One of my dearest friends of college vintage, recently suffered a seizure while on holiday with her family. It was her first ever attack and it came without any warning. In a nightmare sequence a tumour was discovered, a surgery performed, compulsory bed rest and speech therapy followed. All this happened suddenly in fast-forward. Within moments her life was transformed. Far removed from the tragedy, I am unable to come to terms with the swiftness of the transformation and often wonder how she and her family coped with this sudden upheaval of their universe. In such cases, blues-beating lifestyle changes can be of more help than you’d think!

Everyday I hear of yet another person, similarly struck down and having to suffer the surgeon’s knife- an appalling prospect in any circumstance. It makes me wonder why at the first signs of trouble people aren’t advised changes in lifestyle which in most cases would obviate the need for surgery. True your doctor is often to blame, but sometimes the doctor who advises lifestyle changes meets stout resistance.

One of the inevitabilities of existence is that at some time or the other we are bound to feel low. Rather than resort to anti-depressants which are habit forming, it makes more sense to utilise one or more natural, non-medicinal antidotes to depression. Here are some suggestions on blues-beating lifestyle changes.

• Get to the root cause of the problem. Or follow the advaita philosophy which tells us that everything that happens is as per divine will. Then you’ll simply live acting out that plan without worrying even in stressful times. Remember that the energy that created you can take care of you.
• Spend time outdoors as often as you can. Sit by the ocean, lake or river. Get wet under a waterfall, hug a tree, feed an animal, be compassionate to the poor. All this will help you tune your energies with the rhythms of the universe.
• Get enough sunshine, avoiding only the high noon sun. This is the explanation why people who live in cold, wet countries where sunshine is a rarity suffer more than their share of depression. I know people who, in spite of a bright beautiful sun shining over us most of the 365 days, choose to live indoors in air-conditioning under artificial lights. It’s important to understand that nothing can replace the energy of the sun. It’s free, simple and it works.
• Get as much exercise as you can or at least lead an active life. For workaholics who can’t stay away from their desks, at least lymphasise 10-15 minutes every day. That’s the absolute bare minimum activity required to get those anti-depressant hormones going. To lymphasise, all you need to do is jump up and down on a trampoline in a prescribed manner. I have written about this in a previous issue of EducationWorld (July 2005).
• Minimise if you can’t eliminate, the use of chemicals in your life. Even sugar-free gum has aspartame in it. I wonder why? Is it any surprise that brain tumours are becoming as common as cancers? We have to constantly guard against the infiltration of chemicals into our lives. Even house-cleaning agents are full of them and the iodine mandatorily included in everyday salt is dangerous too.
• There is an entire list of whole and natural foods you need to include in your diet which I touch upon in this column every month. I won’t discuss them again. Suffice it to say that ingesting brown unpolished rice at both meals can really turn your life around. It isn’t because it has more nutrients or more fibre. It is the most balanced food. It has the same potassium-sodium ratio as our cells, which makes it the one food that can heal and nourish our cells. Not to say that the vitamin B we get from brown rice is any less important.
• Minimise time before the telly. Indeed the main plug needs to be pulled out if you sleep in the same room as the idiot box. It causes and aggravates depression, especially many hours of telly watching in a darkened room. Get a life beyond it.
• Ditto the computer. Sadly technology has not improved the quality of our mental health in any major way. Instead of e-mailing or SMS-ing friends, call them (preferably not on cell or cordless phones), or better still, meet them. Human beings weren’t designed to live in cyberspace. Nor should these inventions be used to escape from your family. So live in the real world, experience it, and you will be richer for it.
• Give unconditional love and you will receive it back in good measure. No man is an island and no one can live without this most essential element of life and living. Deficiency of love is the cause of most illnesses. Understanding this and reaching out for love will make all the difference.
• Switch gradually to ayurvedic medicines, but only under the guidance of a reputed ayurveda physician. 

If all this sounds too simple, too pat, don’t worry. These are not just empty words of wisdom. I speak from personal experience. I have been able to cut the medication of my very own loved one by half. Don’t let anyone tell you this isn’t possible.

(Kavita Mukhi is a Mumbai-based eco-nutritionist and director of Conscious Food)

Also read: Food vitamins that can help keep depression at bay