IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD

Original post: 10/22/2017

I have been focusing my writing on my struggle and the negative aspects of it. I think it is important to share the “dark side” of it all because it helps people see that other people struggle just like they do, and when we can relate to others, it makes us feel better because it shows us that we are not alone in how we feel or think. There is a lot of healing power in the ability to connect and relate. Today though, I am going to focus on a more positive side.
The things i do to feel better. Exercise helps. For me, it is usually a temporary rush of happy emotions and energy that lasts a few days at most before I slump back down a little, but for a lot of others, regularly exercising can consistently keep their mood on the positive side of the line. Science tells us this has to do with the release of endorphins that exercise causes. I am not going to go into too much detail on that because I’m bad at science and do not know enough about it to do so, but feel free to do your own research.
Vitamins and supplements are another helpful tool for me. Vitamin/nutrient deficiency can be cause of depression. Obviously talk to your doctor first if you feel you may have vitamin deficiency. Taking a vitamin you don’t actually need is not only a waste of money but an overabundance of some vitamins can be dangerous. In addition to vitamins B and D, I also take an iron supplement and Rhodiola. Rhodiola is a supplement that is said to help with many things, although none are proven, including stress/anxiety. I started taking this recently and I feel that it has helped me.
Another things to look at is medications you are already taking. Some medications or combinations of medications can be mood altering. I recently found out (through a chance occurrence) that one of the medications i was taking was having a huge impact on my mood. Luckily for me i was able to stop taking it and take something else instead.
I guess what I am ultimately saying is, look for the cause and try to fix it. Some of us are genuinely “crazy”, we have a real chemical imbalance in our brains and medication is the way to fix that. And that is fine, but make sure you have ruled out all other possibilities first. Finding things that make you feel better is awesome, especially if it ends up being something really simple. Our goal should be to get better, to fix it, not just temporarily mask the problem.