#between finding it validating and soothing to have my trauma at being treated like a toy reflected

[soggypotatoes]

as someone who has a lot of interest in CSA depictions in media... I find the Melanie Martinez situation interesting but also kind of baffling??? all the people talking about it were clearly like 8-13 at the time of crybaby's release, I feel kinda lame taking an interest in it even but again. it's an interest of mine

the thing is, wasn't it uh... very explicitly *about* child abuse? from the beginning?? she's not exactly subtle. I listened to that album when it came out and immediately knew what it was about. why are people calling out that it's about CSA like that's a huge reveal that means she's a pedophile? idc about her really, I'm just disturbed that apparently so many kids listened to that music and only realised later it was about abuse. and now they are saying that talking about CSA means you're a pedophile

I'm not exaggerating btw, I saw videos making the point that this topic shouldn't be talked about by anyone, even saying that the internet should go the way of tumblr and ban it. I don't know if cry baby was good representation - I don't believe in the dichotomy of bad/good rep in general, I don't know Melanie, I don't know whether she was processing or fetishising, though imo you don't need to explicitly experience CSA to need to process it. we all live in a world where child abuse is normalised to some extent. maybe it was a metaphor for how the adult world treats children in general, and how children are taught to treat each other. it's one of the only media I know to explore CoCSA specifically.

I sort of just feel bad for all these people only just now realising what they were listening to, and I don't know why parents don't pay attention to their children's interests. I think that's part of what that album was about, ironically - the way that adults expose children to horrific things because they don't see them as people.

[whoreofabaddon]

I apologize somewhat insincerely for the pause in my regular posting, but I'm about to talk in depth about some of the power dynamics we see at play in IwtV.

Particularly, something that has been weighing on my mind is this post by @platoapproved in which we see Louis lightly stroking the bruises of Armand's trauma. Despite the fact the OP caught those hints so amazingly, the reblogs turn into an absolute cesspool in which there are many baffling accusations. So I wanted to touch on this from the perspective of someone who has both been in multiple D/s relationships (albeit as a lesbian and not a gay man) and is also a psychotherapist so trained in trauma responses.

The first thing I wanted to say is that we’re never given any reason to believe Louis is anything but a compassionate and skilled dominant partner. There are no moments portrayed between them where he oversteps any of Armand’s boundaries or where he uses their dynamic for manipulative purposes. We’re actually shown the opposite of that in the scenes where their power exchange come into play. He soothes Armand’s trepidation around setting boundaries and doesn’t force him to witness a new vampire being made. The one time we see Louis truly push Armand to accept a command is when he’s preventing him from killing Daniel, and even then, he validates that he’s hurt Armand enough to understand why he wants to. 

Similarly, we’re actually never shown Armand pushing Louis to take part in that dynamic when he doesn’t want to like so many keep claiming. I suspect that it was actually thrilling for Louis to meet a vampire older and more powerful than his maker, only to find that vampire would willingly allow him to have the control and authority between them. After having spent years in an abusive relationship, it must have seemed to be a gesture of great love to be shown such deference after Lestat had treated him so cruelly and disrespectfully. 

If anything it’s likely healing due to the change in the pattern. And that, I think, is also what is happening when we see Louis begin to draw from Armand’s history of trauma and introduce that into their dynamic. I fully believe he is playing with this dangerous subject because it is something Armand has never finished processing; he's such a trusted figure in Armand's life that it is safe for them to do this together. Armand's not been able to complete the loop of thoughts surrounding his abusive childhood, and so his mind is going to replay it over and over and seek out ways to ‘master’ it. That means his brain has to be convinced that he’s ‘solved’ the issue and the risk is abated. So he is going to keep returning to it or desperately avoiding it, and Armand’s patterns lean towards pursuing the subject matter over and over. The fact that it is Louis drawing on the memories means he knows he’s able to have the freedom of changing the ending; he goes ‘to coffin’ with his maitre at the end, he’s not truly given away for someone else’s sexual pleasure, and the fear and humiliation is touched on but ends before it can get worse. This time the offer is declined, this time he can reply snappily ("I wouldn't let you near my neck..."), and this time he doesn’t have the horrible emotional push-pull of ‘how dare you do as I tell you’ which Marius tended to use against him. (I also think Louis is referencing Armand’s blood being addictive to Daniel in the books, but that’s another layer to explore at a later time).

