The Mood Cure: Take Charge of Your Emotions in 24 Hours Using Food and Supplements. Julia Ross
repetitive, angry, or useless thoughts that you just can’t turn off—for instance, when you’re trying to get to sleep?
3 Does your behavior often get a bit, or a lot, obsessive? Is it hard for you to make transitions, to be flexible? Are you a perfectionist, or a control freak? A computer, TV, or work addict?
3 Do you really dislike the dark weather or have a clear-cut fall/winter depression (SAD)?
2 Are you apt to be irritable, impatient, edgy, or angry?
3 Do you tend to be shy or fearful? Do you get nervous or panicky about heights, flying, enclosed spaces, public performance, spiders, snakes, bridges, crowds, leaving the house, or anything else?
2 Have you had anxiety attacks or panic attacks (your heart races, it’s hard to breathe)?
2 Do you get PMS or menopausal moodiness (tears, anger, depression)?
3 Do you hate hot weather?
2 Are you a night owl, or do you often find it hard to get to sleep even through you want to?
2 Do you wake up in the night, have restless or light sleep, or wake up too early in the morning?
3 Do you routinely like to have sweet or starchy snacks, wine, or marijuana in the afternoons, evenings, or in the middle of the night (but not earlier in the day)?
2 Do you find relief from any of the above symptoms through exercise?
3 Have you had fibromyalgia (unexplained muscle pain) or TMJ (pain, tension, and grinding associated with your jaw)?
2 Have you had suicidal thoughts or plans?
Total __________ If your score is more than 12 in part 1, turn to chapter 3, page 25.
Part 2. Are You Suffering from the Blahs?
3 Do you often feel depressed—the flat, bored, apathetic kind?
2 Are you low on physical or mental energy? Do you feel tired a lot, have to push yourself to exercise?
2 Is your drive, enthusiasm, and motivation quota on the low side?
3 Do you have difficulty focusing or concentrating?
3 Do you need a lot of sleep? Are you slow to wake up in the morning?
3 Are you easily chilled? Do you have cold hands or feet?
2 Do you tend to put on weight too easily?
3 Do you feel the need to get more alert and motivated by consuming a lot of coffee or other “uppers” like sugar, diet soda, ephedra, or cocaine?
Total __________ If your score is more than 6 in part 2, turn to chapter 4, page 53.
Part 3. Is Stress Your Problem?
3 Do you often feel overworked, pressured, or deadlined?
1 Do you have trouble relaxing or loosening up?
1 Does your body tend to be stiff, uptight, tense?
2 Are you easily upset, frustrated, or snappy under stress?
3 Do you often feel overwhelmed or as though you just can’t get it all done?
2 Do you feel weak or shaky at times?
3 Are you sensitive to bright light, noise, or chemical fumes? Do you need to wear dark glasses a lot?
3 Do you feel significantly worse if you skip meals or go too long without eating?
2 Do you use tobacco, alcohol, food, or drugs to relax and calm down?
Total__________ If your score is more than 8 in part 3, turn to chapter 5, page 77.
Part 4. Are you Too Sensitive to Life’s Pain?
3 Do you consider yourself or do others consider you to be very sensitive? Does emotional pain or perhaps physical pain really get to you?
2 Do you tear up or cry easily—for instance, even during TV commercials?
2 Do you tend to avoid dealing with painful issues?
3 Do you find it hard to get over losses or get through grieving?
2 Have you been through a great deal of physical or emotional pain?
3 Do you crave pleasure, comfort, reward, enjoyment, or numbing from treats like chocolate, bread, wine, romance novels, marijuana, tobacco, or lattes?
Total _________ If your score is more than 6 in part 4, turn to chapter 6, page 100.
True-Life Stories of the Four False Mood Types
Cara had a typical case of the “dark clouds.” She’d been low in confidence all her life. She was a doer, though—her underwear drawer was a work of art, and her boss adored her perfect projects and reports (not that she was ever satisfied herself). She worried a lot and woke up in the night feeling panicky at times. She had recently started to feel really depressed and had tried an antidepressant but hadn’t liked its side-effects, though it had lifted her mood a bit. She’d tried therapy, but hadn’t had much to talk about—she’d come from a close, warm family, and her adult life had gone fairly well. She was out of luck till she came to our clinic and completed her mood profile, which showed that she had almost every symptom in part 1! She left with some targeted brain repair supplements and the next day called to report the best night’s sleep and the best morning mood she’d had in years.
Emma was too lethargic to clean up her underwear drawer. She had “the blahs,” the kind of low-energy depression that too often made her unmotivated, unexcited, and unfocused. She was sick of being an emotional flatliner, but she had no idea what was wrong or what to do about it. We did, though. We could see that she needed our most brain-stimulating nutrient supplements. Fifteen minutes after she took them, we could see that she was feeling more like the person she was meant to be: humorous, sharp, and more alert. This became a permanent state of being for her after a few months of nutritional brain repair work and a revitalization of her thyroid function.
Rob had plenty of drive and energy, but he was a real “stress” type. Years of sixty-to-eighty-hour workweeks, too much coffee and fast food, and too many skipped meals, plus a drawn-out child custody battle, had turned him into a tense, wired, and tired mess. He was clearly sinking into adrenal burnout. On his new antistress supplements and regular meals, he was able to cut out his coffee without a backward glance, cut back his work hours, and begin to feel like a new man.
Sam was “too sensitive.” He teared up whenever he talked about anything painful. He avoided hashing out problems with his wife because it was just too uncomfortable for him. Instead, he tuned out with a beer or a bowl of ice cream in front of the TV. Things started to change when we recommended some supplements that allowed him to tolerate pain more easily and enjoy life a lot more (without either the beer or the ice cream). Then, when he was no longer overly sensitive, we recommended couples therapy, which he was then able to tolerate and even enjoy.
HOW TO USE THE MOOD CURE
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