Emphasize nutrition without sacrificing mental health

*First and foremost, I am not a mental health professional. If you are struggling, please seek help from someone who has the education, the training and the experience to help you.*

 

One thing I’ve learned from my education, my professional experience and my own personal experience is that good nutrition absolutely should not come at the expense of your mental health. If it is, you’re doing it wrong. Remember, there are several realms to wellness, and nutrition is just one of them.

WHY BRING THIS UP?

 

Because well-meaning dietitians and nutritionists tend to hyperfocus on providing top-notch nutrition education without considering a person’s mental health.  It’s in our nature to spew everything we know at you to help make you well again. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m guilty of this. Nothing makes me more excited at work than to talk to someone who has terrible eating habits but is legitimately willing to do whatever it takes to improve.  I’ve definitely squealed with excitement a time or two and yelled “I can’t wait to talk with you again!”….only to hear the receiver click on the other end. What can I say? Not everyone shares my level of enthusiasm.

What dietitians often don’t talk about, however, is the relationship between mental health and nutrition. The only way I can explain it is to share my honest, raw experience. I’ll try to make this short with the intent of elaborating in the future….

I was officially diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 2014 but felt symptoms far before the official diagnosis. I just didn’t have the time, the insurance or the money to do anything about it before then. My family practitioner was a naturopathic doctor and was the first to officially diagnose me with RA.  We tried some non-conventional medicines like low-dose naltrexone but didn’t get any relief, so I pursued another avenue.

I tried an extreme diet of eliminating gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, vinegars, sugar…..basically anything that was deemed offensive to the body. The first rheumatologist I saw wanted to put me on aggressive medicines, but I declined, wanting to focus on diet first. I gave it my all for three months! But in the end, my symptoms only worsened and I was starting to worry that I would have to go on disability in my 20s.

I CAN HONESTLY SAY I THOUGHT I WAS LIVING MY LAST YEAR ON EARTH.

 

I went to bed not knowing if my body would physically be able to roll over the next morning and turn off my alarm. I’d wake up several hours before work, just to loosen up my body enough to go down the apartment steps and out the door. And if I was successful at that, I’d cross my fingers and hope that I could turn around in my car to see where I was going as I backed out of my garage.

But in the end, following all the rules of the diet wasn’t enough to keep me from needing medications. I found myself angry at medicine, confused with the education I received and frustrated with my lack of success. Everything I read said this should work!! So why wasn’t it? Well, several years later, this is the conclusion I’ve landed on…

I spent SO much time meal planning and prepping food that I literally didn’t do anything else. Besides work, all I did was plan and prep food. And if I was invited out for a meal or a drink, I’d have to politely decline every flipping time because there was nothing I could have. And who wants to be that person that doesn’t eat while everyone else is at the table? To say I was unhappy was an understatement…

• Anxious? Yup – definitely don’t want to screw up this strict diet I’ve spent so many hours studying
• Depressed? Yup – all I do is work, meal prep and grocery shop
• In pain? You betcha – but this diet I’m spending all my time and money on will definitely cure me

 

I was so consumed by this diet that every other aspect of my life suffered, especially my mental health. And you know what? It wasn’t worth it.

NOT ONE BIT.

 

NOW FAST FORWARD TO THE PRESENT TIME.

 

Have I been following the Mediterranean Diet like I said I would? Yes. But…..have I strayed from it? YES! And here’s why:

 

• Our son got fantastic grades. We talked about the importance of how we treat each other and our teachers in school because those things don’t always get grades. So we asked him to reflect on that as well and give himself a grade – we were happy with that response as well. The reward? Going out for the Packer game, complete with darts and cheese curds. Did this follow the Mediterranean Diet? Absolutely not. But look at the happiness on his face (don’t mind my disgust in the Packers). Because our mental health is more important than this diet.

 

 

 

 

• My anniversary was yesterday, and we went out to celebrate. I had meal planned for this whole week, but that didn’t stop us from going out. Because you know what? I don’t want to cook on my anniversary! So yes please, I WILL have a steak with my love. Because our mental health is more important than this diet.

 

 

But today, it was back to business…..and cooking all the food that I had meal-planned at the beginning of the week! So on tap tonight? Buffalo chickpea pitas and lemon pasta with roasted veggies! But seriously, the buffalo chickpea pitas was ahhhhh-mazing.

 

As for this weekend? I’m planning a little getaway for our anniversary. So will I be following the Mediterranean Diet?  MAYBE…..

 

Until next time…

…eat food, not food products!