So I’ll say that, unlike some commenters, I don’t think it’s ‘ugly’ that Louis is mirroring aspects of Marius’ behaviors. Instead, I think the vulnerability and trust that it would require for them to successfully do this shows something very beautiful about the way they relate to each other.  

(Mandatory disclaimer that I am not suggesting that everyone ought to drop out of therapy and process their trauma using an untrained partner and kink. There is a high chance that you can trigger your partner. I am simply illustrating the psychology and perceived intentions at play and why this could feel satisfying to the characters).  And tagging @thequeenofsastiel for the promised meta.

[jedimordsith]

You mentioned that you've come to have more empathy for Yoday but still wouldn't recommend him as a direct master for anyone. What were/are your biggest issues with him? There are several I could guess, and probably some I agree with, but I don't want to assume.

Ahahahaha. I’m in a ranty mood this week, so it’s a great time to tackle this ask! Here’s more than anyone ever wanted to know about my Yoda Feels. 

My problems with Yoda come down to a couple things. 

We have entirely different learning/teaching styles. 

I have zero tolerance for cryptic shavit when there’s *actual communication* that needs to happen. 

A lot of Yoda’s behaviors make sense when viewed in the context of the PT but I formed most of my opinions based on the OT before the PT was a Thing. 

I don’t agree with the approach Yoda took in swanning off to Dagobah post RotS. AT ALL. 

Different Learning/Teaching Styles

(In ESB) Yoda very much follows the Greek and Buddhist styles of teaching where masters ask questions that don’t necessarily have solid answers. This is a valid style and something @atamascolily consistently captures gorgeously in her fics. It also absolutely makes me want to stab people. 

I’m like Mara Jade: a task-oriented learner. I want to know what I’m supposed to learning/mastering, why, how I’ll demonstrate success, and what the checkpoints are along the way. Meandering philosophical debates as part of an ill-defined training process are maddening. As noted, as I get older I am more accepting of this as a legit style and just not for me; this makes Yoda more sympathetic as a character but not any less annoying. 

Also, when Luke asks honest and reasonable questions in ESB (like “why”) Yoda shuts him down flat and I’m extremely not okay with that. Luke is being genuine and respectful despite his own frustrations and as someone who is committing his life to the Jedi path he has both a right and a need to know things. Demanding blind faith when there are or should be reasonable answers of some kind is Not Okay. 

Just Communicate Dammit!

With Ben Kenobi and Bail Organa gone, Yoda was the only person around holding a lot of key information. Did he share that information? Nope. He wandered around being a cryptic little troll “because Luke wasn’t ready” despite knowing full well that his health was failing. He gave Luke none of the information he actually needed to make informed decisions and didn’t even freaking write anything down!!  

From a Doylist perspective, this is obviously largely because George Lucas et al hadn’t figured out any of the backstory yet. From a Watsonian perspective, this is unforgivable. 

If your time is short (as his time with Luke was destined to be no matter how things went), it is critically important to be clear and use your time well. Yoda just didn’t. 

Obnoxious Troll vs Grandpa Frog

The PT very much sets Yoda up as Grandpa Frog, a beloved grandfather figure who teaches the younglings regularly and who everyone understands as mischievous but loving. Viewed in that sense, a lot of how he treats Luke in ESB makes sense… but it doesn’t make it okay. 

