Get rid of depression naturally?

Question

I've been dealing with mild depression for about 4 years. My doctors wanted to put me on antidepressants but I chose to stay off medication. I have been fine dealing with the depression my own way up until now. Now that I'm a senior in college I'm having a really hard time with it. Any ideas of alternatives to medications are welcome! I'm also open to ideas about herbs and natural healing. Thanks!

Answer 1

I have battled depression on and off for over 16 years. There is a lot of good advice here already, so I will not repeat what was said. I'm going to recommend an author to you: Dr. Richard O'Connor. His two books are the best layperson's overviews of what depression is, how standard therapies fail, and how we become good at staying depressed; that I have ever read. And I have read a LOT. from journal articles to alternative medicine books, to popular psychology magazines.

I can tell you this: it is not something you can just "snap out of". Supplements may help ease some of the chemical symptoms, but the real issue is the brain pathways that are set through the course of the disease. The healing has to come from within and without. Getting sunlight, taking fish oil, etc. will provide some relief, but it will probably not cure you.

There is very strong evidence to suggest that writing about bad experiences in a very formalized manner (1. what happened, exactly, 2. how did it make me feel, and 3. why did it make me feel that way?) helps clear them months faster than other methods (American Psychiatry 2007). Why do I mention this? Because most mini-episodes of depression are triggered by a stimulus or event. Dealing with the emotions as they arise tends to prevent them from having an impact on your thinking.  They may keep an event from triggering another round of depression, or may at least help lessen it.

Most major depressives do not heal without a combination of therapy, lifestyle change, and chemical supplements. Perhaps the single most important contributing factor to most depressives is sleep- I don't think anyone with depression has a normal sleep cycle. I was an insomniac from age 12 on, and for years I averaged 2-3 hours of sleep a night. I tried everything- drugs, therapy, EMDR (I was diagnosed with severe PTSD 4 years ago), counseling, exercise, etc., and nothing worked until I forced myself onto a regular sleep and meditation cycle. It only took two weeks. Even now, when I feel overwhelmed, I revert immediately back to the self-hypnosis and meditative exercises I taught myself. A shaman that i trained with recommends an exercise for grounding where you go into a remote natural setting and just pay attention to how you feel while watching the sun set, or water flowing, etc. Another whose work I studied says that healing does not occur until the individual can answer three questions:

"Who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I here [in this situation]?" If you think about it, this may make sense. The place we find ourselves mentally and emotionally is partly a combination of circumstance and personal choice. Depressives tend to make choices that keep them in the zone of being depressed, and breaking the cycle can be the hardest thing in the world. We forget who we are, and we forget to give ourselves credit for coming as far as we have. This is where combination treatment comes in: a drug or supplement helps calm the symptoms right now, a therapist or counselor helps unlock the reasons and patterns in the depression, sleep provides the body a chance to heal pathways and clear chemical byproducts of depression, exercise and sun help restore the balance of endorphins, and empowerment through learning to make better, more assertive life choices breaks the patterns therapy helped you recognize.

It is not a quick process. I would guess that most people want the quick cure the doctor would provide in a pill "take this and it will all get better". It takes a lot of energy and courage to fight depression on your own, and depression robs you of energy. To do it on your own, you need to find a source of energy that works for you. I sympathize with you- I remember how I felt my senior year of college. The pressure from exams, deciding about your future, and the lack of sleep inherent with college almost killed me. Good luck. Hopefully this gives you something to think about.

Can I ask why someone would seriously give this response a thumbs down? It's fine if you disagree with me, but don't discredit me for it. There isn't a word a lie in this response- natural does not just mean "herbal therapy". It also means tapping into the body's own mechanisms for healing- IE LEARNING what they are and how to utilize them. What a freakin' jerk.

Answer 2

Give us a call on Monday we sell natural herbal supplements and we can mail you a packet of all our products, we have a womens formula and a mens formula that can help you (not sure what you are?) American Nutriceuticals 941-351-9334

Good Luck

Answer 3

exercise helps. if u do 30 mins of brisk exercise every day it helps lowering stress and depression. i read an article about a study that someone did. it releases natural antidepressants that r present in all pills on sale.

Answer 4

cannabis, seriously

Answer 5

Hey buddy. There are a few things you can do to relieve the symptoms of stress and reduce its affects on your body and immune system. .....to better deal with the daily helping of stress we are all exposed to ♥

Eat more foods rich in magnesium ~ magnesium is known as the antistress mineral and will help you deal with stressy situations and just the daily grind of life better.

foods rich in magnesium are ~ leafy and green vegies, nuts and seeds ~ organic to avoid the nasty sulfites and chemicals they use to "preserve" the commercial varieties that may upset sensitive bodie, wholegrain cereals and breads and cold water fishes such as tuna, sardines, salmon and whiting........... the EFA's (essential fatty acids) in the cold water fishes do a brilliant job for me for equalising my moods and stress levels, i try to eat some description of fish each day..... but each person is different and you need to find your own level.

