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According to the Global Health Data Exchange approximately 280 million people in the world have depression (1). Feeling a depressed mood (feeling sad, irritable, empty) a loss of pleasure or interest in activities, for most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks. Other symptoms may include poor concentration, feelings of excessive guilt, hopelessness about the future, low self-worth, thoughts about dying or suicide, disrupted sleep, insomnia, changes in appetite or weight, and feeling especially exhaustion.
A deficiency of certain neurotransmitters is closely associated with depression; serotonin, regulates moods and sleep; dopamine, regulates one’s drive to seek rewards; and norepinephrine, helps manage stressful situations. Additional lifestyle factors can aggravate depression; nutritional deficiency, chronic illness, and stress. How the body, mind, emotions are balanced and supported through challenges is key to managing and overcoming depression.
What can be proactively done to support mental and emotional health?
1. Exercise is extremely important as it increases oxygen rich circulation and the production of endorphins, neurotransmitters that produce a sense of happiness and well-being. Exercising outdoors in the sunshine also increases endorphins even more.
2. Meditation produces deep relaxation and reduces cortisol (a steroidal hormone), which has been correlated with depression. Tai Chi, Qigong, Yoga are all forms of moving meditation supporting physical, mental, emotional, as well as spiritual integration and balance.
3. Nutrition plays a vital role with brain chemistry. The precursor to serotonin, L-tryptophan, is found in many foods, such as spirulina, soy, spinach, sesame seeds, turkey, and others. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in flaxseeds, sardines, anchovy, mackerel, salmon, and walnuts, are important for proper brain function. Other key nutrients include folate, vitamin B6, and magnesium which are found in many leafy greens, such as spinach and collard greens.
4. Proactive regular acupuncture increases the production of endorphins, leading to deep relaxation and reduction in stress and anxiety.
5. Consumption of prebiotic plant fibre from organic fruit and vegetables along with raw probiotic foods and drinks like sauerkraut, kombucha, kimchi, natto, coconut water kefir, cultured coconut milk kefir, yogurt, and others support the 100 +/- trillion probiotics microbes of the digestive system responsible for manufacturing mood enhancing neurochemicals:
Gut bacteria also produce hundreds of neurochemicals that the brain uses to regulate basic physiological processes as well as mental processes such as learning, memory and mood. For example, gut bacteria manufacture about 95 percent of the body's supply of serotonin, which influences both mood and GI activity (2).
In addition to supporting mood, these probiotic bacteria regulate digestion and metabolism, extract and make vitamins from food eaten, program the body's immune system, build and maintain the gut wall which block harmful microbes and produce anti-microbial chemicals that defend against pathogens.
6. Just as gut bacteria affect the brain, the brain can also exert profound influences on the gut microbiome with feedback effects on behavior. Studies, for example, have shown that psychological stress suppresses beneficial bacteria:
In 2008, researchers led by psychologist Simon Knowles, PhD, of Swinburne University of Technology in Australia found that during exam week, university students' stool samples contained fewer lactobacilli than they had during the relatively untroubled first days of the semester (3).
Support mental and emotional balance with daily attitude of gratitude statements as shared in the example below herein.
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