Way too many Americans suffer from depression, anxiety, chronic worry, adrenal fatigue, and behavioral problems—everything from irritability and temper tantrums to obsessions, binging and purging, and even cutting, not to mention feeling tired but too wired to sleep.

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It’s really no wonder that so many people feel bad. Americans eat factory food, which contains a lot of bad things including dyes, toxic metals, inflammatory fats, sugar, and the excitotoxins MSG and aspartame, all of which kill brain cells. Our minds, bodies, and spirits are stressed to the max by the ridiculous load of information our brains are forced to input every day. Our amygdalas, the primitive part of our brain, registers “danger!” every time our self-esteem gets dinged by exposure to images of beauty, and reports of power and prestige in the media. It’s all systems code red.

Chaos-makers

Millions of people are being diagnosed with depression and prescribed the “standard of care”: tranquilizers, painkillers, sleeping pills and of course the crown jewel, the antidepressant—those nifty little pills that deliver sexual dysfunction and insomnia right to your door. Our medical community plasters this Band-Aid on our brains even though the vast majority of people (borne out by studies) are not made any happier by taking these drugs. The truth is that you can’t pick up a bottle of happiness at your local pharmacy. The only way to rid your life of depression and attain contentment (and that occasional episode of delirious happiness) is to replace brain chaos with tranquility. Unlike standard of care, which generally isolates one problem and then hits it with a sledgehammer, going after tranquility is like tracking a skittish animal through the forest. You have to gently and tenaciously pursue peace in your mind, body, and spirit.

You might have to suck it up a little, too. This is the part where I like to remind people of the pilgrims who tossed around in leaky little boats, the warriors who fought barefoot in the snow with George Washington to win our freedom, and other barefooters like pioneers who walked across deserts and prairies so we could eventually have Hollywood movies Being strong and determined is in our American DNA. If you’re depressed, at one point you’re going to have to dust off your determination if you want to reclaim your life.  Here’s the roadmap:

Stimulants (sugar, alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, drugs) do a Pavlovian number on your head beginning with that first pleasurable blast of dopamine that quells emotional pain. When your brain crashes, you crave that head rush, indulge again, crash again, and thus begins a knee-jerk reaction cycle. You can quit addictions by rebuilding healthy brain cells, cell by cell by eating a diet of real food rich in protein, cholesterol and good fats (organic butter, the fat and red meat of grass-fed cows, cod liver oil, coconut oil, red palm oil, primrose, borage, black current oil, and olive oil). These therapeutic fats and meats will also provide building materials so your body can make and flood your brain with happy neurotransmitters.

Dieting is a time of famine to your body, which totally freaks out your brain. Trying to force it and beat the fat off with a stick is not going to get you anywhere but fatter. Focus on optimal health, not weight loss. Your body knows how to find its optimal body weight. And you’ll end up more stunning or hunky than you thought possible.

Stress and overwork. Let’s lump these together since they are such evil twins. Sometimes we have to endure the load. But we need to do everything possible to find time to clear our minds (see below). Mind-clearing will help ameliorate the damage done by those brats.

Really toxic input from movies, song lyrics and TV help define the freaked out imprint on your amygdala, the primitive part of your brain that’s programmed to protect you from danger. Harvard shrink Srini Pillay, author of Life Unlocked, texted me, “Fear and threat register in your brain in milliseconds. When we expose our brains to toxic song lyrics or TV and movies, we activate these brain circuits and shape not just our memories but our unconscious reactions to things. If you wonder why you suddenly feel sad, get angry or feel dissatisfied, ask yourself how many uplifting things you have heard or seen on that day.” It’s really important for mind, body, spirit health to think about what you’re putting into your brain.

Mind-clearing chaos-blasters

We need to calm way down. Negative emotions and fear create vigilance in your amygdala, which is more definition to that stamp of “OMG I’m in danger.” It’s not like you can just tell your amygdala to shut up. You have to be sneaky. Mother Nature has her wily ways of helping us do that. Of course you have to make an effort just like you make the effort to walk over to the nearest Starbucks Because the amygdala is programmed to first notice danger, you need to make sure that you put yourself into calming, relaxing, safe situations as often as possible. Only when there is enough positive input will your amygdala relax and calm down.

Buddhist Metta (loving-kindness) meditation was developed by the world’s first and greatest psychologist, the Buddha as an antidote to fear. My fave book on the subject is The Mindful Path to Self Compassion, by Christopher K. Germer. You can learn to meditate all on your own by reading this book, or download free mediations on: http://www.mindfulselfcompassion.org/meditations_downloads.php. In the meantime, go someplace quiet today for a few minutes and sit with your eyes closed, repeating four phrases: May I be safe; May I be happy; May I be healthy; May I live my life with ease. It’s so neat to all of a sudden feel clearheaded and centered with happy moments here and there.

