Travis’ Quora Page

[InChristAlone]

If you hadn't noticed, there is a suicide inducing lockdown going around. My first thought with any suicide over the past 7 months wouldn't be "what was his/her diet like," but more "Why did the government feel the need to murder this person?"

I totally get this. What the gov't did was unacceptable. Especially for those who were separated from their families. The elderly in particular. I have one personal connection whom starved themselves in a nursing home because he couldn't see his partner. But for people in their 30's we weren't separated from loved ones unless they chose to self quarantine. And for many of us internet users we live more anti-social lives anyway so I'm not sure what he saw about his world that was unbareable. It seemed like his depression started before 2020. And honestly times were good in the US before 2020, many saw increased prosperity.

I do think many keyboard warriors are lacking purpose in their life outside of their obsessions. This is the technocracy. Man and machine becoming one. We need to be prepared mentally for what's to come. Have strong connections with good people, make sure you have a reason to live, a strong will to keep going because times are not always going to be good. It's our reaction to it that means everything. I know for myself I can be levelheaded, calm, peaceful, happy during one part of my cycle and then feel more anxious more scatter brained more triggered before my period starts. If I didn't know how to navigate that I may just think life is suffering. But I know that's not me! Those feelings are not who I am and I know it always passes. Bad feelings always pass. I don't strive for euphoria either because that passes as well. I enjoy it when it does come! But I'm not addicted to having it at all times. Maybe Peat does have it always but even he has expressed his fear of the way the world is going right now. He still has human emotions.

Even amidst the corruption going on I still have peace everything is going to be okay I can't control the outcome anyway.

 

[ecstatichamster]

It is so bad that we just have to focus on other things. Focusing on the world situation today will get you very depressed and it's no different than resenting the snow or rain. It's the way it is. We have no control over the world situation so we should focus on our families, our careers, our learnings, things that bring us joy. This is a lesson I'm trying to learn every day. It really is the essence of living.

Our attention is like a spotlight and we are the guard in the tower overlooking the pitch black prison yard, and all we can do is aim the spotlight, the little lit-up circle. We let others aim our spotlight...

 

[InChristAlone]

It is so bad that we just have to focus on other things. Focusing on the world situation today will get you very depressed and it's no different than resenting the snow or rain. It's the way it is. We have no control over the world situation so we should focus on our families, our careers, our learnings, things that bring us joy. This is a lesson I'm trying to learn every day. It really is the essence of living.

Our attention is like a spotlight and we are the guard in the tower overlooking the pitch black prison yard, and all we can do is aim the spotlight, the little lit-up circle. We let others aim our spotlight...

we choose what to focus on.

 

[tankasnowgod]

The idea of suicide reveals an organism that is not life-affirming and experiencing generative health but rather is experiencing suffering at some level of the physical/psychological system. If the energetic, vital organism vies for survival and growth, then the degenerative, dying organism accepts apathy and demise.

Even amid such “extreme” lockdown mesures, a suicidal response would indicate to me an unhealthy individual.

But that's like a self fulfilling prophecy.

Government's institute a lockdown policy that is designed to put people under an certain level of stress, and that will vary from mild to extreme.

Under that stress, organisms get unhealthy, some get unhealthy very fast.

You don't know how it was affecting him. You don't know if the lockdown destroyed his finances or not. You don't know if it destroyed his family or not. You don't know how many friends or family the lockdown killed before his death. So don't for a minute suggest that this radical MEDICAL EXPERIMENT performed on him WITHOUT HIS CONSENT wasn't "extreme."

 

[InChristAlone]

I did suggest that his depression started before 2020 so maybe it was the nail in the coffin so to speak. Even in the face of death and financial troubles it isn't a good reason to end your life especially if you are leaving loved ones who will be extremely traumatized by it. Though even a Mom can go on having witnessed her child's suicide as I know someone who that happened to. Why dont they suicide too? Thats more than enough 'reason'. And yet they move past it.

I do agree lockdowns cause more death than they are trying to prevent. Particularly for those with high serotonin and learned helplessness. Peat talks a lot about this. So that is why we are all so perplexed someone in our community would take their life.

 

[tankasnowgod]

I do agree lockdowns cause more death than they are trying to prevent.

I don't think they were ever trying to prevent ANY death. I think they were instituted to create massive depression and suicide. If the government were run by compassionate idiots, officials would have reversed themselves, not doubled down.

 

[InChristAlone]

I don't think they were ever trying to prevent ANY death. I think they were instituted to create massive depression and suicide. If the government were run by compassionate idiots, officials would have reversed themselves, not doubled down.

