Hi Jurplesman,
It's hard to know what to say here. I hate to see anyone feel like they aren't being respected or welcomed here, because I feel this is one of the friendliest and most informative places on the net. We're all here because we truly want to help people, and we all have different backgrounds and experiences.
I think everyone here has very valid arguments. You could probably count me among one of your bigger supporters here, but like others, I guess I do have certain concerns.
There is certainly a great deal that qualifies me to have some understanding in these arguments. I too suffer from mental illness, chronic depression. Mental illness runs in both sides of my family. I spent the greater part of my adolescene in and out of psychiatric hospitals, repeatedly being thrown back into the world with no supports, every time my insurance ran out, no hope for a cure in sight. I tried every medication under the sun to no avail, some even seemed to make my symptoms worse.
I've had friends with illnesses ranging from schizophrenia to multiple personality disorder. Though medications have worked well for many of them, I know they don't always work well for all. I myself have found very different strategies for coping.
Growing up, my education was essentially non-existent due to the problems that dominated my life. When eventually I decided to pursue college studies, I began majoring in psychology. I did this off and on for a time, before becoming accepted into one of the best biotechnology programs in the US where I stayed for a year and a half. Not satisfied, I continued to wander in and out of schools, before finally graduating as a certified massage therapist.
I have as well, studied a great deal outside of formal avenues. Throughout my whole adult life, a good deal of my free time has been devoted to the study of Eastern philosophies, as well as different forms of alternative medicine, including herbalism and diet.
I don't claim to remeber everything I learned in college. After years of undiagnosed hypothyroidism and a couple bouts of chronic Lyme, I have a mind like a sieve. But I do feel J 9 has some very valid medical concerns. And I will defer to her expertise here, such no longer being a large part of my current curriculum of studies. As well, I consider Val to be one of the most practical and knowledgeable people here when it comes to dealing with the topic of depression. Val's posts continue to surprise me with their insight and acuity, particularly in coining a term such as "terminal uniqueness."
I do feel you are wrong in believing that depression is not a complex mental illness. Though there often is a tendency to reduce it to simple biochemistry, it is still often a wholly unanswerable matter of the chicken or the egg. Often it is impossible to determine just where the illness began, and whether an imbalance has lead to social dysfuctions, or whether social dysfuctions have contributed to the illness. But there is no mistaking that it affects people on many levels. Physical, mental, spiritual and social.
In training as a massage therapist, I was continually surprised at just how many people seek out therapy out of simple "touch deprivation", want of more intimate human contact. As a practicing Buddhist of over 15 years, I can honestly tell you, sutras and meditation have probably saved my life. Though all I'm saying here is, if I saw someone perched on the edge of a bridge, I'd be fairly reluctant to hand them a meditation cushion as a flotation device.
I think peoples concern here, is that many posters come here at the end of their rope, so to speak. I think many of them see these boards as their last hope, looking for a sympathetic ear in a sea of anonymity. I know I myself am not always able to reach out, as some things just hit too close to home. We must maintain a certain distance in order to remain objective and be effective in our advice. But most of all, we must, above all else, listen.
Forgive me if this sounds harsh, but I think people feel that when you repeatedly post links to nutritional therapy, that you are at risk of coming across as more of a marquee. I think you have an extraordinary amount to contribute here, and I personally hope you will stick around, but I'm not sure that when someone is contemplating suicide, this is necessarily the best time to refer them to reams of text.
Lend them your ear for now. True knowledge is timeless and will be no less valid tomorrow. Desperate people may only have today.
This thread reminds of another group that believe that that mental illness can be cured by diet and removing the alien spirits that inhabit the body. I looking into that too.
Let me see if I understand you correctly. If a person were diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder or schizophrenia, they could be cured by following your diet?
You might be interested to knowm that some psychiatrists are claiming that.
Please read:
Reading, Chris (2002), TRACE YOUR GENES TO HEALTH, Ridgefield, CT. : Vital Health Publishing, 2002.
Too many links to read and your schizo links and some others didn't go anywhere.
While I believe that diet is important I don't think you can follow any one diet for a number of problems.
Omega, B vitamins and Co Q10 are essential for many things. CoQ10 is essential for people taking statins, while for reversing diabetes you need chromium, alpha lipoic, prickly pear to name a few.
For Schizo vitamin B3 and 6, glutamine and maganese are important.
Cancer you need mega doses of antioxidents, essaic, astragalus, CoQ10 and shark cartiledge, once again only a few.
Autism has a whole nother set of essential things.
Amino acids are also important as well as balancing PH and detoxing.
Oh I do plan to read up on some of the stuff in your links because I am interested in all the natural heal stuff.
That sounds like "Dianetics" not dietetics. 
Linear Mode
