The Journey Back to Happiness

We all want happiness and good health. We know that we need to look after our physical health, but are you aware that it’s equally important to look after your mind health every day? Both good physical and mind health are extremely important to well-being and happiness. If you struggle with feeling overwhelmed, numb, sad, withdrawn, irritable, or extremely fatigued, you’re not alone. The World Health Organisation estimates that 350 million people are affected by depression worldwide, and that by 2020, depression will be the second most common cause of world disability. Depression is not a choice. No one wakes up and thinks that they would like to feel unhappy, empty, and unmotivated all the time. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand depression. This makes it hard for depressed people to seek help, as they feel they can not ask for help in case they are seen as weak or mentally unstable. They may feel embarrassed to speak up about their mind health. Today more than ever before, more and more people are talking about their struggles with depression and the stigma around mind health is starting to lift. I hope my book will offer the tools and guidance needed for anyone seeking to understand or overcome depression. It’s hard for people who haven’t experienced depression to understand what it is really like. I wrote this book because I understand what you are going through and I want to offer my experience, support, and love. I know you feel an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness. I get that. Don’t despair, as there is always hope, if you have faith. As someone who has personally experienced clinical depression and moved through and beyond the pain, I have come to believe that depression can be treated without drugs. This book conveys my own experience on what has worked for me, and it covers everything that has helped keep me well. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to mind health - everyone is made up differently, and so responds better to different approaches. We need to address the underlying causes of depression in each person instead of approaching the treatment identically. Taking drugs doesn’t cure depression - it just masks the symptoms. My approach to poor mind health has been trying to understand what the underlying causes are. I believe that depression is not in our heads, but in our bodies. When we improve our physical health we improve our mind health - our energy, vitality, focus, and mood all lift. My approach is to eliminate everything that causes imbalances in the body, while adding what heals and calms the mind. The most effective treatment involves addressing the whole person, and not just their depressive symptoms. I believe that depression is a symptom, not an illness. It is a consequence of something that is missing, a wake up call that your life is out of balance and that you need to start treating yourself with love and kindness. This book is for anyone who wants to improve their brain health and especially important for anyone struggling with depression. A large part of this book is devoted to nutrition, as I discovered that an essential component of good mind health is what you eat on a daily basis. However, nutrition is not the only factor in managing and overcoming depression. I believe that a 4 pillar approach is vital, and mine consists of Nutrition, Exercise, Lifestyle, and Living Well. I hope there’s something in this book that helps you, or someone you love. I’m reaching out to offer you a helping hand, take it and I will show you what has helped me to get and stay well. Lots of love is heading your way from me to you.