According to this article, preliminary studies have found a link between a meatless diet and mental problems like depression, anxiety, and self-harm. A nutrient-deficient plant-based diet might create problems that contribute to psychological disorders.

I quit eating red meat several years ago, mostly for health reasons. After reading an article about the benefits of vegetarianism for spiritual development (!), I quick eating poultry. I seldom eat eggs, but I still include dairy in my diet. On rare occasions, I eat fish.

Depression, anxiety, and fearfulness have ruled my life for as long as I can remember. I wonder if a mostly vegetarian diet has made things worse. Blood tests have revealed that I had severe deficiencies of Vitamins B12 and D in my diet. So much for spiritual development! (When I told my nephew why I had given up poultry, he said that that was ridiculous).

I don’t plan to give up my diet, but I’ll add nutritional supplements to my diet.

The book The Vegetarian reminds me of Margaret Arwood’s proto-feminist The Edible Woman, in which the engaged-to-be-married heroine loses her appetite for food, to the point that she can only eat noodles. After she breaks off her engagement in dramatic fashion, she suddenly becomes ravenously hungry.

“If you’re going to be a vegetarian, you have to be more thoughtful about what you eat.”

Source: ‘The Vegetarian’ and the Puzzling Link Between Diet and Mood — Science of Us