Problem is I have family members who were pro lockdown (and they aren't retarded), so who knows how many in gov't positions also feared the virus and thought even if there are casualties lockdowns were the right thing to do. Now nothing could be further from the truth but I do think many thought it was best at the time. The propaganda worked brilliantly in the age of germ theory.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Problem is I have family members who were pro lockdown (and they aren't retarded), so who knows how many in gov't positions also feared the virus and thought even if there are casualties lockdowns were the right thing to do. Now nothing could be further from the truth but I do think many thought it was best at the time. The propaganda worked brilliantly in the age of germ theory.

How many Mayors are Doctors? How many Governors? Bottom line, it was flat out WRONG, because they don't have the authority to impose such tyranny, nor the medical knowledge, and certainly not the personal knowledge of the millions of patients whose lives they were endangering. And it was all based on Prophecy, and not even a decent prophet like Miss Cleo, but a guy in Neil Ferguson whose track record in prophecy (albeit computer assisted prophecy) is horrid. You would be safer letting a drunk polar bear drive an ambulance than trusting that guy's psychic predictions.

And if your family members are pro lockdown in any way, I beg to differ in your assessment of their mental capacity. That's like claiming some math geniuses believe that 2+2= 5,687

 

[InChristAlone]

How many Mayors are Doctors? How many Governors? Bottom line, it was flat out WRONG, because they don't have the authority to impose such tyranny, nor the medical knowledge, and certainly not the personal knowledge of the millions of patients whose lives they were endangering. And it was all based on Prophecy, and not even a decent prophet like Miss Cleo, but a guy in Neil Ferguson whose track record in prophecy (albeit computer assisted prophecy) is horrid. You would be safer letting a drunk polar bear drive an ambulance than trusting that guy's psychic predictions.

And if your family members are pro lockdown in any way, I beg to differ in your assessment of their mental capacity. That's like claiming some math geniuses believe that 2+2= 5,687

I'm trying to be empathetic here! There are 330 million people in the US alone and how many of them know the truth like you and I? Are they all retarded if they don't know the truth? I totally get your anger, I struggled too, I went through periods of very low mood because of all of this. But I knew it would pass as all things do. I tried waking up my family and friends as best as I could but it fell on deaf ears. My brother in law whom is not retarded though clearly not very smart called the ones not wearing masks "karens', I told him that it's the other way around that a karen is someone who WOULD call the cops on someone not wearing a mask and he disagreed because mask wearing was the "safe" thing to do. I ended up blocking him and we haven't talked to him since. This is someone I really cared about before all this started. I feel extremely alone in this world if I think about how many people are not awake, much like Travis probably did. I think this entire year was meant to divide us. If someone is kinda stupid that doesn't mean they don't have value, we all were stupid at some point. We all were 'asleep' at some point. Even Peat... though much much younger than most of us, he claims he saw it at 3 and 4.

 

[Jennifer]

I do agree lockdowns cause more death than they are trying to prevent. Particularly for those with high serotonin and learned helplessness. Peat talks a lot about this. So that is why we are all so perplexed someone in our community would take their life.

Because we really didn’t know Travis? We knew him based on what he wrote on the forum or in private conversations but who here was actually in his life on a regular basis and even then, had such an intimate relationship with him that they knew what was going on in his head? It’s not uncommon for those of us who have struggled with depression to hide it from people, and it can come on out of the blue even when we’re eating the best diet. Many times I could be talking with someone and seem happy because in that moment, I was happy talking to that person but could be struck with suicidal thoughts just moments after our conversation ended, and start planning my death. Add to that dealing with the heightened sensitivity (empathically/energetically) many of us with depression have, that gets triggered through real life interactions. It’s hard to rationalize an irrational act through a rational mindset. It would be like me telling you there is nothing for you to panic about while you’re having a panic attack.

I grew up with a mother who struggled with suicidal depression and I’ve obviously struggled with it too. I didn’t even want to birth babies for fear that they would end up like me. I see things differently now, but it took time and a lot of close calls getting here. My mum and I have an extremely tight relationship and I make sure she knows what’s going on in my head because as much as I have done my due diligence with diet (one reason I care so much about what I consume), learning the basics about the human body and what triggers my depression on a physiological level such as poor thyroid function and hypoglycemia, and being aware of my thoughts, life is messy and there are things from my past that have left their mark and still sometimes trigger depression and anxiety, unexpectedly. I know better now but in the past, when I was in a depressed state, there was no convincing me “this too shall pass” and it was only the thought of abandoning my fur babes, and my parents having to bury their baby girl, that kept me here. Or maybe even divine intervention, I don’t know.

