Dave, your service to the climbing community continues to be nonpareil. Thank you.

@denislejeune9218

5 жыл бұрын

waw, didn't know 'nonpareil' was used in English! Félicitations.

Dave. I don't want to go into why I want to say thank you for uploading this video. But thank you man.

I don't post much on YT but this video was incredible. I've used climbing as a way to cope with my feelings of depression and self-hatred and so much of what you discussed resonated with me. Thank you for all you do for the climbing community and the general public that is fortunate to stumble upon your messages.

When I was 46 I had a totally debilitating anxiety breakdown completely out of the blue. About 10 years ago, when 55 I was almost suicidal. Then, when looking into how diet may help, I cut out most carbs such bread, cereals and pasta I very quickly felt much better. As a result of cutting carbs I ate more of other things. I started on keto. I ignored the advice on saturated fat and, instead, loaded up on it. I actually felt like I was ageing backwards! It was a shockingly positive change. For years now, I have been about 90% carnivore. I eat almost no plants now. I will never go back. I'm now 65 and feel very good. Of course, over all that time other aspects of my life have changed too. Many things influence mood. I am 100% certain that diet is fundamental though. Perhaps, as with alcohol, we can deal with toxins to some extent when young, but they catch up with us over time then need to be avoided.

Giving on so many levels. Thanks dude.

When you said you made drastic lifestyle changes I knew where this would go (: Thanks for sharing Dave!

A very honourable and brave thing this, Dave. I lost a good friend and climbing partner through depression, who never talked about what he was going through until it was too late. Thank you for helping in the effort to normalize it

I share your experience about being met with scepticism by medical/psych proffesionals who thinks functionality disproves depression. I understand that in a mental healthcare system pressed for resources, some system of priority needs to be in place, but being told your thoughts aren't that severe because you have written a book or - in my case - am working on a PhD, leaves out a lot of scary complexity. Glad you're doing well now. I am too!

Awesome video. As a physician myself, I'm always impressed by your ability to investigate in the primary literature, and to effectively share what you learn.

@Aldroid0

3 жыл бұрын

I was about to send this to you!

@ferrells0987

3 жыл бұрын

@@Aldroid0 haha. yeah man. Dave knows what's up.

As a climber suffering with depression I found just hearing about your struggles eye-opening. Makes me feel like I am not alone, which is how I have felt for many years as people don’t really talk about it. Thanks for sharing your story dave. Interesting to hear diet helped with your mood.

Thank you, Dave.

Even though my path to get rid of dystymia with periodic clinical depression was different, the final conclusion is exactly the same. The non sexy answer was the diet. I called it almost-keto. No bread, noodles, sugar of any form. And lots of veggies with B9. After 20 years this black hole was gone. But I'm not only writing to validate your conclusions. I'm also writing that what you said at the beginning is also hyper important. I was unfortunately the person who took all those pills and more. More than 15 types of meds. Some worked a bit but as an active individual I suffered horrible side effects. And NONE out of 4 psychiatrists even ones tested me if I'm simply healthy. Never told about diet. Pills were the answer. So I salute you. I feel your pain. And I absolutely know what you've been through. And PLEASE continue talking about it.

Your videos are always educational, "real", down to earth, non-salesy, no bombastic false promises, etc. Just a note from another appreciative viewer.

I like your braw Scots accent, Dave. My mother was from Dunbar & was raised in Edinburgh. Dad was an American and he was in the Air Force stationed in Scotland.

@onegoodminute7248

20 күн бұрын

lol. I used to live in Dunbar

Fascinating and inspiring, thank you for sharing your journey Dave!

mad respect for going into these waters Dave, very interesting - definitely rewatching this a few times and trying some of it.

This has been my favorite vlog episode so far. I always look forward to your content - amazing stuff Dave.

Thank you for posting this, Dave. This means the world to me, and gives me hope.

Dave you continue to inspire and educate me in so many ways, I see this as another way you are going above and beyond, thank you so so much for sharing this with everyone!

Thank you very much Dave. This is gold on so many levels.

