I experienced massive post-partum depression and later bipolar disorder after the birth of my son. I never took western medicine pills, for fear of becoming stuck for life on them as so many do. So I suffered in silence, my sadness hidden under a sunny outside personality in various ways for 7 years.

I tried many mental strategies for dealing with my emotions which helped some, but it wasn’t until I encountered Dr. Patrick Holford‘s work that I really made progress on true healing.

Holford offers nutrition advice but leans heavily on supplements. I now prefer whole foods and superfoods which I think are a better solution long term (see my article about superfoods I eat daily – coming soon!). However supplementation is a great start for those used to taking pills to help their mental health. Not all supplements are equal and it’s important to watch out for additives like silica, titanium dioxide, and many others.

When recovering from bipolar disorder a great resource for quality supplements was TrueHope which also has a phone support line that was really helpful when I was using their products. They seemed really well educated and specialize in mental health recovery for those with intense mental health symptoms or who are coming off western meds.

Holford’s book is awesome but also repetitive as he covers similar nutrition info for many different symptoms. Just read the chapter on the symptoms you are experiencing and try those things first.

I had good results within 1-2 weeks of taking magnesium, zinc, lecithin, fish oils, and a multivitamin. (See my article about vitamins here) I also added high dose CBD later and it helped a lot in managing/masking my anxiety. Ideally you want to get off any “masking” tools eventually.

If you haven’t already considered reducing/eliminating Gluten/Dairy/Sugar I would highly recommend starting with that first. (Plugging the wholes in the bucket before adding good things to help)

His description of what sugar/dairy/gluten/nicotine/cigarettes do to increase neuro-inflamation in the mentally unstable, schizophrenic or psychosis experiencers was enough to get me off all of them permanently!

Many mental health troubles stem from the gut, so a pro-biotic like a locally farmers market/human produced and NON pasteurized kombucha/kefir/sauerkraut/cashew cheese is a good substitute addictive food your body will learn to crave. lol

Consider adding in something like VTOX from Vasayo, or a psyllium husk powder/charcoal powder in the evening away from food to help your body bond to toxins that your body is clearing overnight (this is what causes the exhaustion generally)

Once gut healing work is done you don’t need to stay dependent on the supplements/probiotics, but do need to keep your diet free of inflammatory foods as long as you are symptomatic (constipation/diarrhea/mood instabilities/excess gas) within 48 hours of eating them.

Often the biggest issue in recovery is relapse into these foods. So removing the underlaying patterning which causes well meaning people to relapse into patterns of poor digestive care.

I’m not a trained nutritionist, but I have studied extensively in my recovery and have recovered in a way that is very meaningful to me and my family. I have also helped others to remove their cravings/compulsion to eat those things that don’t help and stick to their healing programs.

If that is something that you need help with I’d be happy to offer my services to support your journey. Connect with me if you feel you would benefit from this kind of support.