People may blame Travis’ diet because they perceive it to be the culprit based on their experience and limited intimate knowledge of Travis, but how do they know that his diet didn’t actually help him to reduce and/or manage the potential depression he may have dealt with? Just because some have issues with the type of foods/diet he ate, doesn’t mean everyone does. This doesn’t really matter since we all react differently to foods but just as an example, for me, high fruit consumption is like Dorothy Gale opening the door of her sepia-colored world and stepping into a technicolor Oz for the first time because half of my depressive episodes are triggered by low blood sugar so the dark feeling disappears within minutes of fruit consumption. I didn’t read a lot of Travis’ posts because in the past, fear led me so far down the scientific rabbit hole I was having tea with the Hatter so I’m cautious of overanalyzing health now, but I do recall in one of his posts he was experimenting with different foods and supplements to see their serotonergic effect on him so it seems he was conscious of such things.

 

[InChristAlone]

Because we really didn’t know Travis? We knew him based on what he wrote on the forum or in private conversations but who here was actually in his life on a regular basis and even then, had such an intimate relationship with him that they knew what was going on in his head? It’s not uncommon for those of us who have struggled with depression to hide it from people, and it can come on out of the blue even when we’re eating the best diet. Many times I could be talking with someone and seem happy because in that moment, I was happy talking to that person but could be struck with suicidal thoughts just moments after our conversation ended, and start planning my death. Add to that dealing with the heightened sensitivity (empathically/energetically) many of us with depression have, that gets triggered through real life interactions. It’s hard to rationalize an irrational act through a rational mindset. It would be like me telling you there is nothing for you to panic about while you’re having a panic attack.

I grew up with a mother who struggled with suicidal depression and I’ve obviously struggled with it too. I didn’t even want to birth babies for fear that they would end up like me. I see things differently now, but it took time and a lot of close calls getting here. My mum and I have an extremely tight relationship and I make sure she knows what’s going on in my head because as much as I have done my due diligence with diet (one reason I care so much about what I consume), learning the basics about the human body and what triggers my depression on a physiological level such as poor thyroid function and hypoglycemia, and being aware of my thoughts, life is messy and there are things from my past that have left their mark and still sometimes trigger depression and anxiety, unexpectedly. I know better now but in the past, when I was in a depressed state, there was no convincing me “this too shall pass” and it was only the thought of abandoning my fur babes, and my parents having to bury their baby girl, that kept me here. Or maybe even divine intervention, I don’t know.

People may blame Travis’ diet because they perceive it to be the culprit based on their experience and limited intimate knowledge of Travis, but how do they know that his diet didn’t actually help him to reduce and/or manage the potential depression he may have dealt with? Just because some have issues with the type of foods/diet he ate, doesn’t mean everyone does. This doesn’t really matter since we all react differently to foods but just as an example, for me, high fruit consumption is like Dorothy Gale opening the door of her sepia-colored world and stepping into a technicolor Oz for the first time because half of my depressive episodes are triggered by low blood sugar so the dark feeling disappears within minutes of fruit consumption. I didn’t read a lot of Travis’ posts because in the past, fear led me so far down the scientific rabbit hole I was having tea with the Hatter so I’m cautious of overanalyzing health now, but I do recall in one of his posts he was experimenting with different foods and supplements to see their serotonergic effect on him so it seems he was conscious of such things.

I'm really sorry you have struggled with suicidal depression. I don't mean to trigger anyone by saying "this too will pass". It is a very good affirmation, though not helpful for someone in full on shutdown. I often forget what I already know about depression being a state of dorsal vagal hyperarousal (see graphic below).

I hope no one took what I was saying as if I've never experienced it because I have. I was on an antidepressant when I was 17 for cutting myself. Then I almost overdosed on it. So yes I absolutely know what it's like to feel like you can't escape the dark thoughts. But I also knew deep down that's not me. I know full well how awful reactive hypoglycemia is. I believe this can be a result of mental stress plus the great insulin sensitivity that comes with high sugar diets. I eat way more starches now, less dairy and have been doing the low vitamin A thing. I don't get those kinds of symptoms anymore. Just normal ups and downs everyone goes through. My son struggles with suicidal depression and we have helped him through it. His comes on because of mental stress and frustrations. It doesn't seem diet related for him, he can seemingly eat anything. Which I think should be the goal (except overdoing retinol and carotenoids- retinoic acid can cause suicide). But whenever someone is on a very restricted diet I do tend to question what led them there. The graphic below explains how a dysregulated nervous system can cause all of these symptoms and I could see how someone might think they can't handle food in that state and become analytical thinking it is the food. I was definitely in that state many times.

