Discussion In your opinion: do diet and lifestyle affect your mental health more or does your mental health affect your diet and lifestyle more?

[endless_worry]

Just interested in your thoughts.

 

[charlotte_]

That's a very interesting question. Took me a while to think, but I think the latter fits a bit more. I have a horrible diet caused by anorexia and problems with over/undersleeping because I'm just really needing something to get my mind off. I have depression so going outside for me is a tough task.

 

[gatzby128]

I think the latter. I do feel better when I eat healthy and take care of myself but I can only do that when my mental health allows it. I have no control over when I'm going to swing into a low and once I'm down, I definitely can't put forth the effort to make healthy choices.
Good question, what would your answer be?

 

[The anhedonic one]

Yeah, I went through a phase of eating a very healthy vegan diet.
I did feel better, but missed unhealthy food too much.

 

[Forever Sleep]

It's just one whole vicious circle. Diet and exercise definitely affect my mood. When I live healthier- I feel better but- I have to be feeling determined enough to do that. Junk food and being lazy are FAR more appealing when I feel like shit already. They help in the short term to comfort me but if I just keep on and on with them- I sink lower and lower. Till I feel so crap, unhealthy and fat that I do something about it. Then, the cycle repeats.

Overall though- it's like a chicken and egg question and for me- my mental state comes first. It's that that primarily dictates whether I put a carrot or carrot cake in my mouth. Personally- when I'm feeling healthier, there's a good chance I'll be feeling better emotionally- so I'll feel the need for junk food less. It fluctuates for me though.

I truly hate how we've been designed though- it's utterly sadistic. Most things we are attracted to- become addicted to in fact are terribly bad for us. It's like this big sick joke!

 

[Siderly]

The latter is true for me, I don't trust good feelings - if I start feeling proud or happy after a healthy activity I question it and I know I won't be able to keep up the activity/healthy diet

 

[endless_worry]

I think the latter. I do feel better when I eat healthy and take care of myself but I can only do that when my mental health allows it. I have no control over when I'm going to swing into a low and once I'm down, I definitely can't put forth the effort to make healthy choices.
Good question, what would your answer be?

As most have said so far, it's a little of both. I switched to a healthier vegan/Mediterranean diet about 6 month ago. I feel so much better when I eat better. But that doesn't mean that my mental health is not going to knock me on my ass when it feels like it. And when it does, I tend to say 'eff the diet' and just eat what I want. Because of that my weight, a1c, blood pressure, and other health factors yo-yo like crazy.

When I'm feeling particularly bad, I sleep a lot as well and tend to only eat one meal a day. But my major problem is drinks! When I'm feeling icky I don't drink enough water and I drink way too much sugar filled crap. I can drink so much sugar to keep me fat that I really don't need to eat anything to be fat!!

So yeah, I know deep down that eating better will ultimately help me feel better, but even with that knowledge it's hard to build motivation to do so.

 

[psp3000]

I think my diet and lifestyle affects my mental health both positively and negatively

I am deficient in many vitamins (not severe at the moment) so I can't stay awake much during the day and doing some simple tasks makes me lose more energy than a healthy person

and I can sleep on command and for long periods of time until I feel sick

I miss being able to stay awake all day and all night like I did when I was healthy but now that I can't do that anymore everyday feels extremely short and repetitive

I miss being severely vitamin defiecent because I lost a lot of weight due to weird eating habits and because I was very pale I am still pale now but I wish I was back to the weight I was then without having to be extremely "ill"

 

[SexyIncél]

The social world carries the greatest threats to my psychological state. Solving psychological problems starts in the social world

My diet's simple in comparison, and easily solved

 

[bugoutbag]

My instinct is that mental wellbeing and lifestyle reinforce each other in both directions.

Can poor diet and sedentary lifestyle induce depression? Can lifestyle choices relieve it? Maybe a bit, but I doubt the effect size is large.

 

[loyalskateboard]

Interesting question, I like it. Eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise has been proven to improve mental health. At the same time, mental illness can destroy even the most physically healthy individual. Imo if your mental health is down the toilet, that would affect your ability to make healthy food choices/get enough exercise. If you can't even brush your hair, you probably won't go for a walk every day. Making healthy choices can improve your depression though. It won't cure it but it's a step forward.

If you're having a mental health slump but are otherwise healthy, diet and exercise might be enough. Maintaining mental health and preventing mental illness vs treating a mental illness, you know?

I'm going with the latter - mental health affects your diet and lifestyle more. Especially if it's something like agoraphobia.

 

[iwannadisslife]

The 2 are interrrelated, an imbalance in one will reflect an imbalance in the other. I noticed, when I went like a month without vegetables I had all these cuts and scrapes all over my hand that weren't healing. Went to the store got a box of salad mix and within a week that shit healed right up.