This is a brilliant vlog Dave, revealing, personal, courageous, informative - thank you very much for sharing. A fascinating balance of personal experiences and scientific data forged through experiments in real world living. I hope this gets the views and exposure it deserves. A gift.

Dave, you're amazing. Keep doing you!

Incredibly valuable message in this video, although I'm even more impressed by how eloquently you're able to express your views on these complex issues. Huge fan of everything you do.

Thanks for being open and contributing to the discussion here Dave. All the best

.A true inspiration and certainly not an easy thing to come out and share so honestly. Thank you!

Respect for being so honest and open about something so personal! It's very brave to show yourself in such a "vulnerable" way, my hat is off to you sir.

Dave you are someone I really look up to, thank you so much for making this video, it's the last thing I expected to see from you but something that is frustratingly personally relevant and something that needs to be more readily talked about. Thanks for speaking up from within the climbing community. You are the bees knees.

hearing you speak these considered words with such openness and humility was really touching. climbing is also my salve for the soul and a lot of this resonated with me. thanks.

Thank you Dave. My family has similar historical struggles with mental illness, and I can relate to much of what you've said here. Sensitive and honest testimony.

Great video as always Dave. It takes courage to admit one suffered depression, I struggled with that acceptance and ultimately admitting it to others for a long time. It takes even more guts to post something like this with the sole goal of hoping to help others. The diet aspect is really interesting. I had a similar experience trying a LCHF diet and ended up with higher anxiety in the end. Listening to you has perked my interest again but this time a bit more research will be done. It’s always reassuring to know you are not the only one. 🙏

Dave, the way you describe your depression sounds so like what I live with day to day. I'm trying to make some positive lifestyle changes at the moment and I hope they can help me get to where you are. Thanks for this vlog

Thank you Dave, I have been suffering for roughly the same time, even throughout my career in the Army. It has definitely become considerably worse since being medically discharged and losing the ability to run and play sports competitively. I have found climbing since and it has helped with my mental state but not got me out of the hole and fog. I will look to make similar changes and thank you for talking about this so openly. To say you have had depression for more than 2 decades people look at you funny but hearing your story was uplifting to say the least. Knowing there is potentially a way out that isn't drastic and devastating

Thankyou so much for this video. Truly amazing. Fantastic stuff. You post such brilliant content.

Thank you for sharing this. I especially appreciate your evidence-based approach and disclaimers as to being sceptical of anecdotal evidence, while still instilling hope that there might be tools right under one's nose and giving inspiration to try. I will share this insightful video with some friends that might find it helpful. Also, congratulations on your amazing jouney. I'm happy for you.

Excellent video again Dave. I started the diet a month ago and am starting to notice the difference. I feel it is the reduced carbs,plus as you mention the benefits brought about by what is in the food contained within the diet.

Your thoughtfulness as well as your climbing are remarkable. thank you for sharing both.

Great video. Thanks for sharing, Dave!

Thanks for this video more than any other. I have been grappling with my worst depressive episode for these past two months and recently thought I had come back to a more manageable state. However, I noticed these major emotional spikes, and was concerned I was fooling myself with wishful thinking and a return to appropriate training and diet and being open with my social circle. Once you said the same, I had to smile. Was exactly what I needed to hear.

Thanks for sharing your story and interesting, scientifically grounded, speculations on diet and it's role.

Dave you are slowly and surely becoming my favourite source of climbing knowledge and knowledge in general.

I've literally gotten back into climbing as an attempt to climb out of my own experience with depression. Can't say that it's worked yet, but it's something to do in the dark times. Thanks for speaking out about this Dave.

@MrRellim94

4 жыл бұрын

Hows the climbing been going man? Still at it?

@adamsmith7668

4 жыл бұрын

@@MrRellim94 uh-oh

@highvoltageboys

4 жыл бұрын

Adam Smith uh ohhhhhh 😨

@thesii213

4 жыл бұрын

@@highvoltageboys Still here! KZread doesn't always alert me to messages. To be honest, I barely remember leaving this comment, so it was a bit of surprise to see this now. As for the depression... I'm working at it. Life is still hard and 2020 hasn't helped with that. No climbing at the moment. Still, it's surprising and encouraging to see that someone has responded to my initial post. Thanks @MrRellim94.

