Treating BI POLAR/BAD DEPRESSION

[Valeriea]

Anyone know how best to treat someone with bi polar/bad depression with foods and how to help them get better quickly. Thanks in advance. Valeriea.

[ladyalex]

There is no way to treat them with foods.

They need to see a Psychiatrist and be properly medicated if they are bi-polar or severely depressed.

Bi-polar depression is usually a life-long condition which can be very successfully treated.
Severe depression is a long illness which also be very successfully treated.
Both need professional help.

[Valeriea]

Thanks alot Ladyalex for your quick helpful answers, much appreciated.

[ladyalex]

I hope it was helpful.

The outlook for both conditions is very positive with good treatment.

[Buenchico]

While I agree with LadyAlex that the help of a professional is needed, it's certainly untrue to state that diet can't play a major part in coping with depression.

From the NHS website:
http://www.nhs.uk/Liv...ionhealthyeating.aspx

Follow the links from here for further advice on coping with depression:
http://www.nhs.uk/Con...ages/living-with.aspx

Chris

[ladyalex]

I would never disagree that eating healthily is good for you.

[Prudie]

Both of those links confirm that there is as yet no proof of diet aiding depression, certainly not a major part in coping. I'm sure there are many who wish it was so easy.

[237SJ]

I know many studies are done where they can contradict each other but I read one time that a low carbohydrate diet can contribute to depression.

[ladyalex]

If someone is seriously severely depressed, it can be very difficult for them to eat at all.
Healthy eating would always be better , but often is just not possible.

[redman41]

An NHS psychiatrist recommended a diet that included a lot of foods high in tryptophan but only to support conventional medication she also was very pro exercise and visualisation

[redman41]

sorry last post from Redman was me....Rowan

[wolf63]

I agree that a low carbohydrate diet makes depression worse, a low-GI diet is supposed to be good and it helps blood sugar levels remain stable.

I have read (somewhere) that eating a banana before going to bed is good for depressed people - have actually read this in a few websites and books. I have just read rowan/redman's post - tryptophan - that is what bananas have.

I have a friend who is Bipolar and takes lots and lots of exercise - he says that it has made a positive impact on his health.

If lucky a person may just have one episode of depression - for some it recurs. Being Bipolar is usually a lifetime illness, but a person will not be ill all the time.

The Bipolar Fellowship is a support organisation that has many helpful leaflets that can explain all the complexities of the disorder.

Susan

[rowanwitch]

I have suffered from severe ,at times very severe bouts of depression since my teens exercise, especially gardening helps but not as much as proper medication and/or talk therapies. If you want sensible advice try the Mind website

[wolf63]

I find that regardless of the mental ailment talking helps. It removes the stigma that still exists and reassures you many people have had at least one psychotic or depressed episode in their life - whether it happened to them or somebody close to them.

My brother's favourite one was "Susan, every family has a crazy relative they either laugh at/with or lock up. In our family that's you."

[DTCwordfan]

I back Ladyalex.....a friend of mine has been sectioned 5 times and I was there once and it is not pretty. She is on a lithium medication and it i still a challenge to keep her in the normal emotional tunnel. One of the best things that they now have done is to have a front line support team that she and the family can call upon, it involves her psychiatrist, a trained carer and a trained policewoman.

You can';t tackle this by food - and it involves enormous patience and resolution. How my mate has handl;ed his missus when she is in full flood is more than impressive. He has the patience of a saint.