biochemical issues that cause depression". Pyroluria, for example, is a catastrophic Vitamin B6 and Zinc deficiency caused by the body creating too many "kryptopyroles" (blood waste product), binding to the B6 and Zinc molecules, making them useless to your body and causing the body to eject them in the urine rather than using them. Also an underlying cause of alcoholism, schizophrenia, anxiety, ADD and several other things. Basically you have to supplement with huge doses of B6 and Zinc to make up for everything the kryptopyroles have taken from you...but once that happens, you're mostly fixed as long as you stick with that treatment.


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## AnneM (May 29, 2019)

Archon of Life said:


> These five things have transformed me into a borderline manic asshole pretty much 24/7. I have so much energy and happiness I honestly can't control myself sometimes, and kind of come off as rude because I'm so in the zone and confident with everything.


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## Cuttlefish (Aug 4, 2014)

My story: I was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder when I was a teenager, along with selective mutism and agoraphobia. I never took psychiatric medication because I was highly skeptical of them and abhorred the idea. Also, I didn't agree with the agoraphobia diagnosis (I was a silly child). So I have lived with these mental issues for over a decade, and slowly over time, they have naturally just become less prominent in my life. I no longer am selectively mute and the phobias are mild enough that I can function in social situations, even if I am a little awkward or have the occasional mind blank mid-conversation. I am okay with feeling embarrassment.

For me, I believe the treatment was exposure.. and stress reduction. Stress was an inescapable part of my life as my father was physically and emotionally abusive. I dropped out of high school and became addicted to internet gaming as an escape to everything. Years later, as my father became less abusive, I stopped having heart palpitations, I never again had a panic attack, and I could take on more social interaction. Eventually I moved out of home to live with my now-fiance and am capable of independently walking into shops, making orders, greeting people, holding conversations, as well as taking care of parenting responsibilities.

This year I learned how to take control of my emotions. I now consciously respond to my feelings and thoughts.

To summarise, it was like I was a sapling that had been squashed with an object, but then the object had been lifted off me and miraculously I am starting to grow again. 

Exposure, stress reduction, and perhaps a sense of connection with nature or spirituality, what gives me my love for life; I think these are the things that sum up the majority of my healing from my mental illnesses.


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## AnneM (May 29, 2019)

@Cuttlefish That is so cool! 

I'm not sure how on topic this is, but when I was experiencing the most crippling depression of my life, paired with extreme agoraphobia, a doctor wrote me a prescription for Zoloft. Every day, while I was weeping at the kitchen table, my mother would put the prescription in front of me and say, "Choose. Do we go get it today, or not?" I don't know what it was that kept me from filling it, because in my state I had no opinions or convictions whatsoever aside from the fact that I was awful and I hated myself. What could it possibly have mattered at that point to take a med or not? But I never did. I came out of it, and I think exercise was the thing that saved my butt (my sister came home from Europe and we would ride our bikes to the yoga studio every single day). After that, my self-esteem and zest for life came back. I do sometimes wonder how it would've turned out if I had gotten on the medication. Would I still be on it? I've suffered periodic bouts of depression off and on over the last 12 years that were almost as severe as that first one. Each time something pulls me out of it.


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## lokasenna (Apr 7, 2019)




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