Depression Damages Parts of the Brain, Research Concludes

Yes and Zinc is also known as the 'male mineral'. Upon tests results showed that most non heterosexual males lacked this mineral greatly. Zinc is being stripped from the food chain and unless you supplement it, you simply won't have enough of it.

And also this piece i discovered in regards to too much Copper and Males who get way too much of it.
Are You Deficient?


Zinc Deficiency

a reply to: Menrva

Actually, some of the medicines actually cause a reduction of copper in the body by patentable means while other meds increase tyramine levels by patentable means. They create drugs that make things happen that a diet adjustment can also do. Some times people cannot absorb certain chemistry from food and some meds alter this. Studying how the medicines work is kind of fun for me.

a reply to: rickymouse

copper. nuts can be quite high in copper, relative to the zinc.

a reply to: awareness10

If you consume a lot of sugar and carbs, the zinc is used to process the sugars and tied up or excreted in the process. This makes other systems and hormones that need zinc actually be deficient of zinc. Zinc is sweat out easily also, copper isn't.

Also some people can not create the enzymes to use copper correctly and these people get anxiety sometimes.

a reply to: pl3bscheese

Ok, you are right, some nuts are reasonably high in copper. They also have molybdenum though which can help to process out the copper. Sulfur also takes out zinc and magnesium along with undesireable metals.

That is fascinating!

I was depressed through most of my childhood up until my early twenties, just used to feeling nothing, having low energy, hypoglycemia and low blood pressure, no appetite- when doctors would tell me I was depressed, I didn't quite believe it. I thought it was normal to just live in a black cloud without any hope or desires for life.

But in my mid twenties, when I started to understand this was not normal for everyone, and wanted to change it, I followed an inner guidance- I began doing long hikes in nature everyday, doing meditation and visualization exercises, and things started to change.

But my memory remained really , really bad. Both long and short term. I started to think that would never ever get better, it was just a handicap I had to live with.

Yesterday I had to call an office while I was in my car, but didn't have the number with me. I had seen it on my phone once the day before, and I actually remembered it! I was very unsure of myself- I can't ever remember numbers! I get my bank card eaten up by machines because I forget my pin number that I have had for years!

I took the chance, dialed, and got it correct! I have had little victories like this lately, which indicate to me that my "handicap" might actually be getting better.

But my first child has a problem with depression (to be expected, I guess, as I was depressed while pregnant, and while he was in his early years) and he is worried about how he'll do in his studies (he just decided to go back to college) because his memory is so bad. This might give him some hope.

*puts that in his pipe and smokes it*

... you know ..

.. with this pipe and all, I'm not so depressed ..

.. huh ..

Just thinking about how this punches holes in the American dream, that all people have the same possibilities to rise, no matter what kind of background they come from.
A kid coming from poverty and suffering is going to have mental deficiencies as a result which inhibit their capacities to strive and move up in the society.


My husband is more of a EQ intelligence - he doesn't think things out much, but he can read people with a "sense" that is incredibly accurate. He often speaks to me of "those people you can tell have really suffered in life". I have asked him how he knows this at first sight. He described physical characteristics - being very thin and un healthy looking in skin and hair; a nervous and/or sad look to the eyes; and a kind of lack of clarity in their thinking and memory processes when asked about their life and past, or even what happened yesterday.

This does correspond with the typical attributes of someone who has been depressed a long time, along with the effects on the brain. Though he never reads scientific material at all. He says there is no need.... I guess that depends upon the person and how well their EQ is developed! LOL!

I'ts simple to me. People who get depressed are too sensitive to adversity. Their brain experiences trauma and gets damaged. Consistent long term stress on the brain will damage it.

One study I saw linked creativity and/or rumination with depression. Perhaps people who think about the world too much inevitably either think too much about something positive or too much about something negative and it breaks the balance, making them vulnerable.

Get rid of the sensitivity or overcompensate in some other area and some balance can be arrived at.

I've seen studies link exercising to reduced depression. Maybe exercising is just a way to distract the mind away from a rumination? The person might be walking and seeing things or they might be focusing on the exercising. Or maybe increased circulation relaxes the rumination.

One way of interpreting the OP's thread is starving the brain of positive reassuring thoughts makes it unhealthy.

I've recently been diagnosed as depressed lately, but I'm not sad ever. More so I'm just uninterested with my settings. I'm told I'm standoffish, but when you actually talk with me you see the opposite. I've always been a loner, but when I feel like being social I am and I'm damn good at it. The memory thing mentioned is what intrigued me. Over the past couple years I've noticed my short-term memory weakening, but the long-term becoming increasingly more active. I wonder what the correlation/causation may be, and if there are any studies on it. It's something I'd definitely want to participate in as I am a very intelligent person, but lately lack the encouragement to use my brain, like ever.

a reply to: Kapusta

This is all true


But I hear brain has incredible plasticity and can heal as well

a reply to: Kapusta

I don't know whether to feel blessed or depressed. I've had the blues for almost twenty years and i'm sharp as a tack most of the time, but I have been affected, no doubt about it.