It's interesting to talk about this, I hope we can keep being open about this, mental health is so taboo for a lot of the world. I find dysregulation usually comes first before the cascade of hormonal changes that leads someone to believe they are hypothyroid or can't handle foods. I see my emotions like a wave now, they come up to a peak under stress and then if we learn how to let go of them then the wave can crest and come back to a nice regulation. This graphic was super helpful for me.

Of course then we would have to talk about trauma because that's a big cause of dsyregulation that can go on for literally a lifetime. So basically a lifetime of shutdown because we can't stay in a state of fight or flight forever.

This is all why I am way less obsessed with nutrition. A regulated system digests well, absorbs well, handles stress well. And then there is less need for gurus to tell us how to eat.

 

[Lejeboca]

We have no control over the world situation so we should focus on our families, our careers, our learnings, things that bring us joy. This is a lesson I'm trying to learn every day. It really is the essence of living.

I agree. We all trying to do this even subconsciously. However, one 'little' outside thing, such as some new mask mandate, easily throws you off your bearings of many meaningful enjoyable things in your life. This is like in a law of system dynamics were one type of feedback that escalates (possibly exponentially) the situation is much stronger than the one that levels out the system. Hence, one has to have many more instances (magnitudes) of the latter to overcome the former.

I am not often 'in the flow', such as a musician who forgets himself in his art, and I often lack positive things to do/enjoy (not because they are not physically accessible to me, of course). They all require energy while the negativity, that 'little' outside thing, robs of energy. Often, no energy to 'relax into complexity' quoting Peat.

 

[Jennifer]

I'm really sorry you have struggled with suicidal depression. I don't mean to trigger anyone by saying "this too will pass". It is a very good affirmation, though not helpful for someone in full on shutdown. I often forget what I already know about depression being a state of dorsal vagal hyperarousal (see graphic below).

I hope no one took what I was saying as if I've never experienced it because I have. I was on an antidepressant when I was 17 for cutting myself. Then I almost overdosed on it. So yes I absolutely know what it's like to feel like you can't escape the dark thoughts. But I also knew deep down that's not me. I know full well how awful reactive hypoglycemia is. I believe this can be a result of mental stress plus the great insulin sensitivity that comes with high sugar diets. I eat way more starches now, less dairy and have been doing the low vitamin A thing. I don't get those kinds of symptoms anymore. Just normal ups and downs everyone goes through. My son struggles with suicidal depression and we have helped him through it. His comes on because of mental stress and frustrations. It doesn't seem diet related for him, he can seemingly eat anything. Which I think should be the goal (except overdoing retinol and carotenoids- retinoic acid can cause suicide). But whenever someone is on a very restricted diet I do tend to question what led them there. The graphic below explains how a dysregulated nervous system can cause all of these symptoms and I could see how someone might think they can't handle food in that state and become analytical thinking it is the food. I was definitely in that state many times.

It's interesting to talk about this, I hope we can keep being open about this, mental health is so taboo for a lot of the world. I find dysregulation usually comes first before the cascade of hormonal changes that leads someone to believe they are hypothyroid or can't handle foods. I see my emotions like a wave now, they come up to a peak under stress and then if we learn how to let go of them then the wave can crest and come back to a nice regulation. This graphic was super helpful for me. View attachment 20150

Of course then we would have to talk about trauma because that's a big cause of dsyregulation that can go on for literally a lifetime. So basically a lifetime of shutdown because we can't stay in a state of fight or flight forever.

This is all why I am way less obsessed with nutrition. A regulated system digests well, absorbs well, handles stress well. And then there is less need for gurus to tell us how to eat.

Thank you, Janelle. :) I’m just sorry for those who haven’t been so lucky overcoming depression, and I’m sorry you and your son have struggled with it, as well. I’m happy you were able to know you weren’t the dark thoughts, that you’re in a healthier place now, and your diet is working so well for you. That’s awesome! I’ve found letting go to be helpful, too. The graph is really interesting. Thanks for sharing it!

 

[GelatinGoblin]

I have never heard of this theory. Pretty interesting proposal. I do relate to the process depicted, very scary how at some point the body prepares for death. How would this trait get passed on though? Maybe it's a defense mechanism for near death scenario, if one would not prepare for death he may experience PTSD or some sort of even more severe stress but for a lifetime. Maybe the body enters this state (so called learned helplessness, at least I think this is learned helplessness or the same the same state and process in the rat swimming experiment) so that if he does survive, he would be able to function for the rest of it's lifetime without permanent damage that would otherwise occur.
Also interesting how some things decrease this. Maybe it simply furthers extends the period of the Sympathetic Nervous system state. Perhaps the health of the being determines the perceived ability of the body to perform at this situation, with perceived inability from weakness and physical non wellbeing causing its survival to simply be determined by supposed "chance". This is very terrifying but as most bad things it seems to be a defense mechanism of the body that is being overactivated

 

[GelatinGoblin]

I think my periods of high heartrate and Cortisol and stress hormones can be helped via social activity. Has anyone else come to this conclusion or and noticed decreased stress from socialising ( at least with known people, unknown people may be a bit more difficult )?

