Your doctor will tell you that a prescription is the only thing that will help you beat your depression. If he or she is a good doctor, you might also get advice to seek counseling. But is this the only answer? Antidepressant medication is not always successful and it can take months, possibly longer, to find the right medication and dosage that works for you. In the meantime, the side effects could very possibly worsen your depression. The side effects can range from weight gain, nausea, and loss of libido to blurred vision, constipation and dry mouth, but the most common are:
· Worsened depression
· Suicide
· Anxiety
· Inability to achieve an erection or an orgasm (for women too!)
· Sleep disruption
Depending on the severity of your depression, you might be willing to risk these possible side effects, but it would be prudent to investigate other ways to fight your depression first—if you can muster the motivation to fight, that is.
I personally suffer from a form of depression called dysthymia—a low-grade, chronic depression that can start in childhood and is often a lifelong disorder. For most of my life, I’ve experienced tepid melancholy interspersed with painful bouts of depression that have included suicidal thoughts. I have tried antidepressant medication with uncomfortable results, and felt even more depressed in the process. It wasn’t until a very good doctor narrowed my diagnosis from depression to dysthymia that I realized I would have to take the bull by the horns. So I started my research.
Knowing I didn’t want to take medication and suffer the side effects, I started looking for more natural solutions. Along with proper diet and exercise, soothing music, being outdoors in the sunshine, and stress management techniques, I also discovered that there are many herbs, vitamins and supplements that are effective in treating depression. Results are varied, and you
should always check with your doctor first, but for me, I felt a chemical shift in my body the very first day I took my natural cocktail. The proof: I smiled. I hadn’t done that in quite awhile.
Here’s what I uncovered:
This herb works the same way that MAO inhibitors do, but less harshly. In fact, St. John’s Wort is the most prescribed antidepressant in Germany, but is treated as a diet supplement here in the United States. In a study published by the British Medical Journal, St. John’s Wort was proven to be just as effective as Paxil, but with fewer side effects. According to Hyla Cass, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine, “Within a week to 10 days, many people notice improved sleep, followed by improvements in appetite, energy levels, and physical well-being…By the second or third week, there may be a reduction in emotional symptoms, with less anxiety, a more positive mood, and a greater sense of peace.”
When it comes to dosage, Dr. Cass recommends starting with 300 milligrams a day and increasing by 300 milligrams every few days until you reach the full dose of 900 milligrams. Note: You should not take this herb if you take prescription antidepressants or medication that interacts with MAO inhibitor drugs. Use caution if you are pregnant.
5-hydroxy-tryptophan is said to work like Prozac by increasing levels of serotonin, a chemical in the brain that fights depression. According to Othniel Seiden, M.D., a physician in Denver, you should start with 100 milligrams of 5-HTP at bedtime. If, after a few days, you don’t notice any improvement, take an additional 100 milligrams when you wake up in the morning. You can increase this dosage to 400 milligrams, split evenly between morning and evening, but Dr. Seiden warns not to exceed this dosage. You can continue taking 5-HTP for many weeks after your symptoms disappear and then should start weaning yourself off completely if symptoms do not reappear. Note: Do not take this nutrient if you are on prescribed antidepressants. Also, taking the supplement Tyrosine will help your body absorb 5-HTP more effectively.
Depression is a common symptom of a B-vitamin deficiency. B vitamins have a host of benefits to your body, including—but not limited to—maintaining the health of the nerves, eyes, liver, skin, hair, mouth and healthy muscle tone, so there is no reason not to take these vitamins. Some people do have a difficult time absorbing these vitamins in pill form, however, so talk to your doctor about the possibility of injections.
A lack of essential fatty acids in one’s diet has shown to be a cause of depression. Studies have shown that people who eat large quantities of fish have one-tenth the rate of depression as people who don’t.
For many, depression results in trouble sleeping, resulting in low energy throughout the day. This affects your daily performance—if you can even make it out of bed—which in turn results in more depression and negative thinking. Even when a depressed person is exhausted, sleeping deeply can be next to impossible. Melatonin helped me break that cycle by giving my body help sleeping deeply. Making deep sleep a priority can actually be the first step to overcoming depression. Start with a low 1 mg dosage and, if that doesn’t help, work your way up to 3 mg before bed.
If you suffer from depression, I encourage you to try my natural antidepressant cocktail (after checking with your doctor, of course). There is no need to take medication with dangerous and uncomfortable side effects that might even make your condition worse. Try this method and save your prescription as a last resort!
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