[kallismom]

Have you had your vitamin levels checked? I started having panic attacks a couple of months ago (and I'm not depressed) and it terrified me. When you have a genuine panic attack , you feel lke you are on the brink of dying. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack. Anyway, I went to the doctor and it turned out that I was low on B12.

Magnesium deficiency can also cause you to feel depressed. If you don't have insurance, try a few supplements. Get the best quality ones that you can afford and check the expiration dates and get the freshest ones you can. I use B-Right by Jarrow. I get it online for about half of the store price.

I do also notice a huge shift in my mental state when I eat junk vs whole foods. For me, wheat also seems to make me feel bloated, sleepy, and a little sad. I limit it now, but didn't realize for so long that the things I craved most were the things that made me feel physically ill.

I hope you figure this out soon because it is scary to feel powerless, but you do have power. Power to figure out what's going on and fix it.

[Leonor]

I don't know of any scientific evidence to support that assumption. But malnourishment can cause symptoms like depression like fatigue.

[Rosinante]

Your post caught my eye too.

I've had a low-grade depression for as long as I can remember, and then I get occasional deep pits, and this spring the doctor diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Some of my depression is due to inner conflict, I know. My doctor wants me to have counselling, and set things going for me: but I was assessed (25 whole minutes!), adjudged to be likely to benefit from counselling but then told that our Local Health Authority does not provide/pay for counselling, so to go away and pick my own counsellor. The doctor is looking into it for me; she agrees that picking your own counsellor, with nothing to guide you is not a good idea.

I am going to take the S.A.D. seriously this winter, and make sure I get plenty daylight, be it natural or artificial.

In addition to all this, though, I'm entirely convinced that processed food has a serious impact on my mood. I mean, deep down mood. I've been eating clean for 52 days now, and some of those days have had some pretty tough stuff to deal with in, from work particularly, but I've been far more able to cope. I'm convinced that's due to the clean food.