Whether you refer to the teenagers in your family, your children, or possibly even yourself, everyone’s lives have become very restricted during COVID, and that creates the risk of severe depression. 

This podcast connects the dots of some things you can do to change that for everybody.

Today, Dr. Karl will continue with the idea of GABA versus glutamate. He will explain how ketosis or ketones affect that and how applying GABA reduces rates of suicide. He will also discuss crisis management around the idea of suicidal ideation and suicide in general.

Not feeling good 

When you are not feeling good about yourself, the thoughts you have tend to lead you to a place, neurotransmitter-wise, where you are pro-glutamate and not supportive of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid).

From ketones to GABA

To go from ketones to GABA is pretty quick, and you can adopt a lifestyle that gets you there and keeps you there if you are mindful about what you eat.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness will cause you to produce more GABA than glutamate, which is an excitatory stress hormone. 

Japan

Japan has the highest suicide rate in the world. While studying in Japan, Dr. Karl learned that academics are so stringent in Japan that kids in elementary school have to go to an after-school academy to orient their studies towards academia and help them get to the top of their class when passing their upcoming exams. The focus on being top of the class is so stressful that a suicide rate exists in the sixth grade in Japan.

A New York Times article

A recent article in the New York Times stated that the pressures of business and life were too much for many women. As a result, suicides rose amongst Japanese women during the pandemic.

Depressed patients

Studies of depressed patients have indicated that depressed people are GABA-deprived. That could be a result of several reasons, including the environment and their diet. 

Balance

It is possible to bring the seesaw of GABA versus glutamate back into balance without medications. Attaining that balance will lift people out of their depression. 

Ketones and GABA

Ketones are like a cousin to GABA. It is an easy switch to go from ketone bodies to GABA. 

Lifting out of depression

Some things can lift people out of depression mentally, such as a ketogenic diet, dropping carbs, or even taking exogenous ketones in an emergency. 

Improve your reflective capacity

By having more GABA, you improve your reflective capacity, and you can think about your actions. 

Taking the edge off

You can take the edge off during these stressful times by getting more GABA through dropping carbohydrates or following a ketosis plan.

Increasing GABA

Increasing GABA is also supportive for anti-addiction and implementing positive changes in your life.

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Links to studies:

Mitochondria and Mood: Mitochondrial Dysfunction as a Key Player in the Manifestation of Depression

The GABAergic deficit hypothesis of major depressive disorder