@thesii213

4 жыл бұрын

@@MrRellim94 Missed your comment months back. Thanks for the question. I'm still working at it. Someday maybe it'll be better.

Hey Dave, I appreciate that this is a bit of an older video now but I resonate with it beyond belief. Similar to you I've struggled with depression since my mid-teens, I'm now 36 and I'm still not wholly free of it, but I'm working on it with a much more acute awareness of when I feel myself slipping. Like yourself, I couldn't blame my life from the outside. I was competing martial arts at world championship level, I raced motocross at national championship level (although I fractured two vertebrae in my neck doing this), I competed strongman (which I herniated two lumbar discs doing a 300kg deadlift) and played rugby at amateur level but very competitively. I was working and progressing with engineering. But I never felt completely okay. But the most noticeable change for me was when I was competing strongman. Within that world there's a strong movement of anabolic steroid use, which I was part of. I used them heavily in 16 week cycles. This had a profound effect on my mental health, almost to a bi-polar level. Anyway, 5 years on from when I was competing strongman and using steroids, I'm far from perfect but I'm on the right path. I also changed to a ketogenic diet, changed my training regimen to include a great deal more cardio, eventually getting up to running 5k, 3 times per week. But ultimately to make a more drastic improvement to my mental health I've been using Sertraline prescribed by my GP. That said, my love of the outdoors, mountain hiking, lowland walking including different forms of photography. In the last couple of years I've taken hiking into scrambling and I've been learning to advance scramble/mountaineer and trad climb, strangely enough which led me to your KZread channel. I feel like I'm on the right path in the right place. Although I'm still heavier than majority of the climbing community, my strength carryover from previous sports seems to be allowing me to move up rock fairly well. Ever improving. Thank you for making such a candid and honest video though, it's a hard thing to put into words sometimes. You have to have a good level of self awareness to be able to notice these things within yourself. Love your work. All the best, Gareth.

Thank you for sharing this Dave. I have had a similar experience with a very positive change in my disposition from changing my diet. For me it was including more non-meat protein like lentils and beans and more green vegetables and fruit that seems to help me the most, especially in terms of digestion. I do eat meat regularly still. However diet was just a fraction of the things I needed to change, and for me what's made an even larger difference to improve my depression has been implementing a large amount of stretching and self-massaging, and generally making my body fit together well. I've noticed my anxiety is highly linked to the tension within my body, and I've slowly reduced it over time. Also breathing well. As an athlete your body condition hasn't been your issue, so fixing your diet may have been the final piece of the puzzle for you. It's key no matter who you are so thanks for highlighting its importance. Also what you said about succeeding in the face of depression and that making you stronger, I definitely agree.

Really great video. Looking forward to hearing more about the nutrition.

So glad it’s helping and I look forward to more videos.

Really glad I clicked on your video. 32 right now, I recently started climbing, wanted to lose weight, but mainly to try and get out of my continuous small depression, which I carried around for quite a while. I am aware that there never is a guarantee for success, but nice to see, that at least one person managed to succeed with climbing :) Keep it up (landscapes in the vids are gorgeous, btw!)

An excellently interesting video. Also, thanks very much for your fantastic books, they're a real help.

I'm such a fan of this man. Great work as always.

@peterfish7644

5 жыл бұрын

He's given me hope that an older climber(I'm 39) can actually progress(I've been climbing 2 years). Without his inspiration I think I would have quit at my 6b plateau.

Wonderful, honest vlog. Thanks Dave

Ah man I can't believe I've only just seen this particular video. Talk about the right time!!! I always knew there was something about you that I connected with but didn't realise what it was until now. Man your videos are so good they inspire me to do similar ❤

You’re so wise. I appreciate your experience. Thanks for sharing your words.