The younglings at the Temple literally grew up around the Force and Yoda. Luke did not. Luke didn’t even know WTF the Force was until he was almost 20. He got like 24 hours of introduction to it before Ben died. Compliments of Palpatine and the Purge and the war, there is almost no information available to him between ANH and ESB except what he figures out himself. Yet Yoda treats him like a disappointment and a failure for not understanding the scope of the Force and having doubts about its power. 

Guess what? If Luke had grown up in the Temple, yeah, he’d be all about raising X-wings out of swamps. But he didn’t. He grew on repressed for his own safety on a farm in the middle of nowhere without a hint of a clue. 

Now, through the lens of the PT, I can see Luke being a frustrating student for Yoda. He’s used to getting younglings who have been exposed to and trained in the Force by a range of other Jedi. Starting with an older student suffering from a ton of trauma and without any of the basics that he has to train in less than a fraction of the time shaping a Jedi would normally take is a massive undertaking and he’s old and tired besides. The whole family history with Vader wouldn’t make it any easier. 

But you know what? Luke is young. He left his found family in the middle of a war and is undergoing hugely stressful training in the middle of a swamp so that he can shoulder even bigger burdens. Yoda has had 20 years of (mostly) downtime to deal with his own trauma and at least several hundred years of practice being a teacher and a leader. He’s the one in a position to improve things and accommodate and he doesn’t. I’m not okay with that. 

Let’s Talk About That Downtime BTW

Again, from a Doylist perspective, I get why Yoda was hanging out on Dagobah, why he used things like visions to communicate with people like Kanan, Ezra, etc. periodically, and why he was Luke’s mentor in ESB/RotJ. 

From a Watsonian view, though, I’m not freaking impressed. He was the Grandmaster. He was heartbroken over the Jedi and Padawans he couldn’t save. But what did he do for the remaining ones spread across the galaxy? Shavit, that’s what. Kanan, Cal Kestis, Feris Olan, all the Jedi/Padawans who got kidnapped and twisted into Inquisitors — they were on their freaking own while Yoda swanned off to Dagobah. 

Oh, sure, he’d pop up in a vision here or there or whatever, but he had a safe place. And, apparently, the ability to reach at least some of them some of the time (see: visions and his connections to people like Bail Organa). Do I think any of those people probably wanted to live on Dagobah? Not particularly. But I think they’d have appreciated the safety and the chance to reconnect with what remained of their Jedi family, even if only briefly. 

But no. Yoda hangs out, waiting for the day the twins are old enough to take on the responsibility to kill Vader/Palpatine and then… does nothing?! He just keeps hanging out even after both Luke and Leia have lost everything, lets them get all settled into the Rebellion without a word, and THEN has the nerve to be cranky and disgruntled when he actually does get one of them to train!! 

YOU MADE CHOICES YOU LITTLE FROG TROLL. DON’T TAKE THEM OUT ON THE PEOPLE YOU DENIED CHOICES FOR 20 YEARS. 

I’m Not Entirely Without Compassion, I Swear

*sigh* I have seen a lot of Yoda meta in recent years that makes me appreciate Yoda for what he was during the PT. He really *was* everybody’s loving Grandpa who worked for centuries to love on the Jedi, protect them, and take care of them well. He legit wanted all of them to be happy and safe… and his suffering when the Purge happened must have been unimaginable. Like Luke and Leia, he lost everything. 

Unlike the twins, he didn’t get to rebuild or find a new family. While I believe what we have in the EU suggests he found peace and solace and a new home of Dagobah that was genuinely soothing to his wounded soul, he was alone and (whether he was or not) he did feel mostly helpless to do anything for his few scattered Jedi grandchildren who remained and suffered across the galaxy. He did face decisions in which there *weren’t* good, clear-cut answers. 

I think if I’d met him first in the PT or meta I might have liked him better. But I still wouldn’t ever recc him as a Master for any character I like because I can’t imagine learning under him being an experience I would ever wish on anyone simply based on my own vehement loathing for his personal teaching style. I know there are people in the world who would thrive on that approach and I like to think I’ve got a good imagination, but I simply can’t conceptualize it as a positive, productive experience. 

