It’s natural to feel down sometimes, but if that low mood is felt day after day, it could be a signal of depression. Major depression is an episode of sadness or apathy along with other symptoms that can last at least two consecutive weeks and can be severe enough to interrupt your daily activities. Depression is not a sign of weakness or a negative personality, it is a major public health problem and fortunately in most cases treatable. Making lifestyle changes can help you overcome this feeling.

A prominent theory is altered brain structure and chemical function. Brain circuits that regulate mood may work less efficiently during depression. Experts also think that while stress, such as losing a loved one, loss of job, breakup, illness can trigger depression, one must first be biologically prone to develop the disorder. This can be due nutritional deficiencies, other triggers could include certain medications, alcohol or substance abuse, hormonal changes, or even the season. What can you do? Start by making some changes to your lifestyle.

Before we dive into the ways to overcome feeling unhappy, it is very important to learn about the factors that can contribute to it. Being able to pinpoint what causes you to be unhappy, should make it easier for you to deal with it to overcome it. There can be several causes, and a lot of them can be addressed. To name a few:

-Mindset
-Food 
-Ennvironment
-Nutrient deficiencies
-Insulin resistance
-Genetics?

It is important to become aware of which factors are making you unhappy. Awareness is your goal, down below we will go more in depth of these so called factors.

Mindset
Also keep in mind that you are always in control when you are dealing with depression, even if it doesn’t feel like that. having the right mindset can really make a difference. Being aware of your thoughts can be the key in coping with unhappiness. Become aware of how you speak, how you feel and how you act. Take the word “depression” completely out of your vocabulary. This word is so negative that it can give you the feeling associated with it. Our thoughts can be very powerful, and determine how we feel. From a thought can come an emotion we can literally feel in our bodies, this emotional thinking proces can become a vicious circle we can get caught in. Maybe you are holding on to some bad experiences from the past. Dwelling on the past is also a big factor of unhappiness.

Food
Foods that you are eating have a very great impact on your mood and bodily functions. It is best to avoid all types of sugar, including “healthy” sugars like fruit and/or fruit juices. These types of sugary foods enter the bloodstream at a quick rate. Blood sugar fluctuations can affect the mood. It is safe to say that the foods you are eating can literally affect your symptoms of being unhappy. Unhealthy foods can have a depressive effect on thought patterns, and can potentially lead to depression. Steer clear from processed foods and always aim to eat a high nutrient-dense diet. We can conclude that if you stabilize the blood sugar levels, you can stabilize your mood. Low blood sugars can affect the mood, and the lowered mood is the effect, not the cause. Need some help with your diet , or just don’t know where to start? Contact us, and we will help you achieve your goals.

Environment
The environment you are in, like your co-workers, your neighbours, your family, your partners, friends, these all can make a difference or keep you in an unhappy state. Even the weather can make you unhappy. People are mostly happier when the sun is shining.

Nutrient deficiencies
The lack of certain nutrients can impact the way you are feeling. By having nutrient deficiencies this can influence a lot of bodily functions that are needed to feel and stay healthy

Insulin resistance
This condition is linked to getting lower levels of amino acids into the cell, which are necessary for the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine which elevates your mood. Taking 30mg of zinc a day can support this condition. Also 600 mcg of chromium a day can help stabilize your blood sugars, which can help  stabilize your mood.

Genetics Yes or No?
Anyone can become depressed, altough many experts believe genetics play a role. We believe that Epigenetics play the role. Epigenetics are the factors that control your genes. [1]It is safe to say that these factors like: the environment, behaviour etc. can determine your gene expression, so in a way you don’t have to be a victim of your genes. We believe and as seen in several studies, genes only determine a certain percentage of someones condition, so if we change the factors for the better in some ways we can have more control of our outcomes.