My blog today is about helping people with bipolar and depression through nutrition.
This is an exciting blog to share with you all!
In September someone contacted me to be their personal mentor. As some of you know I create
Personalized Programs for the Earth Diet readers.
This person in particular wishes to remain anonymous, but has agreed to share their story and testimonial, as I explained, it might move you and inspire you and help a lot of other people.
Lets call this anonymous person Annon, who says they do have before and after photos, and may share them with the world 'IF this works', and two if they feel comfortable. The thing is that Annon is a known author, and said she would be embarrassed if people knew her 'real' story.
Annon came to me with many health issues. Annon
completed the questionare online so I got a grasp of where she was at (general age, location, health issues, goals etc) and in the additional comments this is what she wrote...
"I cannot go on living like this anymore. I am suffering so much, that I don't think I have too, but I am, I must be doing something wrong, I obviously need some guidance, and this is my last, my very very very last hope to save my life. I am successful in my career, and it is going well more than I could have imagined, yet I am SO DEPRESSED, I wake up most mornings wanting to die. I mostly do not want to be alive, and I don't understand why I have to be. I begged God to take me, but since I am here, I must do everything I can to heal my suffering, so my life doesn't get worse and worse. It really started to go down hill in the past 6 months, and it seems to be getting worse and worse. My thoughts are more and more negative. It feels like I have been on a low cycle the past couple years. I wasn't always like this. I once had less and was a happier person - or was I? I am so confused. My health is suffering big time - my therapist says I have depression, and my doctor says I am bipolar, but yet I refuse to go on any pharmaceutical drugs. Liana you have to help me, please I will do anything, I will commit, I am willing to do this all the way if you really think it can help. I have been smoking marijuana since 2010, almost every day, which I am ashamed to say. No one really knows this about me and I have hidden it well. It just doesn't seem like my character and it would really disappoint a lot of people, especially my readers who are counting on me. I don't want to smoke any more. I want to be free of it sooo much, but it gives me so much relief and peace - well I think it does, but I am not sure. I have convinced myself on and off that it is good for me, and that it is bad for me, but I think the ultimate place I can be in is not having to smoke, is it possible to feel that high without some drug or chemical? Liana this is what I want. I might be addicted since I do it almost every day. I don't want to replace it with junk food. I eat fairly well actually, you would be proud of me. I started using the Earth Diet ingredients back in 2009 when you first started your blog. I have eaten A LOT less junk food since your blog thank you so much for that, you have already saved my life because before that I was also addicted to junk food, so when I started reading your blog I stopped eating junk food and starting eating clean, but then about 3 months later I started to smoke marijuana. I feel like I replaced the junk food with marijuana. I thought because it is natural from the earth it can't be that bad, but I think it has affected my health as my eyes are darker, and I am sure my lungs don't like it, and I just think I would be a better person if I didn't 'need' to smoke. So I've been on and off with my eating good, but I can proudly say that I have eaten more good foods than bad foods in the past 4 years. Thank god. But I do notice every time I try to give up smoking I start eating junk foods. It's like I need one or the other.