*As an end note, if you DO like Yoda or want to like him better please go read @atamascolily‘s fics, seriously. You’ll love them!

[amazonia-love]

When Love Comes To Town

You guys ever have that moment when you hear something and, all of a sudden, finally understand a concept you have never really grasped before? It happened to me recently at a TBT-S (Temperament Based Treatment, with Supports) workshop for carers of kids with ED run by Drs Laura Hill, Stephanie Knatz Peck and (I forgot the other name – doh).  Dr Hill was talking about why CW purging is so compelling. As she talked, I suddenly had complete clarity about my own history with purging. I suffered with AN/BP for nine years from before I was a teenager to age 20; I don’t have to describe the struggle. I know that you who have it, or have had it, or have cared for someone who has it, understand already. It is hell, isn’t it? No matter how many times I promised myself I would “stop”, no matter how many times I begged the God of my childhood to forgive me and to help me not do this to myself any more, I was unable to break the habit. I would suppress my intake for as long as I could and then bust out into a spree; or it would just happen over and over again every day for weeks – no rhyme nor reason – and no way out that I knew.   I had breaks of being behaviour free – but they were few and far between. Plus, I lost my ability to function well at those moments. The behaviours worsened when I was involved in a relationship of any kind with a boy. They became the way I managed distress about expectations; on one hand, the expectations of the religion in which I was raised, and which was all consuming, about physical behaviour between “the opposite sexes”; on the other, the expectations of boys and men about physical behaviour. And somewhere in the middle of those, me myself, and my absolute hatred of being “groped” competing with an all-consuming craving for being “loved”.  I would find myself in a relationship (which was  really just one big struggle to feel validated while repeatedly peeling some guy’s fingers off my body?) and enjoy the euphoria that came with feeling wanted, and with being held, and being touched in a non-sexual manner. Trouble is, non-sexual touch was never enough for most guys; cue the usual battle, hands from no-go zones, while trying to avoid rejection.

My  craving, above all, was to be wanted.

I remember sitting in a car with a guy friend once and telling him that I just wanted someone to want to marry me. He just about died on the spot. I didn’t understand why he was so nervous. But he misunderstood the words. I wasn’t saying I wanted him (or anyone else) to marry me, just that I wanted to be WANTED. Poor guy probably shat himself.

Given that I was raised in a misogynistic religion, where women were seen as temptresses, leading men to sin, and sex outside of marriage was about the worst thing anyone could do, it was natural that I struggled with overwhelming guilt. Hell, when I was a pre-teen, I used to tickle my own arms as a means of soothing myself. I know now that it was stimming, and it is not a big deal. Back then I felt as guilty as hell because I believed it was “masturbation”, which was right up there with some of the worst things as mentioned. I had no concept of  physical pleasure being “allowed” or that I was ok to bring it to myself.  To complicate things further, I had been sexually abused as a small child by a family member. My response in that situation had been to “freeze” (my default fear response), and later to shame myself for it having happened, a pattern that would play out many times in my later years. The worst part of that experience was losing the innate response to say no and resist, and not ever having that response validated or reinforced by someone else. It was only as an adult that I began the difficult task of validating my own responses to that situation.

Add to this the rhetoric in my family religion around “gluttony”. Hoo boy. Can of worms anyone? Gluttony was a “huge” sin, and as a child I listened to many bible-based talks (given by the same men in suits that roundly condemned all things sexual) condemning “desires of the flesh”…. Overindulgence in food and sexual pleasure – an incredibly damning combination. Add in my father’s eating disordered behaviours and personality, and his incessant discussions about fat people – linking body size to weakness and lack of discipline, greed and “not really being spiritual people” as he himself struggled against his own hunger and deep sense of self-loathing, and his rigid control over the clothing his daughters wore, and his constant attempts to supress any signs of blooming sexuality in our actions or dress.