So important. Thank you Dave.

brilliant - as always - so much respect 🙏👊🙌🏼

I just started watching your climbing videos and was so glad I stopped to watch this one. I lost a brother to depression and am still trying to understand depression for my own benefit and so I can help others. Thank you for sharing your experience in a very thoughtful way on a very complex subject. Keep climbing!

@climbermacleod

4 жыл бұрын

So sorry to hear that. Thanks for the comment.

24 days on the carnivore diet and my depression is almost gone. 27 years and I've tried everything ! Even the jungle in Peru doing ayahuasca for weeks. My psoriasis is complete gone. Zero pain in any joints ! It honestly feels like damage in my brain is being reversed. I would cry if I could but I'm feeling to good to cry. All I have to say is WTF . Give it a shot.

@Mch0412

Жыл бұрын

damage in your brain, what u mean with that?

@user-xr3fy8mg8j

Жыл бұрын

How are you now?

@noiseforthealgorithm4668

Жыл бұрын

Update please

@hannahmosebach7195

Жыл бұрын

Happy for you, thanks for sharing!

@robertviggiano

Жыл бұрын

Did you implement high fat carnivore (ie. 80:20) or straight carnivore?

Thanks for sharing your experience Dave. Amazing to think that what we eat affects how we feel!!

So glad I found your channel Dave.

Going through some dark times just now and this has given me a different and somewhat hopeful perspective. Thanks.

@climbermacleod

3 жыл бұрын

All the best for reaching a better place as soon as you can.

World class Dave as always 🙏

Thank you so much Dave!!!! Keep inspiring!!!😊🤜

Thank you for your open words.

Thank you Dave, it’s really appreciated!

Thanks for the honesty and input.

This is really excellent, thank you.

Thanks, Dave. True strenght.

thank you for making the videos. great pillar of the climbing community you are.

Thank you so much for your honesty, it is amazing

Thank you Dave! To me you are a great person!!

I've been feeling signs of depression from a very young age and can relate to so many points in the first half of this video. I have struggled through this during my development as an adult (currently in my early 20's) and similarly have never taken steps to combat it or talk about it. I have been doing things like skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, climbing, playing guitar, etc. at a high level my whole life and similarly use those things to self-medicate. Although these things pull you away from depression momentarily, it still feels consistently present in the grand scheme of things. Videos like this are starting to help motivate me to talk about and do something about these feelings despite having all of the positive things that I have and have had in life. Even though on the outside you may look like a solid person who's doing well, things you don't understand about what's going on in your brain/body can choke out that feeling. Thanks, Dave for sharing your story! I'll promise that it will have an impact on me since before this video I've never had anyone to relate to about this stuff.

Thank you for an important and helpful message. For me this is a good remember to continue my own fight and look deeper into the physical part of it. All of your videos are informational and inspiring, this one hit close to home.

It's crazy I've never seen this video before, but my life very much parallels your own in terms of symptoms throughout your life. I'm 33 and am going to see a psychiatrist, however climbing has regulated by mood over the past couple of months. I can't eat fish either, and I'll be looking into taking up keto for a month to see if it works for me. Thanks for sharing Dave.

Cheers Dave, you're a hero.

I have dealt with depression for a long time. In my youth I didn't know what it was because there were hundreds of different emotions and thoughts running through my mind; the closest I got to suicide back then was to drink a couple of bottles of beer and solo the sea cliffs around Dover Heights in Sydney Australia - looks like the climbing brought my mind back to a better state (i.e. I'm still here). The next time was about 14 years ago when an anti smoking drug Cham*ix sent my mind down so deep, and gave me a chronic headache for over a year. Anti depressants only made it worse. At this time I remember from a Japanese documentary (I live in Japan) about the war where many soldiers committed suicide when they were 'lost' in the jungle, because it was and escape from the hell they were in (they were not even actively fighting); I idealized cutting my neck and feeling the relief from the pain in my head, the ecstatic feeling was so intense (much stronger that any orgasm) that it is a wonder I am still here. For me, finding the Carnivore diet is what 'cured' me, we are talking 3 months to total recovery. The worst thing is, that is before the Cham*ix episode, I was a high octane feign who ate anything and everything, never got tired and excelled at work (Electronics Engineering), and now I'm just a normal+ Joe, but at least no more depression. As Dave says, all he has to say is highly individual and may not apply to you, but for me, i can tell you, just eating beef and drinking water, turned me around; I'm climbing al Summer and Snowboarding all Winter, work is also fun again.

