Diet

Hey @Schizopetey don't think we've met before.

Totally support the idea of choosing a diet that aligns with your values, but I do believe that going into a strict vegan diet can potentially have adverse health impacts - it depends entirely on the individual's biology, and the way they compensate for the lack of certain vitamins/minerals/complex proteins/etc in the new diet. No idea how this would also interact with psychiatric medications!

If you have the ability to seek the support of a dietitian and/or psychiatrist before making this choice, I'd highly recommend it.

Because everyone is so different, some people can maintain a vegan diet for years, where others will either slowly, or at times rapidly, become very ill. It could be worth considering reducing the amount of animal products you consume instead of cutting them out entirely. I've heard of people who are 'freegan' - they eat a vegan diet at home, but will consume animal products when out, or at events - i.e. they don't spend money on it but aren't cutting it out entirely. You can also seek out ethical butcheries and buy from farms that demonstrate ethical practices in their treatment of animals 😊

I think it really depends on your biology, lifestyle, and the possibility of interaction with medications - which again I encourage you to seek the advice of medical professionals to determine whether it is a safe option for you to explore.

I wish you the best in discovering what's going to work best for you, both physically and mentally!

Hi @Schizopetey

I am diagnosed BPAD & Cptsd, OCD. I decided for ethical reasons to adopt the vegan diet and way of life in 2011. Tge things I found hard was the stigma & cultural dislike that came at me from all quarters family, workmates, friends. I struggled to maintain the boundaries of my personal investment of veganism in times when I was not mentally well. That is I tended to eat less and less because a strict vegan diet takes a lot of effort so many products include non vegan ingredients. Reading small print during every shop etc. I eventually decided to 'just do my best' without beating myself up about it. I did not have an eating disorder prior to starting ethical vegan life but i certainly was bordering on one by the end of 7 years. So it is worth thinking about how to approach it the stricter I got the more obsessive I was. My veganism seemed to be the entire world it consumes a lot of thinking and can become too ritualistic.

Family made it hard. Vegans make carnivore and omnivore people feel/act aggressive and there was lots of microaggression. If I went to a family do all food except a plate of overcooked mushroom (cooked on the same bbq as the meat) had meat or dairy in it. I cooked two seperate meals for myself and my wife every night. She too was resistant. It was a Sisephean task every day.

So, eventually for my own mental health I went back to an omnivore diet.

People are not supportive of it. I was viewed and treated like a 'freak'* already vegan made it worse.


*used as a colloquial descriptive term not a slur.

It's very hard either way. Empathy and consideration for animals caught in the slavery to death march cycle is a terrible thing to contemplate and becomes the spur to go vegan, maintaining it in a society in which veganism is a tiny minority is hard, maintaining it with a mental illness is harder.

Whatever you decide to do make a pact with yourself to not beat yourself up. Also active recruitment of others to veganism is a highway to ostracisation.

Hope this lived experience helps you in your journey.

Moongal.

*edited for spelling and clarification .

Hi @Schizopetey

I echo others who say seek the advice of a dietitian

Before meds I followed a vegan diet. Antipsychotic hunger made it difficult 20+ years ago to find crisis snacks

I tried vegetarian around 5 years ago, but my blood levels etc tanked and it affected my health. Hence saying consult a dietitian

But in the 2020s, more places offer plant-based snacks