Liana I need a program where I can eliminate both. I am sick and tired of being dissatisfied with my life. I want to be soooo proud of myself and I want to have a major breakthrough. I don't really know what it will take, but I do have a good feeling about you. I really don't want to go on medication, and I really don't want to be a pot smoker for the rest of my life and I really don't want to commit suicide! I am sure I have a looong way to go, but I am willing to do what it takes. I don't really need to lose weight, maybe 4 pounds would be nice and if I could tone up more. I would like to look prettier, my looks seem to have gotten worse with my negative thinking and pot smoking. If I died right now I would be unhappy with my body, I mean I am grateful I am not in pain right now, my body is well, but I know it's just not my dream body. Am I being selfish to want my dream body? I need to think better thoughts. I am thinking such negative thoughts. I am sure it is the chemicals, gmos and pot smoking taking a toll. I used to be able to handle situations much better, now I am set off with things that might seem small. I have so much fear. I have been treated like shit and been betrayed, lied to, cheated on and abused in the past few years, and I think I am in shock. Well it's time for me to work on letting go of this. I used to really love people and smile at people on the street, now I am just scared of everyone. It doesn't feel right. I know Einstein said perhaps the most challenging thing we will do in our lives is choose to believe I live in a hostile world, or a world that supports me. I am ready to believe in a good world again. I have to. Sure I could continue smoking pot and eating some gmos here and there, but Liana, it just does not fulfill me, it leaves me empty. But I feel kind of crazy wanting such dreams to be possible. I hope they are, and if they are not, I will just have to continue life sometimes happy, and sometimes wanting to die. I also have always had shitty nails, I have bitten my nails since a child, and I want to stop biting them, for once in my life I want strong healthy nails. Also my hair is thin, I want to grow it thicker. And I have veins on my legs I am hoping will go. I also have moles and spots I hope will go, but lol I understand if these are permanent. My eyes used to be beautiful bright green, and now they are dull. I have black circles under my eyes. I have also had acne on my face for 11 months! I have not been able to heal it, and I've never had acne in my life, not even as a teenager! I also had this clairvoyant woman on the street stop me and tell me I was developing bowel and vaginal cancer. I got goosebumps when she spoke to me, and it might sound crazy, but I believe she is right, I have abused my bowels, I used to take laxatives after binge eating on junk food, and I have also abused my vagina, I have been molested once, and many men have taken advantage of me. I am surely learning lessons. I went to a kinesiologist who said I had herpes which might explain the acne. I am not holding back here, I am being totally honest with you in what I want, as I know your time is important and I am just grateful you can spend the time to mentor me. I am still in my late twenties and I want to improve the quality of my life now before it becomes harder in the future. If I don't enjoy the rest of my 20's I am sure I will look back and really regret it. This is the most rock bottom I have ever felt in my life, and it's confusing because from the outside people think I am so happy and have it all and my career really is going perfectly. It's time for me to get really real, and really really healthy and authentically happy. I want to look in the mirror and think to myself 'I love you' rather than saying 'I hate you, what a piece of shit!'. I sometimes don't feel like brushing my teeth, and I have mucus on the back of my throat constantly. I eat meat maybe twice a week and I really want to be free of it because it seems like I pick up on the energy of the animal - just doesn't feel right. I think I've had enough of meat for a while. Also I find if I don't smoke I will need to drink wine, like I said it seems I always need to be on some kind of drug or escapism. I feel relief already just from emailing you all of this. Seriously I have become so negative and cynical about life and people and myself. I really really hope that your program can help me find relief and the answers I am looking for! I have also been sleeping soooo much and feel like I am wasting time! I am not really on a budget, I live in New York City and have access to organic stores and farmers markers. I will spend whatever I need to to fix my situation. Although I also need to save more money and make more money. The more depressed I get the more I seem to be cutting myself off from financial abundance."
Wow! It is easier for me to create an accurate program when a person is honest. So this is what I created for Annon. This is a 7 day program to fulfill Annon's needs and goals. I set her a list of things to do for each day, and sent a document she could print off and then tick it off each day. This is a great way to feel accomplishment throughout the day. After the 7 days we were to touch base again and create another 7 day plan.
1. Drink a juice daily
2. Drink a smoothie daily
3. Drink
bentonite clay daily
4. Drink ditamaceous earth daily
5. Drink
Phresh Greens daily
6. Drink mangosteen daily
7. Drink a herbal tea daily
8. Eat a salad daily
9. Do a morning meditation - 20 minutes
10. Do a night meditation - 20 minutes
11. Do yoga daily for at least 15 minutes, on 3 days do 60 minutes
12. Write 100 things you are grateful for daily
13. Look at yourself for 10 minutes and think loving thoughts daily
14. Take one supplement daily whether it is Vitamin C, Noni, Echinacea or something positive
15. Brush your teeth daily with organic toothpaste, baking soda or bentonite clay
16. Daily facial care, cucumber, avocado, clay mask, aloe, something
17. Castor oil pack, three times in the 7 days
18. No meat
19. No negative thoughts
20. No alcohol
21. No nail biting
22. No smoking.
Aim: To save your life!
