In Another Land

No, I'm not joking! And, no, veggies won't cure your depression. But it might just help.

A healthy diet is beneficial for you in all kinds of ways, and recent research are showing that diet deficiencies can aggravate depression, sometimes quite dramatically. I'm not going to list all the studies, but I'd like to give you the essence of what I've learned so far.

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I grew up on a farm at a time when baboons were so plentiful that they regularly trashed crops and whatever they could get hold of. In response farmers used to shoot them on sight, trying to protect their lands, and in the process greatly decimated the local baboon populations.

Because they were so agile, a lot of the shots ended up just wounding baboons, who would then run away. Sometimes they would survive, but if they had abdominal wounds, a really gross sequel would play itself out somewhere in the hills. The wounded baboon would run until it felt safe, sit down and start inspecting its wounds. Being inquisitive, they would start pulling at some piece of protruding intestine, and keep on pulling, literally pulling out their own insides.

Really gross, I agree, but with any chronic disease or disorder we humans tend to do exactly the same.

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When I was diagnosed as having depression, the diagnosis messed me up almost as badly as the depression itself. I was confused and disoriented, not knowing what was going on. What exactly was wrong with me? Was I losing my mind? Are they going to lock me up here? Will I get well? Am I going to lose my job? What about this, that, and the other? I was heavily medicated and had my brain shaken up with electroconvulsive therapy, kind of like a zombie - it was a time I would rather not think of.

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