It was a shitstorm that enabled my ED to flourish. The only way of managing my anxiety  was, of course, practicing ED behaviours;  either severe restriction (usually fasting on vegetable juices, something our family had done since I was 9), or reactive eating followed by purging.

And then love came to town. Someone wanted to marry me. A manboy of 20, same age as me. He had the same urges as all the other boys, of course, but it was a little more permissable in the context of “getting married”. Sex was all good in a married state (until misogyny and patriarchy reared their ugly heads, along with our complete ignorance about adulting, and my trauma history came home to roost). And, because the religious constraints around “going too far” were in place, I was getting all of the physical affection I had been craving, without being pressured overly much for more.

I “confessed” to him about the purging. He “confessed” a “great sin” of his own. And, naively and hopefully, we promised that that was the end of those behaviours. Which, of course, it wasn’t. But we thought it would be. I did stop purging. Only had a couple of lapses after that. It was like switching off a light. One moment the purge was there, and the next it was gone.  (What I didn’t know was that I was not “cured” of ED, and that it was still running the show behind the scenes, and that it would overwhelm me in the future any time I faced an anxiety-inducing situation.)

In my mind I had always tied it up with “being in love”. I used to jokingly say that I had “traded addictions”. Turns out, I was partially right. Partially.

Back to Dr Hill. In her discussion about purging, she mentioned  the huge rush of a nine-amino acid peptide, vasopressin, at that moment, which has a euphoric, heady, calming effect (it also affects fluid balance in the body). Vasopressin is one of the reasons that purging is so compelling. I registered with a shock that I had taken a photo of a newspaper article that mentioned vasopressin, and that it was still stored in my phone. I  flicked through my gallery until I found this.

                                   And there it was.

Dr Hill’s words completed and validated my understanding of how I had been able to stop purging at the time. I replaced one source of vasopressin with another, and added in high levels of oxytocin (which has been used to some success in treating AN) to boot. I knew back then the purging was problematic. But I didn’t have a name for it until a few years later. And, the fact that I had been able to stop the behaviour fooled me into thinking that I had been cured at that moment. As more became known about ED, I used to  believe that I had “had” an ED in my younger years; I used to believe purging was an addiction; and I used to think that my eating was an addiction as well, and that all I had to do was to get the same control over it that I had gained over purging. Which I endeavoured to do for most of my adult life, and came closest to perfecting, between the ages of 46-52,  before realising that I had a very long term relationship indeed with ED, and that my seeming “perfect control” was classically typical AN.  

ED and anxiety are bosom buddies. All too often we focus on the behaviours, or on our current weight, or on the foods we are eating, or on how are clothes might fit. Practising remission isn’t about “what “ we do or how much we weigh, but hinges on whether or not we are using ED modalities to manage our anxiety. Stopping purging was great. But I STILL had an active ED. If I map out my life from that moment, there is a clear pattern. I resorted to getting into, or staying in, an overall calorie deficit whenever things got stressful. And until I interrupted THAT pattern, I was unable to practise remission. 

Deal to the anxiety; and you deal to the ED.

[sherristockman]

