Serious depression can destroy family life as well as the life of the ill person. A depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things.
So what does the doctor prescribe?
Treatment choice will depend on the outcome of the evaluation. There are a variety of antidepressant medications and psychotherapies that can be used to treat depressive disorders. However, significant numbers of patients continue to experience symptoms such as sadness, low energy and hopelessness after intensive treatment with antidepressants. As a matter of fact 50 % of depression sufferers don’t improve after using antidepressants, according to a Washington Post article, written by Shankar Vedantam. But lately some doctors are even looking into recommending natural cures for depression, to go along side with the traditional treatments.
And there is one more aspect about antidepressant medications. They have many side effects, unlike the natural cures for depression. Therefore many people chooses natural cures for depression, to avoid side effects. According to a survey by US psychiatrist David Richman 10 to 25 per cent of people on Prozac experience all of these, while 37% of patients on fluvoxamine (Faverin) corn plain of nausea and vomiting, leading to withdrawal rates of up to 19% of patients placed on this type of drug.
The most common side effects of antidepressants are:
- Agitation (feeling jittery). If this happens for the first time after the drug is taken and is more than transient, the doctor should be notified.
- Blurred vision.
- Dry mouth
- Sexual functioning may change; if worrisome, it should be discussed with the doctor.
- Constipation and the urine stream may not be as strong as usual; the doctor should be notified if there is marked difficulty or pain.
- Headache and Nausea
- Dizziness rising from the bed or chair slowly is helpful.
- Nervousness and insomnia (trouble falling asleep or waking often during the night)
What can natural cures for depression do for you?
There are a number of things you can do to improve your condition. Just for start, you should know that there is a growing wealth of evidence, which highlights the ever-increasing role that the food we eat plays in our emotional status. Research is ongoing in this area and some of the proposed benefits require further research before we can equivocally relate specific illnesses to a deficiency of nutrients in our diets.
Natural Cures For Depression: omega 3 fatty acids
Depression has been linked to deficiencies in omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin B, vitamin C, zinc, and tryptophan. Vitamin D has also been linked to depression. So a diet high in this can improve your overall mood and reduce the depression symptoms, and it is one of the powerful natural cures for depression easily available to everyone.
The omega-3 fat DHA, which is found in fish, is highly concentrated in the brain and populations with low omega-3 fats tend to have higher rates of depression. While aggressive anti-cholesterol diets and medication, which tend to exacerbate omega-3 deficiency, are associated with increasing incidence of depression. There is also a correlation between incidence of depression and heart disease, the latter being also associated with deficiency of omega-3 fats
Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish, such as salmon, tuna, and halibut, other marine life such as algae and krill, certain plants (including purslane), and nut oils. Also omega-3 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development. So this too is another one of the natural cures for depression that anyone can use.
Natural Cures For Depression: the B vitamins
The most common deficiency in people with depression is a lack of one of the B vitamins, which are powerful regulators of mood. Of all vitamin deficiencies, insufficient folic acid (vitamin B9) tends to be the most frequently seen.
Natural cures for depression: Serotonin
The function of natural serotonin can have a calming and relaxing effect on the nervous system. Lack of serotonin can lead to anxiety and depression.
When we eat foods that are naturally rich in tryptophan, such as whey protein shakes, scrambled eggs, milk, lean meats, etc., the tryptophan turns into natural serotonin. The serotonin is then found in the blood stream, in the gut, and is synthesised in the central nervous system. This is how nature intended things to work and how things could work if only we would eat a more healthy diet.
Natural Cures For Depression: sleeping better and in total darkness to produce Melatonin
Melatonin is one of the Natural cures for depression , that our own body makes, since it is secreted by the pineal gland in the brain . It helps regulate other hormones and maintains the body’s circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is an internal 24-hour time-keeping system that plays a critical role in determining when we fall asleep and when we wake up. Darkness stimulates the production of melatonin while light suppresses its activity.
Melatonin levels decrease with age and this deficit may be why so many elderly folks suffer from insomnia.
Natural cures for depression: St. John’s Wort (hypericum perforatum)
St. John’s wort is effective in treating depression and anxiety disorders. However, this herb has been found more effective in treating mild depression, than chronic depression. According to the British Herbal Medicine Association Scientific Committee, a dosage of 2 to 4 gram dried herb in any form 3 times a day will generally suffice to drive off the blues. It may not work as fast as the pharmaceutical alternatives, but there are NO side-effects, and in time (perhaps 6 weeks) are just or more effective.
Natural cures for depression: “Talking” therapies, depression courses and programs
A depression course can help you in many ways by teaching you how to avoid anxiety and stress. Things start to happen instantly when you begin such a program. It is a major psychological breakthrough point.
Programs that are designed to tackle the general anxiety by releasing calm into your body through specific exercises that are designed to help with depression. By the end of such a program, which is one type of the natural cures for depression, you are left feeling restored, confident and more like your former self.
“Behavioral” therapy programs regards as fundamental an approach that respects and enhances each person’s capacity for self-knowledge and self-care, and it emphasizes techniques that are grounded in this approach.
Whatever you choose from the large variaty of natural cures for depression, or the medicines prescribed by doctors, you should keep in mind it is not uncurable. Give yourself permission to move forward.