Magnesium is needed in the body for healthy nerve and muscle functioning and of course for heart health. Foods rich in magnesium will also aide in eliminating constipation by increasing the production of hydrochloric acid in the tummy and thus assisting in digestion............ magnesium will also cure an acid tummy.

A deficiency in vitamin B12 will produce symptoms such as chest pains and heart palpitations, headaches and migraines, numbness and tingling and prickling sensations in the outer extremities, dizzy spells, fainting and loss of balance, excessive sweating, excessive urination and dry mouth, nausea and vomiting, fatigue and exhaustion, stress and depression, insomnia and constipation, irritability and moodiness and an inability to think clearly ....Quite scary actually if you don't realise the vitamin factor.

If you are lactose intolerant or vegetarian then it is really important that you supplement your diet with a multi B complex tablet on a daily basis.

Take a multi B complex supplement on a daily basis. The B complex of vitamins is needed to support a healthy nervous, immune and digestive system and will help you enormously in dealing with stress.

They are a water soluble complex and as such our bodies can neither store or produce them, therefore we need to ingest them on a daily basis or suffer the side affects.

When we are placed under added stress such as work responsibilities, relationship dramas, new house, sickness, school studies the first group of vitamins to be used up will be the B complex and in these situations we need to adjust our intake accordingly...... simply take another B complex tablet when you are stressed, as they are water soluble any excess that your body doesn't need will simply be excreted in your urine..... don't buy any of the B complex of vitamins individually but rather as a whole group unless specifically told to by a nutritionally oriented physician or naturopath as they all work best together .... the B complex relies on calcium and vitamin D to be effectively assimilated so if you aren't getting enough calcium and vitamin D naturally take a calcium supplement containing vitamin D3.

Get a supplement that includes all the B's ie ~ B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and B12 as they all work synergistically (as a group).

Drink loads of fresh filtered water too as the happiest and healthiest body will always be the most hydrated one......  you'd be amazed at the difference being just a little dehydrated can make to your mood, stress and energy levels.

Water is imperative to life. Without water your body will have a terrible time breathing, digesting food, transporting nutrients, lubricating your joint sockets etc.etc.etc.etc......... nothing substitutes for water. your body needs at least 2 - 3 litres of water daily to function efficiently.

also, try to cut back on drinks such as coffee, tea, alcohol, sodas and soft drinks (if you drink any of them) which will all do great job of dehydrating you and of robbing you of your precious B complex of vitamins... . ie: just 1 can of soda or soft drink will make your body peesh out up to 12 cups of water !!! 1 cup of coffee will make your body peesh out about 2 cups of water ........... read the book by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.... "Your body's many cries for water"...... an astounding and scary and very true read.

Other things that could be robbing you of your precious B complex of vitamins are :- eating too much protein, most otc cold medicines actually, alcohol, eating too much tinned food, antiobiotics ,antidepressants, penicillin, prednisone and aspirin, laxatives and diuretics, the oral contraceptive and eoestrogen supplementation .

Quite a handfull of information here ........ sorry it's a bit long winded but you need to know all this.

Get out in the fresh air and sunshine (vitamin D) and exercise as this will naturally raise the levels of serotonin in your brain and just make you feel fine ........... hey, even if its a walk in the park, chasing your mates around the shopping centre or even jumping in puddles when it rains, so long as it puts a smile on your dial buddy .......... works for me ♥

I sincerely wish you the best of health & vitality buddy and hope that you at least drink more water if you aren't already doing that♥♥♥

CHEERS

♥

Answer 6

You could try taking St. John's Wort.  Some people say that it takes a few weeks to start working, and others see results right away.  It's best to find one that's a standardized dose, so that you're getting the same amount every time you take it.

Answer 7

Hi, I had a problem with depression too, sorry you are feeling that way.I have cured my self of chemical depression by taking a borage/fish oil supplement once a day. Liquid amino acids can help too. If your depression has a physical cause you may want to try tapping. ( You can check it out on Utube.) You can also clear out negative energy with sound therapy, resonating, chanting ect... I think your are wise to seek out true healing for your condition, as long as you keep looking you will find something that works. Best of luck hope you are feeling better soon! : )

Answer 8

Yes there is a number of things you can do besides the cannabis, however the seeds DO help, i smoked for 8 years and smoking  it made me even more depressed

Whole food supplement, Pure Synergy

B Vitamin Complex, Bio-12 Complex

E3 Live, Green Superfoods

Omega-3s, Cod Liver oil

St. John's Wort

Sunlight Therapy, Solar Healing

EMF Chaos Elimination, Q-Link

Ling Freedom, Emotion Release Work

Callahan Technique, Thought Feild therapy

Neuro Emotional Technique

Bowen, Find Practioner

Dr Coldwell's stress-reducing techniques

and Rebounder, Evoloution Health



Below in order and the websites to all of these things

Please take the time to look at these things.

You don't have to buy them off the internet they are readily avaible at your local health food store. Good luck! For me personaly the sun helps my depression. when i am feeling off i'll go draw with chalk outside (I'm 20) or take the dogs on a walk. helps a lot and i feel grounded after.

Answer 9

I recommend DIVINE INDIAN NONI the nutritional clensing System for body as it is natural and safe.