Orange Essential Oil Could Help PTSD Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola Just like the name implies, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma- and stress-related disorder. It may develop after exposure to any intense, frightening or stress-filled event or ordeal. PTSD is most often linked to a traumatic accident, act of violence, military-combat experience or disaster. Experts suggest nearly 8 million adults in the U.S. suffer from PTSD, a condition which historically has been difficult to treat.1 Antidepressants such as Effexor, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft are the most commonly prescribed drugs for PTSD, but their effectiveness varies widely. As with all pharmaceutical drugs, these medications carry with them the potential for harmful side effects. Due to their dangers, as well as the reality that research has shown placebos to be as effective as some prescription drugs, I would like to draw your attention to research suggesting a potential natural treatment for PTSD. Specifically, scientists at George Washington University have suggested orange essential oil may offer a non-drug option for PTSD sufferers. Research performed on lab mice has demonstrated the value of orange essential oil in the reduction of fear and stress associated with the disorder.2 Of course, similar studies involving humans would be needed to fully validate this body of work. That said, this research marks a promising step forward in identifying potential natural remedies for PTSD that could be used alongside other non-drug interventions such as cognitive therapy, exposure therapy and EMDR eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). PTSD's Effects on Your Body Can Linger for Years According to Psychology Today,3 if you suffer from PTSD, you may relive or re-experience aspects of your traumatic event(s) through flashbacks and nightmares long after the original occurrence. PTSD effects are particularly noticeable when you are exposed to anything reminiscent of the original trauma. The effects of PTSD can linger for months or even years, sometimes profoundly affecting your ability to enjoy a productive, high-quality life. PTSD sufferers often experience one of more of the following symptoms:4 ✓ Anxiety ✓ Intense emotions such as anger, guilt or sadness ✓ Breathing difficulties ✓ Intrusive memories or flashbacks ✓ Dissociative experiences ✓ Irritability ✓ Emotional numbness ✓ Lack of concentration and focus ✓ Heart irregularities ✓ Sleep disturbances As mentioned above, pharmaceutical drugs are a common approach used to treat PTSD, even though the medications may have little or no long-term effect in eliminating or reducing symptoms. Mice Study Suggests Orange Essential Oil Counteracts PTSD As noted above, research performed at George Washington University with lab mice evaluated the impact orange essential oil may have on the symptoms of PTSD.5 The influence of orange essential oil was tested using a method called Pavlovian fear conditioning (or classical conditioning), a behavioral paradigm applied to mice as a means of uncovering how fear memories are formed, stored and expressed as a model for PTSD. Medical News Today explains:6 "Pavlovian fear conditioning pairs a tone with a negative stimulus, such as a shock to the foot, which provokes fear as a response in the mice. The mice form an associative memory between the tone and the stimulus. When presented with the tone alone, the mice exhibit a fear response and typically freeze. This response diminishes slowly as time goes on. [Researchers] divided the mice into three groups. The first group of 12 mice was exposed to the audio tone alone, 12 mice received water and fear conditioning, and the remaining 12 mice were exposed to orange essential oil by inhalation 40 minutes prior to and after the fear conditioning." Notably, mice exposed to orange essential oil were significantly less likely to exhibit fear-based freezing behavior. In fact, the oil-treated mice stopped freezing altogether and earlier than the mice receiving other types of treatment. Moreover, these mice experienced a significant decrease in the immune cells linked to the biochemical pathways associated with PTSD.7 Based on these outcomes, researchers recognize essential oil as a potential nonpharmaceutical option to help alleviate symptoms of PTSD in mice. How Might Orange Essential Oil Affect Humans With PTSD? Cassandra Moshfegh, research assistant in Paul Marvar's laboratory at George Washington University, says additional studies are needed to better understand the specific effects orange essential oil may have on your brain and nervous system, as well as how it may counteract fear and stress associated with PTSD.8 About the benefits of orange essential oil, Moshfegh said:9 "Relative to pharmaceuticals, essential oils are much more economical and do not have adverse side effects. The orange essential plant oil showed a significant effect on the behavioral response in our study mice. This is promising because it shows that passively inhaling this essential oil could potentially assuage PTSD symptoms in humans." A 2012 study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine10 validated sweet orange essential oil for its