Ericksonian hypnotherapy also calms the amygdala by taking you by the hand into deep relaxation. You can download Carolyn Grothe’s sleep CD Meditation and Relaxation for Sleep on Amazon.

Yoga clears the mind to prepare the body for meditation. When I first started doing yoga I was all amped up because I had to stop running after 20 years of wrecking my knees. I thought yoga was a substitute for running and went into it as a way of further beating up my body. Little did I know that those ancient yogic scholars knew what they were talking about; there’s no way you can practice yoga and not have a spiritual experience.

Having sex clears the mind, which is one reason I’m a big fan of a healthy sex life.  A lot of people have given up on sex because they’re too burned out. Adrenal fatigue is the very unhappy companion to zero sex drive. If you’ve been driving yourself, and your sex drive is ancient history as a result, there is hope for you. Sex is fun, but it also calms the amygdala. It’s not possible to reach orgasm if you feel fear or anxiety. For women, having sex to reach orgasm also facilitates the release of endorphins, and oxytocin, which reduces anxiety, evokes feelings of contentment, calmness, and security. After orgasm, men’s brains release norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, vasopressin, nitric oxide, and the hormone prolactin. Prolactin induces sleepiness, and the release of oxytocin and vasopressin accompanies melatonin, the hormone that regulates our body clocks.

The Mozart Effect is a term coined by musicologist Don Campbell to describe the transformation powers of listening to Mozart, including reducing stress, depression and anxiety. The Mozart Effect is relaxing so that you can fall asleep easier, or just chill in general.  Download some Mozart from ITunes, kick back and listen to help you tune out the Monkey Mind.

Mother Nature’s bag of tricks

Boidentical estrogen is what some women lack. Mia Lundin, nurse practitioner and author of Female Brain Gone Insane explained, “Estradiol, a bioidentical estrogen, calms down the brain by increasing the calming neurotransmitter serotonin,” (see L-Tryptophan below).

Taking hot baths with a few cups of magnesium sulfate better known as Epsom salts is yum yum. When magnesium sulfate is absorbed through the skin, it relaxes your muscles, sedates your nervous system, and reduces swelling. Epsom salt is dirt cheap at any pharmacy or Big Box.

Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) is a neurotransmitter precursor that you can buy over the counter. It promotes a sense of calm.

L-Theanine is another neurotransmitter precursor, found almost exclusively in the leaves of green tea, but can be obtained as a supplement. It promotes a state of deep relaxation and calm, while increasing sensations of pleasure.

L-Tryptophan is an amino acid that converts to melatonin and serotonin in our bodies and brains. Serotonin affects several central nervous system functions, including sleep, mood, aggression, pain, anxiety, memory, eating behavior, temperature regulation, hormonal regulation, and motor behavior. L-Tryptophan can calm sleep disturbances and help lift depression.

5-Hydroxy Tryptophan (5-HTP) is a more usable form of L-Tryptophan and can be obtained over-the-counter. 5-HTP is five times more potent than L-Tryptophan—so you don’t need to take as much. NOTE: Don’t take L-Tryptophan or 5-HTP if you’re taking serotonin-reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac or Zoloft. Both are contraindicated in people with interstitial cystitis.

Magnesium citrate is a mineral that’s calming to the nervous system. It helps alleviate muscle spasms, the pain of fibromyalgia, the muscle spasms in the intestinal tract that cause constipation as well as the muscle spasms, cramps, and/or leg-twitching that may be causing insomnia.

Phosphatidylserine is a brain nutrient that helps rebalance pituitary-adrenal communication. If you wake up in the middle of the night wide awake with your heart pounding, your adrenals may be responding inappropriately. This happens a lot to workaholics. Just because phosphatidylserine influences your brain’s messages to your adrenals to halt the inappropriate release of adrenaline, cortisol, and DHEA, doesn’t give you permission to keep overworking.

Taurine is a neurotransmitter precursor, antioxidant amino acid that supports neurological development and helps regulate the level of water and mineral salts in the blood—i.e. it lowers blood pressure.

Herbal teas infusions are detoxifying and relaxing. Put one cup loosely packed herbs into a quart jar and fill with boiling water. You want to screw the lid on because the essential oils in the herbs will dissipate in the air. Steep for four to ten hours and strain. Drink immediately or refrigerate. Chamomile, lemongrass, linden flowers, valerian, passionflower, and hops are herbs known for their calming effects.

Doesn’t all of this sound so much more appealing than pouring drugs and chemicals into your brain and flat-lining on adrenal exhaustion? Thought so.

Peace, Fun, Love.

Your girlfriend in health,