Thank you Dave this is great thank you!

I def. agree, that nutrition is the key with depression. very sad, that the most doctors dont tell you that, or maybe they dont even know. Thanks for the video!

thank you so much for sharing this helps and means a lot to see someone i look up too going through something that i deal with myself ❤

Great story! You said you’re not sure if it was the change of eating but speaking from my own experience and countless of other KZread testimonies. It sounds exactly what we feel. Noticeable improvements immediately within weeks, for me it’s that severe for me with my health and my mood I feel better each day that passes if I stick to the small amount of food I can eat. (I don’t do Keto, I have my own restrictive diet) And like you said, it’s amazing, you still feel pain but it’s not that darkness and intense feeling that’s lingers on. I call it a more balanced feeling, you feel pain but not in hopeless or obsessive way.

Thanks Dave, one of my all time fave climbers ;)

This video (along with others around the carnivore diet) inspired me to change my diet. As someone who has suffered from severe depression for about 20 years, it gave me something like a 10-20% reduction in depressive symptoms.

@aysunaltunkaynak9465

Жыл бұрын

How much time have you continued the diet?

Dave, thank you so much. This has helped me with my own struggle with PTSD, weight management and depression. I feel like I was on the brink of discovering some of these insights myself, so thank you for the final push a lot of it makes sense.

@user-nn1kf4zp6c

3 жыл бұрын

Wow , you seriously went from depression? I am 3 rd day Keto, doing it not to take medications which were subscribed to me for depression , haven’t taken any in tree years, need to give a try to Keto , in how many weeks you expirienced that you are free from depression? And how long did Keto flu last cause I feel awful now, I am a carb addict

@CueTheHorn

2 жыл бұрын

@@user-nn1kf4zp6c I'm in the same boat as you. Hope your doing well.

Diet and exercise is soòoo underrated. Also stepping back and not putting too much pressure on yourself is very liberating.

Thank you for sharing about your long experience with depression and what you've done to overcome it. If anyone reading these comments are looking to hear more about the science behind Dave's approach, you can also find tons of info at the following youtube channels; high intensity health or/& low carb down under. I too have had a profound change in my mental & physical well being while following the same lifestyle & food changes.

Thank you Dave 🙏

love how academic this vlog is

Thank you so much for sharing this Dave! I would never have guessed you previously had depression. I dealt with it from age 8 to 21 and struggled with obesity that whole time as well. When I was 21, I made huge personal changes and lost 100 pounds in a year. Eating healthy and exercising regularly helped end my depression during that period and it's been 6 years now with no recurring episodes. Losing the weight allowed me to rekindle my love for the outdoors and eventually discover rock climbing, which has give me so much joy and personal satisfaction since I started 4 years ago.

@climbermacleod

5 жыл бұрын

Thats brilliant. Long may it continue.

Thank you for the video Dave

Thank you for this. It helps in many ways.

Good vlog Dave. Thank you

I'm glad you found a dietary way to treat yourself....and other things you've done.

Thank you so much for being so open and honest about your experience, and sharing your story!

I may not be able to get in on the altitude class yet, but I can enjoy this and your other content till I can.. Loved hearing your story. I have been in 20+ years of depression, just about my whole life. When I found climbing it was a life changer for 2010 to 2020, my depression was on the down; then when the quarantine happened I stopped climbing al together, the depression came back 10 fold and my (pre existing)epilepsy took a turn for the worse, I was more depressed than I had ever gotten previously, never sought sui**de, but lots of hope to never waking up.. I got back into climbing in January 2024.. I'm doing better, but its a slow process. I have a half baked training plan to hopefully send v10 by the end of the year.

So great! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you Dave!

Great Video Dave.

