Depression Advice - number four in series

Here is another suggestion in my series offering advice for people suffering from depression. I'm not giving medical advice or trying to replace your current medical regime, but I have treated people with depression when I was a psychiatric intern and so I have some experience with their suffering. In previous posts I've suggested that people with depression be sure to take a daily multivitamin (but not to mega-dose), that they replace one half hour a day of television or computer time with reading a non-fiction book on a favorite topic in a quiet space, and finding a particularly inspiring quote from the Bible or your personal holy book and referring to it often during the day. Here is my fourth suggestion.

I'd like you to replace several meals a week that are already prepared or fast food with a meal that you "home cook" yourself. I'm not talking about gourmet or expensive cooking here! :-) And it is not even necessarily a huge time consuming effort, especially once you get organized and get used to it (since there are two parts to it, the shopping and the preparation time). First I'll explain why I'm suggesting it. One reason is that you have total control over the ingredients that go into what you are eating, since you put it together from scratch yourself. You would be horrified to know how many chemicals are added to everything that you buy pre-made and packaged in order to "enhance color, flavor, preserve, emulsify..." etc. etc. There is an article in today's news, for example, demonstrating that food additives for ridiculous things like color are causing hyperactivity and behavior change in children, for example. I've spent time with my previous patients who had depression and seen that most of them did not know how to make a home cooked meal, and were at the mercy of additives that I could see have an effect on their mind set and behavior. So by home cooking at least a few meals, you are eliminating much of what is harmful that is sneaked into your food otherwise. The second reason is that home cooking, whether for yourself if you are alone, or for your family causes a natural feeling of optimism and well being. People who think that cooking is a waste of time have been brainwashed. Sure, there are times you have to hurry. But the vast majority of the time, you should feel good and have self esteem that you deserve a home cooked meal, an investment of quality and time, rather than sell yourself short. Even time spent on peeling or preparing fruit and vegetables should be experienced as a zen type of pleasure, where you are investing your time in preparing food for yourself and/or your family by your own hands and exactly the way that you like it, and knowing that it is healthy and tasty.

There are several ways you can go about this. One is to buy a simple cookbook and use it for meal planning and inspiration, and to learn the basics. I used to love my Betty Crocker cookbook that I got as a teenager, and it explained the basics of anything you needed to know, and had meals from absolute simple to elaborate. That was the pre-Internet and pre cooking show era. I would cook Sunday dinner while my parents were in church (they went to a different church than I did). I would make chicken paprika, beef stroganoff, and ground beef with noodles, for example. So I learned to anticipate what I wanted to cook on Sunday so that I made sure to buy the necessary ingredients during the week. One advantage to doing home cooking on Sunday is that you have leftovers during the week. When I was working as a counselor, and in jobs before that, I would cook a favorite meal on Sunday, in large quantities, so that I could bring the leftovers to work as my lunch. I saved money and ate well by not buying fast food types of lunches. I used to bake my own bread on Sundays too, but I'm not suggesting anything that complicated yet!

The other way to go about this is to get from friends and co-workers "favorite recipes." Not everyone has given up cooking! And this would be a great conversation maker and way to get to know another side of a person, plus a short cut to collecting simple tried and true recipes. Be sure to ask only sensible people, otherwise you'll get couscous and chutney veggie pate recipes ha. Seriously, depressed people are often vulnerable to food proselytizing, and end up being "vegetarian without a reason" or trying one fad diet after another, thinking it will help their condition. Actually, the narrower your eating habits the more it adds to depression, rather than mitigating it. The human body needs a variety of foods across the entire spectrum of possibilities in order to have optimal health. We evolved that way over millions of years for a reason. So ask your friends and colleagues for favorite home cooked meals, but filter them for being practical and basic.

I can also post some of my favorite home cooked meal recipes. Even if you don't share my taste you will see some useful and quick cooking tips and see how easy it is to prepare pure and good food with your own hands.