anxiolytic effects in humans, meaning it was shown to be an effective treatment for soothing anxiety. The study was composed of 40 male volunteers, separated into five groups, who inhaled one of the following: Orange essential oil (aromatic test: 2.5, 5 or 10 drops) Tea tree essential oil (aromatic control aroma: 2.5 drops) Water (non-aromatic control: 2.5 drops) Immediately after inhalation, each participant was engaged in a model of anxiety involving the Stroop Color and Word Test, a screening tool that requires participants to read a succession of color words or name ink colors as quickly as possible. Compared to the control groups, participants exposed to orange essential oil during the anxiety-provoking test presented with little to no changes in levels of anxiety or subjective tension during the experiment. The study authors stated:11 "Although more studies are needed to find out the clinical relevance of aromatherapy for anxiety disorders, the present results indicate an acute anxiolytic activity of sweet orange aroma, giving some scientific support to its use as a tranquilizer by aromatherapists." PTSD Is a Serious Concern Requiring Professional Help Related to Moshfegh's study, neuroscientist John Bekkers of Australian National University cautions people to await for further research to confirm the connection between aromatherapy and PTSD. Says Bekkers:12 "I wouldn't want to encourage people to depend on aromatherapy. PTSD is a serious problem, and people shouldn't think they just need to smell something to feel better." I agree it may be premature to rely only on orange essential oil for help with PTSD. If you have not yet sought a professional opinion for your condition, it's best to start there first, and this will help you to be certain of your diagnosis as well (although it can't hurt to try orange essential oil in the meantime). That said, it is also worth your time to evaluate your diet and lifestyle choices to see if anything related to them may be contributing to the levels of post-traumatic anxiety and stress you may be experiencing. Non-Drug Options for Dealing With Anxiety and Depression When considering your mental health, it's important to recognize your diet and lifestyle as foundational factors that must be optimized if you hope to fully address mental health concerns of any kind, including anxiety and depression. Your body and mind are closely interrelated, so while you may think of your brain as the primary organ in charge of your mental health, your gut may play an equally important, if not more important, role. In my opinion, the drugs available today to treat depression fail miserably in addressing mental health problems. Often, the side effects of antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs can be worse than the original complaint, running the gamut from lack of emotions to sexual side effects and irritability, to sleep disturbances. These powerful medications can even put you at risk for homicide and suicide! Because antidepressants may result in chronic, long-term, worsening depression, you'll want to avoid them unless absolutely necessary, and generally only as a "last resort." Healthy Diet, Lifestyle Are Crucial for Optimal Mental Health As with most medical conditions, your diet is a crucial first place to start when looking for ways to improve your health and sense of well-being. Research tells us that the composition of your gut flora not only affects your physical health, but also has a significant impact on your brain function and mental state. As such, your gut microbiome can be quickly impacted by dietary changes — for better or for worse. Research has also revealed a number of other safe and effective ways to address depression that do notinvolvehazardous drugs. So, if you suffer from an anxiety- or depression-related disorder, please consider addressing the following diet and lifestyle factors before you resort to drugs. If you are already taking a prescription medication for mental health, you can make these changes along with taking the medication until you are able to successfully wean off the drugs — with the help and oversight of your doctor, of course. ✓ Eat real food Making a commitment to eat whole, organic, naturally-occurring food will mean you also choose to ingest less processed foods, sugar (particularly fructose), grains and genetically engineered (GE) foods. High sugar and starchy carbohydrates lead to excessive insulin release, which can trigger hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia causes your brain to secrete glutamate in levels that can cause agitation, anger, anxiety, depression and panic attacks. Sugar also creates inflammation in your body. Processed foods typically contain high amounts of sugar, damaging omega-6 fats and many chemical additives that can affect your brain function and mental state. Aspartame and MSG are two I would most definitely seek to avoid. Gluten sensitivity is a common, hidden cause of depression, so you may want to consider implementing a gluten-free diet. Recent research also shows that glyphosate, used in large quantities on GE crops like corn, soy and sugar beets, limits your body's ability to detoxify foreign chemical compounds. As such, the damaging effects of