🎤 PODCAST • Depression ~ Are there any foods or tips to help end my depression?
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The Selfish Path to Romance. Download Chapter 1 for free at drkenner.com and at amazon.com. I want to welcome Bobbi to the show. Is that your name, Bobbi? Yes. Hi. How are you doing? Good. And you're dealing with some depression? Yes. And I wanted to ask a question about maybe dietary changes. Would that help? Tell me, just give me a snapshot of...

a typical day for you say today what did you wake up what did you do well i woke up um got ready for work um however didn't got to work but didn't go into work because i just was not i don't know i wasn't feeling it and um then just came back home and how old are you i'm 32 you're 32 so you're young

Have you been depressed for a while, or was there a recent time when you felt a little happier? I think I've probably been depressed since college. Yeah, what happened there? I don't know. I guess going away from home, feeling stressed, boyfriend problems, and it just seems like it's been going downhill ever since. Any moments when you felt a little less stressed or a little more optimistic? Yes.

Yes, I mean, there's times when I'm very, very up and, you know, I have this new job and I'm doing the job well. And then all of a sudden, I don't know, something happens and I start feeling sad again. Okay, when you say something happens, what's happening is that your thoughts are changing. In your best moments, Bobbi, what are you focused on when you're feeling up?

If you could just let your thoughts speak out loud, what are the type of things they might say? When I'm feeling up? Yeah, when you're feeling in a good mood. Well, I'm thinking about the future. I'm thinking about my son. I'm thinking about making a better life for myself. When I'm feeling up, I'm thinking about family, friends.

I'm just thinking, I guess, positive things and things that I can do or should be doing or will be doing. Let me put that in one word. You're thinking of the things that are values in your life, the goodies in life.

So you can choose the word values or goodies so you can hold on to it. That is your key out of a depression. We can talk about food in a moment, but that isn't the essential. When you're feeling depressed, the main thing that you want to do is to... Hey, I got to interrupt this because we've got to pay some bills. 30 seconds, that's it. A very quick ad and then Ellen will be back. Romance. I wish I knew more about what girls want from a relationship.

Boy, I wish I knew more about what I want. Where's that ad I saw? Here it is. The Selfish Path to Romance, a serious romance guidebook. Download chapter one for free at selfishromance.com and buy it at amazon.com.

Huh. The selfish path to romance. That is interesting. We can talk about food in a moment, but that isn't the essential. When you're feeling depressed, the main thing that you want to do is to give yourself a lifeline, to let yourself think about what would make tomorrow a little better, which is really your future.

Because tomorrow is the beginning of the next day, the next month, the next year. So you could start small and then bridge out. What would make tomorrow better? Is there some hobby that you enjoy? Do you like some activity? I know getting out and exercising with some exercise that you enjoy, not dragging yourself to the gym if you hate the gym, but something that you enjoy, even if it's just taking a lovely walk, even if it's...

you know, cold out and looking at the birds or something. What is something that you would enjoy that would get you out and active a little bit? I'm walking, but it's snowing now. And what I had said to myself is that I was going to stop walking, even if it was just walking around the building. Okay. Do you live in a city? Yes. So it's safe to walk around the building? Yes.

I'm talking about the building at work. Oh, the building at work. Okay. And that might be fun to do? I don't know whether it's fun. Okay. You want to put yourself in an up mood, using your word, up. Your thoughts control your mood.

And when you get in a down mood, you're probably not thinking about good things about your future. You're probably not thinking good things about your son. You're probably not thinking about a better life for yourself. You're probably not thinking good thoughts about family when you're in a bummed out mood. Am I correct? Yes.

You're correct. Just give me a quick sampler of what you might be thinking when you're, like today, when you went to work and you didn't even walk into work. What might you be thinking? I was just thinking, it just looks like my life is going nowhere. I'm in a dead-end job. Instead of thinking, okay, this is a... When I first got the job, I was thinking, okay, this is the job for right now to get me to where I need to go. And today I was just thinking, this is a dead-end job and I'm just stuck.

Okay, so then you want to take the next thinking step, which is if you reframe that. Reframing is like putting a different picture frame around it. That's a therapy skill. You put it in a different picture frame that it is just what you initially said, a transition job. It's a stepping stone rather than a job where you're stuck.

And then the next step would be, how can I, the next question to ask yourself would be, how can I start today to think about getting a different job?

Right. Right.

So see if there are any possibilities there. Certainly let your boss know at a certain point when you think it's proper that you do want to be able to advance. You don't want to risk losing your job, but you can start thinking, what are other ways that I would enjoy to make a living?

you know what other and maybe you'll find something very different maybe or maybe it'll be in the same career but you I would go to the web search my website dr kenner dot com and in terms of food I think it is it once you if you're getting some exercise I think once people exercise they also want to take better care of their body and now eat more nutritious food the veggies your fruits your I get rid of the candies get rid of all of the sweets

and I don't know what you're eating. What is the question with eating? Well, most of the time I'm eating a can of soup or something like that for lunch and sometimes for dinner too when I come home. Treat yourself to some fresh soup. Maybe make some fresh soup for yourself. Eat some healthy food for yourself, and I'm sure you know what that is. Listen, I wish we had more time.

Go to my website, drkenner.com, and if you can hang on, I'll talk to you over the break. What I think it's important for everyone to know is that if you're feeling depressed, you can always, and you think it has something to do with food, you can always go to your own doctor, a medical doctor, and see if you have any food allergies. See if you have

Eating patterns such as eating spicy food that's giving you indigestion or eating so much junk food because you're just angry with yourself and you're not tending to yourself, you're not exercising, you're not eating well. I mean, those are things that most of us know how to do, but sometimes going to the medical doctor and your medical doctor saying, hey, you need to have a better diet helps. And sometimes people even will go to a nutritionist.

That's important to just rule out, to just go for a medical check-out and to make sure that you're on the right track with eating. What's really critical to know, though, is that many times, in fact, almost all the time when you have a psychological depression, it's due to your thinking. And that's where you want to go to my website and get the book, Mind Over Mood.

For more Dr. Kenner podcasts, go to drkenner.com and please listen to this ad. Here's an excerpt from The Selfish Path to Romance, The Serious Romance Guidebook by clinical psychologist Dr. Ellen Kenner and co-author Dr. Edwin Locke, who's world famous for his theories in goal setting. How do you make yourself worthy?

Genuine self-esteem comes from relying on your power to think. This means, for example, taking facts seriously even when you don't like them. Can you really afford that new car? Exerting mental effort to gain knowledge rather than drifting through life in a daze. Do you try to improve your job skills, your knowledge of the world?

Thinking independently rather than blindly following others out of passivity or fear of disapproval. Do you ever pretend to agree with things that friends say, even though you strongly disagree with them? You can download Chapter 1 for free by going to drkenner.com