Getting my life in order, or something?

Sounds a bit like depression. Depression is something that everyone gets a taste of (many times) throughout life. Moods aren't static, they are always moving back and forth along a continuum between feeling totally great and totally down. It's when you get stuck at either end for extended periods of time that you need to be concerned.

All that said, diet has a role in your state of mind. Many people do not realize this fact. Likewise, many would argue that this can't be true. However, consider that your body and your brain have very specific nutrient needs. If your diet fails to provide those nutrients, what do you think happens? For sure, one junk food meal isn't going to make you or break you. But long term dietary choices that fall short of providing the nutrition your body and your brain need are going to leave your body and your brain in a bad place.

The standard American diet (SAD) is full of fast foods, processed foods and foods/drinks that are high in sugar and/or caffeine. All these food items fall very short of providing adequate nutrition for the body and the brain. Worse, they can deplete the body.

Fast foods are low in nutrition. They also very often contain ingredients that are detrimental to your health ...like refined carbohydrates and unhealthy fats.

Processed foods are full of artificial ingredients that wreck havoc with the nervous system (the brain is part of the nervous system). Many of these ingredients are neurotoxic...meaning they are toxic or poisonous to the nervous system (again, includes the brain).

Foods and drinks high in sugar cause lots of problems as well. Sugar is void of any nutrition, but it burns off many critical nutrients like the B vitamins and magnesium. I've read that more than 80% of Americans are deficient in magnesium.

Try keeping a food journal for a bit. Jot down what you eat and drink during the day, along with how you are feeling at various points throughout the day. Or you can just jump in and make some dietary changes. Eliminate all junk food. That means eating whole foods...lots of vegetables and fruits, whole grains (not processed cereals), and protein from healthy sources.

In addition to eating a healthy diet, adding some supplements can help your body restore its balance a bit faster. A good place to start is to take

* a good multi-vitamin/mineral complex to make sure you are getting a balance of all the important nutrients. Take as directed on package.

* a B100, taken once a day, to replenish your body's stores of B vitamins

* a good EFA (essential fatty acid) formula...critical for a healthy nervous system

If you are interested in studying nutrition and mental health more thoroughly, there are some great books out there. Dr. Abram Hoffer has several books out on orthormolecular psychiatry... which is treating mental illness by assessing and treating nutritional deficiencies. Patrick Holford penned a great book entitled "Optimum Nutrition for the Mind". I came across that great gem in my local library.

just take some weekends to go out and just enjoy life at its best