those toxins are magnified, potentially resulting in brain disorders with both behavioral and psychological effects. ✓ Increase your consumption of fermented foods Reducing gut inflammation is imperative when addressing mental health issues, so optimizing your gut flora is vital. To promote healthy gut flora, increase your consumption of probiotic foods, such as fermented vegetables, kefir, kimchee and natto. If none of these foods is available, consider taking a probiotic supplement daily. ✓ Get adequate vitamin B12 Several vitamin B deficiencies are capable of producing symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders. As such, B vitamins can be a valuable adjunct in the treatment of anxiety, attention deficit disorder, depression and schizophrenia, among other mental illnesses. I recommend you pay attention to vitamins B1, B2, B6, B8 and B9, but most especially B12. One in 4 people are thought to be deficient in vitamin B12. ✓ Optimize your vitamin D levels Vitamin D is very important for your mood. Remember, Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression related to sunshine deficiency, so it would make sense to optimize your vitamin D levels through UV exposure. Be sure to check your levels via a blood test at least annually to ensure you achieve the therapeutic range of 40 to 60 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) year-round. If you cannot get sufficient sun exposure to meet the ideal range, taking an oral vitamin D3 supplement, along with magnesium and vitamin K2, would be advisable. ✓ Get sufficient animal-based omega-3 fats Since your brain is 60 percent fat, DHA, an animal-based omega-3 fat, along with EPA, is crucial for proper brain function and mental health. Although anchovies, sardines and wild-caught Alaskan salmon are excellent sources, most people don't get enough omega-3s from diet alone. If that's you, make sure you take a high-quality omega-3 supplement, such as krill oil. ✓ Evaluate your salt intake Believe it or not, sodium deficiency creates symptoms similar to those of depression. Take a pass on processed salt (regular table salt), however, and choose all natural, unprocessed salt like Himalayan salt, which contains more than 80 different micronutrients. ✓ Get adequate daily exercise Studies have highlighted a strong connection between aerobic activity and improved mood. There is also growing acceptance that the mind-body connection is very real, which means maintaining good physical health can significantly lower your risk of developing depression in the first place. Exercising also boosts your levels of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin, which help elevate your mood and counteract the effects of stress. ✓ Get enough sleep You can have the best diet and exercise program possible, but if you do not get enough high-quality sleep, you put yourself at risk for depression and other illnesses. The two are so intricately linked that it is often difficult to tell if depression is causing your sleep problems or sleep problems are causing or contributing to depression and other mood disorders. Regardless of the connection, most adults require seven to nine hours of high-quality sleep a night. Children and teenagers require even more. ✓ Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) EFT can be very effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression by correcting the bioelectrical short-circuiting that causes your body's reactions. This technique is particularly powerful for treating anxiety and stress because it targets your amygdala and hippocampus, parts of your brain designed to help you decide if something is a legitimate threat. In the video below, EFT practitioner Julie Schiffman demonstrates how to use EFT to address panic attacks and other anxiety disorders. For serious issues such as PTSD, you will be best served by seeking out a qualified health care professional trained in EFT to help guide you through the process. Important Considerations When Using Orange Essential Oil While more research is needed to validate the benefits of orange essential oil for the treatment of PSTD, we already know it can help improve your digestion and is effective for constipation relief. Beyond that, orange essential oil also has been found to inhibit angiogenesis, metastasis and cell death in human colon cancer cells in a 2012 study, prompting researchers to assert that oil from blood oranges "may offer great potential for prevention of cancer."13 Orange essential oil is also effective for nourishing dry, irritated and acne-prone skin when mixed with a carrier oil and used as a cream or ointment. It also may be used effectively to soothe foot calluses. When using orange essential oil, it is important to avoid direct sunlight because it may cause phototoxicity. Also, if consumed in large amounts, orange oil may result in vomiting and nausea. No matter where you apply it to your skin, it's always best to dilute orange essential oil with a base oil or lotion. Keep in mind using this oil in high concentrations may cause dermatitis or skin inflammation. If you are pregnant, epileptic or have other medical problems, you should consult a professional aromatherapy practitioner before using orange essential oil.