Live Happy: Even if you don't have insurance.

My life is really good right now, and while I work to meet my goals of increasing my income and becoming a great author, I'm happy.

Happy is an amazing way to live yet some people believe they will only be happy if: If they have a relationship, if they lose weight, if they get a better job, etc. There are so many excuses people give for not being happy. Some of which are legitimate i.e. abnormal circumstances, but most people make the choices that create or continue their unhappiness.

They choose to stay with a job they hate, they choose to stay in a marriage that sucks the life out of them, they choose to watch CSI and Criminal Minds, and drink too much alcohol or otherwise pollute their bodies and minds with depressing things.

(As someone prone to depression I can attest to how much tv shows affect mood, life, and mindset.)

Learning to confront depression head-on has been an incredible journey. (Something that should be taught in every high school so kids don't end up taking drastic life-ending actions.)

But for those days when you're doing everything else you can and it still doesn't work, there is help. Sometimes our brains and bodies can't keep up with the supply and demand of happiness. Happiness has a lot to do with biology and chemistry. It wasn't until I became pregnant and started studying how to help my baby build the best brain that I found the final ingredients in curing my depression and mental fog completely. Some of you know I have been on this jouney for 15 years, from the time Art died and I was prescribed Lexapro, Prozac, Zoloft, Citalopram and more. I won't go into the side effects each of those had but needless to say all said and done, Natural cures worked BETTER. I switched over to 5 HTP. Both Prozac and 5 HTP are SSRI's Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors.

This helped but because it started to make my hands shake I had to give it up and continue my search. In some sadly 5 HTP can create nerve damage and if one keeps taking it, that damage can become permanent. 

(Note: SSRI's take time to build up in the brain and be effective. If you decide to try this, take 400 MG for two weeks then cut back to 200 MG. If experiencing anxiety cut back to 50 MG, if it makes you shake quit and start taking Magnesium L-Threonate, DHA & EPA

BTW don't mix SSRI's, PEA, or SAM E, I won't bore you with the details but it can mess up your brain and you need to STOP taking any of these for at least two weeks if you decide to switch. 

The next thing I found that worked was PEA aka phenylethylamine. This mainly works on providing dopamine, a bit like the high one might get from Cocaine. This helped me with motivation and feeling a sense of accomplishment. 

 

While in small doses PEA works great for me, it didn't help with an overall sense of well being, or clear the mental fog I had from being on chemo and it made things in the bowels a bit uncomfortable. 

(Note: This is not an SSRI, start with small doses and add more as needed. Too much and you will feel out of body, your vision will be a bit wonky and yeah that whole uncomfortable bowel thing)

Magnesium citrate is great for um... flushing things out and providing a sense of calm but for the neurocognitive function and especially for people with the CACNA1C gene  Magnesium L-threonate has been proven to give a drastically better mental and emotional boost. 

(Note: CACNA1C gene is likely if you have any family members with bipolar depression or have schizophrenia.)

As someone carrying a child that may have this gene I've been learning everything I can about preventing the downsides of this gene. Later I may write a post about preventing schizophrenia prenatally (comment below if interested) but for today let's focus on  getting the brain over depression. 

DHA, EPA. If it weren't for my limited diet and getting pregnant I never would have known the amazing effects this has. 

If I don't take this, I notice a huge difference. Pregnancy not only creates a whole new brain but it also massively changes the brain of the mother to be. 

If the mom has adequate nutrition, pregnancy can cause mega smarts. Yeah I would have gotten knocked up years ago if I'd known that bit of info. Losing my intellect due to chemo has been like slamming my head into a brick wall constantly, and pregnancy gave me back some of what chemo took and more. 

Not only is this a brain booster but it eliminated the last lingering bits of depression the other supplements hadn't touched. 

While the algal oil form works best for my mood and neurocognitive function, that's likely due to chemo causing my fish allergy.  

Also the algal oil form is unfortunately not what's best for the baby, lucky for you though, I've tried both and can compare and contrast. Algal oil is much better at giving me the happiness bug than fish oil. 

Last but not least, while this one hasn't helped me, one of my best friends, found it life changing. 

 

Sam-E helps produce and breakdown the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and melatonin, so this can work when everything else fails. 

My suggestion, start cheap, if cheap doesn't work, then try something else. YOU can be HAPPY. It may take time, but don't give up. 

You may need help changing your life, changing your thoughts and medical professionals can help, but for those who don't have insurance it can feel like there's no way to get help. Keep going. Keep learning. Experiment. Find what works for you.

YOU ARE WORTH FIGHTING FOR!