Depression sucks-the clouds can be lined with silver but you still always manage to find the dark clouds.

I've been depressed (with diagnosis) for years. Have been in and out of therapy (mostly not particularly helpful, except the opportunity to talk through stuff with an impartial third party), have been on antidepressants for most of the past 18 years...with some benefit. I have been using the Tapping technique and positive affirmations for about two months. I have seen some improvement...but not on a consistent basis. I have what I call POH's (Pit of Hell depressions). They are not as frequent as they used to be, but still can come out of the blue from some odd trigger, and lay me low for a few days.

The comment about neural pathways and getting a song stuck in your head resonated...because I have that problem and it is getting worse. Not sure what to do about that...but it drives me NUTS.

I also find if I get involved in one of my creative/artful projects I can start to shake off the "bads." I suppose that's pointing the focus on something that is intellectually consuming??

It is nice, though, to learn that the brain can be healed.

a reply to: Jansy

It's simply pointing your focus/awareness elsewhere.

Imagine neural networks that are associaited with your POHs. They have become strengthened over time. It's easy to activate this circuit.

You have to grow that which causes you to feel well, and be well. Atrophy that which keeps you down.

You can be triggered into bringing the POH experience to the forefront. The trick is to realize when this happens, allow the circuit to slowly quiet down, while you choose to focus your attention elsewhere.

The more you develop this skill, the stronger this ability will become.

a reply to: Jansy

A question and comment to you and those others who are currently or have in the past suffered from MDD. I am currently a medical student in the US and will begin my residency in Psychiatry in about a year. If you guys don't mind divulging, I'm curious as to which specific antidepressant or combination of antidepressants you guys are on. Often times, the wrong antidepressant is prescribed, and because of lack of follow-up, the medication is not properly monitored and/or changed.

Secondly, I'm curious whether or not you feel as though the medications you are on seems to be curbing your symptoms of depression, or do you feel as though they have no discernible affect?

Lastly, I'm curious as to whether any of you guys are familiar with, either because it's been recommended to you by your docs, or through personal research, the treatment option called ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy). ECT is one of the last lines of treatment for medication-resistant depression, however it is quite effective, and despite the gruesome sounding name, has a very very low side-effect profile.

Thanks in advance.

a reply to: kayej1188

The diluted version has been gaining traction recently. transcranial stimulation therapy? something like that. I think ECT is a forced rewiring, like defragmenting a hard-drive. I think it can potentially do some good, but also muck things up more. Honestly I think Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds would be a more ethical means of rewiring, or shrooms. Both have shown good evidence to work well.

I look for foods which work to increase BDNF, and NGF expression. Also cholinergics, and phosphocholine precursors.

This one very good as well. I purhcase notoginseng powder bulk ebay, teaspoon in liter of chai/green mixed loose leaf tea with cheap whey/creatine mixed in.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...

oh and to add my whirl flows counter, funky lefty. as you may imagine meds don't work well on me; they exclude us from trials, i opt out of public guini pigness

Could brain damage lead to depression? If you eat toxic waste, wouldn't the brain suffer? I mean swap the conclusion

originally posted by: Temudjiin
Could brain damage lead to depression? If you eat toxic waste, wouldn't the brain suffer? I mean swap the conclusion

It's not either or..

For me it was definitely psychological. Realizing when I was four I didn't like society, which got worse the more I learned. That mixed with alcoholic parents.. All that Trauma..

For other people it may be do to toxins.. It's both.. Like having a knife.. The knife can be sharp or dull, (toxins) AND the person using the knife can know how to keep the blade sharp or not, and know how to cut with it well.. (psychological)..

Focus on both aspects and heal yourself.

A post above talking about chemical resets..
Saved my life.
You guys wouldn't even recognize me, from before that.

a reply to: Reverbs

I mean the brain will go into a depressive state when the body suffers from trauma, withdrawal etc. where did the depression occur from, I don't think a breakup leads to brain damage. But I think toxic food leads to brain damage then depression

Depression is the most horrible feeling in the world. I still remember the desperate and frustrating feeling it brought me, the feeling that there's no point to anything anymore. I'm glad that chapter of my life is now behind me. Remember hope is never lost it's just up to you to get up and fight through it, if you need help then take a look at what I read over at aestheticreview.com there are some good pointers there that can really help. Don't lose hope! Inch by inch it's a cinch!