I received a phone call recently from a woman in severe distress. Crying, she said that for the past two years she had been treated by a psychiatrist for depression that started when a close male friend died. At the start, the psychiatrist had prescribed Zoloft (an anti-depression medication). Now he decided she should increase her dosage because the depression persisted.

The woman called me because I had worked with another friend of her’s, and she liked the results. Besides, she was desperate.

The increase in medication worried her, and she also was concerned that her condition had not improved for two years. She would cry without provocation, sometimes for long spells.

Depression is an illness that has a debilitating effect. It can destroy a life if not treated. Supposedly, anti-depression medication combined with psychiatric therapy will resolve depression.

He Stopped Too Soon

The psychiatrist had delved into her past but had not addressed her diet, one of the crucial depression issues. When I met the woman, her diet was a huge factor in her depression. She was not eating enough protein and was hooked on a carbohydrate diet, a blend that produces symptoms similar to depression, sweating, nervousness, hyperventilation, dizziness, insomnia, panic and anxiety attacks. It can be easily resolved.

The importance of a protein-based diet can hardly be overemphasized. Stable sugar levels are critical. Sugar levels fluctuate wildly if a person is not eating enough protein. That leads to mood swings. When the sugar level is stable, issues are solved. The brain requires sugar to function effectively. When a constant source of protein (which breaks down to sugar slowly) is available, the sugar levels remain even. So do one’s moods and behaviors.

We are still basically animals. We have primitive fight-or-flight reflex. In prehistoric days, this was useful because you could run or fight, depending on the situation that presented it self.

The rules of civility have changed. Today it is socially unacceptable to run from a situation or to fight in a situation. (Of course at times we might have to use fight-or-flight, in a war zone or when facing imminent attack from an overwhelming force.)

When the brain does not receive adequate sugar in a continuous flow, it becomes hyper vigilant. The brain constantly looks for nourishment and is only functioning from a primitive level. Carbohydrates quickly break down to sugar, providing a burst of energy, but only for a short time. It will drop just as swiftly, usually to a level lower than when you first had your carbohydrate.

Following the Process

When the brain is receiving a correct amount of protein, the protein breaks down to sugar more slowly than carbohydrates. The brain functions from its higher levels, allowing us to make less emotional decisions, to react from a higher level of thinking. This allows us to behave effectively, logically.

You may not be surprised to know that after just three sessions and a sharp change in diet, the woman is feeling better than she has in two years. Her depression recedes steadily. Her desire to be a better, more energetic person is increasing. She is actively looking for work, able to go out and have fun with friends and is focused on doing what she know she wants to do with little effort other than watching what she eats.

She no longer is seeing the psychiatrist, and she has stopped the medication.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, 310.204.3321, or by email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net. See my website at www.hypnotherapy4you.net