Thank you for sharing, Dave. For me (again anecdotal), I experience profound dysphoria if I eat high carbohydrate food and I know exactly why. It hits me like a sledgehammer within minutes. I have a condition which causes lower than normal blood volume, and I found out I have autonomic nervous system dysfunction. This is the part of the nervous system which controls blood pressure, digestion, heart rate and other non-voluntary bodily functions. When we eat, especially high carbohydrate food, blood is preferentially sent to the gut to digest. So much so that when there is dysfunction in this response, the brain is somewhat starved for an hour or two. Enough that the brain reacts with dysphoria. If I continue to eat carbs, the dysphoria becomes more and more permanent. I have found boosting my blood volume every morning with electrolytes to help greatly, but it's not a permanent fix. I was gradually "forced" towards a very low carbohydrate diet (no starches or sugars, leafy greens only). I just felt better that way. Every time I would try to go back to carbs, it would hit me in minutes, and I hated it. I miss carbs but I want to be happy. I found a very low carbohydrate diet (keto with leafy fiber rich greens) to be a happy middle ground from a nutritional, digestive and mental health viewpoint. I hope this information can help other seek better health through safe dietary interventions. Of course, with the consultation of a nutritionist to make sure you're still getting everything you need.

thank you. Ive felt really in the thick of it and are aware that food contributes quite a bit. I think lowering my carb intake would be a worthwhile experiment

Thanks for this vlog, very helpful and inspiring. It convinced my wife and I to try Keto and after a couple of months the results have been impressive in terms of mood and energy levels (especially in the evenings).

Thanks so much for sharing your story. I'm beginning a keto diet with the hopes to improve my depression. I'm glad you found healing!!

@harrycrotch9574

Жыл бұрын

Did it work?

Hi Dave, Thank you for your contributions - really open and informative and with lots of substance. Down to the matter at hand: I could confidently say that I had/have similar issue and only in my late 30's (I am 44 now) and I managed to find successful coping mechanisms that involved, basically, being able to identify early the onset of a depressive episode and get ahead of it, usually with becoming immersed into activity/projects. However, a year and a few months ago (during a three months recovery following an accident) I made a decision of removing meat (including fish) from my diet. The reasons were very impulsive and sentimental and I did promise to myself that if I crave meat (I was a great lover of beef steaks) I will not deny myself that. I will just take it a day at a time. Over a year now I did not crave meat and I noticed a few things: - I sleep much better and feel much more rested in the morning - I feel lighter - I feel like I recover better after effort - I seem (!) to have better endurance - I had no occurrence of depressive onset so far which is quite impressive to me I did and do have an active lifestyle (well, not now as I am in home confinement) since I work as mountain guide; I never had a planned or researched diet - not before, not now. I always ate what I felt like eating as I believed that my body is smarter than whatever charts I could devise. Even now, since I switched to a vegetarian diet, I still do not plan meals nor do I take supplements. Also I'm not disciplined enough to follow a food plan... which is also probably a big factor. I eat what is available at hand and what I crave. I do not obsess over food but I do not eat meat or fish (nor crave it) and not so much milk either though I do not shy away from dairy products especially if the food is normally cooked with sour-cream or cheese. Occasionally, for a lazy breakfast, I eat eggs; or I eat dishes that would use eggs. Now, I followed your vlog on the plant based diet and by all means it is researched and a really informative piece; No qualms about your conclusions. I also do take your point about vegan diet as well. However my change in diet (not researched, just instinctive) has produced similar results if one is to take the measure being how one "feels". Will I stay on it? As long as i feel good, I will. Will I eat meat? If one day I will crave it I won't deny myself that. However so far I feel much better physically and mentally this way. Go figure...

@climbermacleod

4 жыл бұрын

I'm really glad this has worked for you. I have no physiological explanation why positive changes in symptoms would be related to removing meat. The only ideas I might have that could explain your results are either that if you ate more eggs (which have some important nutrients for brain health such as choline), or you ate less of something else that came along with your meat (such as frying it in Linoleic acid rich oils or consuming it with a lot of refined carbs. Whatever the explanation, I'm glad you are doing well.

It's valuable to experiment on yourself.