Notes: If you want to eat more throughout the day have a piece of raw fruit, or raw chocolate, or a dessert from a raw vegan cafe like One Lucky Duck and Pure Food and Wine - every ingredient is naturally provided by earth!
Bonus: Relax, go to Central Park, enjoy the rest of summer, take deep breaths in, go see a movie, listen to your favorite youtube videos or music, go to the beach, go upstate!
Annons after her 7 days
"WOW! I started right away. I was thinking of starting it 3 days after you sent it to me so I could get prepared, but I woke up the next day and just naturally did it. Each step I did it started to ease my pain! So I just kept going.
DAY ONE - Was great. I was so relieved, and the fact that you got me to do so many things, it helped take my mind off wanting to smoke and eat other foods. I was full actually from so many liquids. I feel better already. Obviously not getting my hopes up too high as it is day one. I stuck to the plan completely, well actually I did everything except I did not have a juice or smoothie, I did have an excellent salad and dessert a Pure Food and Wine which I know is Earth Diet approved. I did notice I spent most of the day in a good space feeling peaceful, but I did spend 2 hours totally stressed to the max about my living situation and money and relationships. I was able to appreciate the peace that I did have throughout the day. I also did eat some raw chocolate - Noah's raw almond bar that you recommended.
DAY TWO: I did it again! Woo! I did think negative thoughts, I am realizing that one will probably be my biggest challenge! I did everything on the list except for this. I am loving the affirmations, it makes me think wow I have soooo much! But then I don't want to be an idiot and think I have a lot when in reality I don't. But then who decides how much I have, I am confused to whether it is all about perception or not. I am craving smoking a bit, but every time I crave it I do deep breaths and I actually am getting high from breathing! Didn't bite my nails today. PROUD! I also woke up earlier with more energy.
I have been working with Annon now for 2 and a half months and her condition has improved. She has not hurt herself since being on program. Annon has not had junk food since I started working with her, she has smoked less, her nails are better than they have ever been in her life, she says she feels prettier more days than not now, she is more productive and has only been in 2 really low spaces, compared to feeling low every single day. And one thing she realized is that life is easier for her when she sticks to the program, and when she strays she has a harder time. Annon wants to continue to work one-on-one with me until she is well clear from feeling depression and symptoms of bipolar. This is fine, and ultimately everyone would get to a level where they can create their own program, but when people are going through a hard time they need guidance from a loving coach or mentor. I have my own mentors and coaches for my life. It also creates a sense of connection and community with other human beings. I have learned people with depression and bipolar isolate themselves, because they think they are weird and no one can relate to them. People need people to be there for them, and I am a stand for people with depression and bipolar, that they can improve their situation, or even heal it completely, but our aim is to just at least improve it.
I have learned with working with Annon, that someone with depression and bipolar needs a lot of things to keep them active, and keep their mind focused on a healthy plan that they can tick off their achievements daily and feel a sense of accomplishment. When someone with depression and bipolar doesn't have guidance, they can tend to do destructive things and get in a vicious cycle. I have also learned that every single person requires a different and very unique program designed for them only, this is what makes it personalized and this is what makes it work.
If you know someone with depression or bipolar, one of the programs I have designed can really help them. Go here if you want to check it out and complete the questionnaire.
http://www.theearthdiet.org/personalised-program.html
I believe people do not deserve to suffer.
All of the recipes on my website, and in my new book are designed to nourish the body and hence hep with depression and bipolar. If you have loved ones suffering, get them off as many chemicals as possible, and feed them as much nutritious foods and drinks as possible. Give them my book as a gift!
Love Liana
www.facebook.com/lianawernergray
