How to lower serotonin level WITHOUT SUPPLEMENT to fight depression ?

[French.cat]

Hi !

I have lifelong depression (I'm 32). I live in TOTAL numbness 90 % of the time, lack of energy, no empathy, I cry a lot, I have insomnia, can't focus, depersonalized and so on...

The only period I was free of that shitty mental disorder was when I experienced KETO.

Unfortunately, I could not sleep because of high dopamine, I guess.

BUT I felt AMAZING. No depersonalization. No sadness. Focus ++. Creativity. I was a totally different person. Well, I WAS FULLY MYSELF for the first time

I even cried because I felt so relieved.

Recently, I had to take SSRI's because of suicidal thoughts. I know that anti depressant pills raise the serotonin level in the brain but I had to try it, and to be honest I'm glad I did.

Now I'm on my way to get back on track with a good diet by focusing, this time, on LOW SEROTONIN effect.

Do you guys have advice for me ?

 

[rzero]

I've been experimenting with low-carb, NON-KETO lately, for general health experimentation. I'm skeptical of ketosis from my own experiences and from the work of Ray, but I'm theorizing that there may be a benefit from lowering carb intake when metabolism is impaired. I've been going for a couple weeks, and haven't been extremely strict.

I'm assuming I'll get significant sugar/carb cravings before entering ketosis, which has happened in the past. So I'll moderately indulge those cravings, instead of "pushing through" to ketosis. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Fenrir67]

Depression and anhedonia can be caused by methanol/formaldehyde exposure
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrTAsQGLFP8&list=PL717BFA7373335D1C
Also watch out for dairy that can induce a cerebral folate deficiency.

 

[gd81]

If you have that much of an aversion to using supplements you could try the emergency metabolic diet. It's just orange juice and milk. There's nothing in the diet to irritate the gut or feed bacteria, so it won't lend itself to serotonin production.

 

[Zellig Pliskin]

Lowering serotonin without supplements can be done by achieving victories in life (even if they're small) and novelty.

For rats, the alternative to an enriched environment has been living
in a rat box, sort of the equivalent of a Tokyo apartment. Gardening,
learning to play a musical instrument, sculpting and drawing, are
good; practicing the marital arts, going to new places and taking
different routes to old places, listening to an unfamiliar
language--anything that involves participation and action or
learning.

Finding novelty and opportunity in a large context, rather than
habitual, ritualized, or trivial activity. Stimulating conversation
and spontaneous sex are good examples. Our (industrialized corporate)
cultures are designed to exclude meaningful activity as far as
possible. Music, theater, literature, research, adapting to a new
culture, and political innovation are activities that can be
meaningful.

Given your circumstances, I would recommend supplementing with T3, which is the most appropriate thing for safely lowering serotonin levels. Ray Peat tried to avoid supplementation when possible but did strongly recommend T3 for depressed individuals.