 

[Herbie]

I used to PM with Travis and haven't been on the forum for a long time and searched "Travis something Ray Peat forum" to find something he wrote which came into my mind and then I found this thread, I knew he looked the way he did from reading him that and was that age as I am a similar age. I don't understand the suicide as what was the point of learning all the knowledge to just go that way at that age.

I thought travis was heaps funny with great sarcasm, not sure if everyone read him that way and I liked the stuff he knew about like pinene in gin for example, so interesting. Seemed like it was fun for him to write in that style and was easy for him.

Its happened to me a few times, I meet a man who I like and would be great friends with but don't make time to get to know them more and become part of their life and then they commit suicide, I hope that didn't occur for him.

 

[Badguy]

I grew up with Travis, and he was my closest friend for most of my life. We distanced in the last couple of years, due mostly to the things he was going through. He shut out all of his friends, at least the ones who knew him offline, and letting him shut me out is probably going to be my greatest regret in life.

I've searched his name periodically since it happened in an attempt to find more out about what was going on with him near the end. That's how I found this board. If anybody was in contact with him over the last year before the 4th and is willing to share any of the communications I would greatly appreciate it. I would give just about anything to talk to him again, but since that isn't possible any other insight into his mind at the end would be better than nothing. If you need a more secure way to give me the information or want to confirm that I am who I say then please contact me.

Also to the people that are using his death to reinforce some political ideology or theory that they have, you are wrong and very silly.

 

[InChristAlone]

I grew up with Travis, and he was my closest friend for most of my life. We distanced in the last couple of years, due mostly to the things he was going through. He shut out all of his friends, at least the ones who knew him offline, and letting him shut me out is probably going to be my greatest regret in life.

I've searched his name periodically since it happened in an attempt to find more out about what was going on with him near the end. That's how I found this board. If anybody was in contact with him over the last year before the 4th and is willing to share any of the communications I would greatly appreciate it. I would give just about anything to talk to him again, but since that isn't possible any other insight into his mind at the end would be better than nothing. If you need a more secure way to give me the information or want to confirm that I am who I say then please contact me.

Also to the people that are using his death to reinforce some political ideology or theory that they have, you are wrong and very silly.

Welcome to the forum! I'm very sorry for your loss, that is really sad to hear he shut even his closest friends out of his life. He also stopped posting here on the forum during that time. So it seems it wasn't just covid related? If it started 2 yrs ago.

 

[Jennifer]

I grew up with Travis, and he was my closest friend for most of my life. We distanced in the last couple of years, due mostly to the things he was going through. He shut out all of his friends, at least the ones who knew him offline, and letting him shut me out is probably going to be my greatest regret in life.

I've searched his name periodically since it happened in an attempt to find more out about what was going on with him near the end. That's how I found this board. If anybody was in contact with him over the last year before the 4th and is willing to share any of the communications I would greatly appreciate it. I would give just about anything to talk to him again, but since that isn't possible any other insight into his mind at the end would be better than nothing. If you need a more secure way to give me the information or want to confirm that I am who I say then please contact me.

Also to the people that are using his death to reinforce some political ideology or theory that they have, you are wrong and very silly.

I’m very sorry for your loss. My heart goes out to you.

 

[Badguy]

Welcome to the forum! I'm very sorry for your loss, that is really sad to hear he shut even his closest friends out of his life. He also stopped posting here on the forum during that time. So it seems it wasn't just covid related? If it started 2 yrs ago.

Thank you. I'm looking through a lot of Trav's old posts and I can see his personality reflected, which is pretty cool. He was always interested in medical effects of diet, even as a teenager. I remember a conversation we had when we were about 16 (so almost 20 years ago, before these ideas were very widespread, even on the net) where he told me that the eventual cure for cancer would be related to starving it of the foods it needs to grow.

I talked to his dad a little and I also spoke to him a little about his issues before they got so bad, and I believe he was pretty isolated long before covid hit. Like I said, I just want to get as much info as I can about his mindset towards the end. His dad was the only one he was really spending time with and I don't think he would talk to his dad about the things he was really thinking about.