Spiritual Living

          There are several remedies for depression on the market today, knowing which ones are effective and safe takes research. Treating depression with antidepressants can be tricky as these are manufactured to treat different types of depression. Depression is not the same for everyone and has many root causes. Making a list of your symptoms is advisable, but the general symptoms are irritability, lack of interests including friends, family and other activities, anxiety, fear, tearfulness, lack of energy, restlessness and inability to sleep. This is the short list of symptoms for some crying for no reason and easily angered are also common. Generally there is just that overall blah feeling and always tired.

            Depression can be caused by organic imbalances in the brain brought on by low quality nutrition. Not eating correctly can cause many health problems including cancer, diabetes and irritable bowel syndrome. There are thousands of research reports that demonstrate how important proper nutrition is. To balance the system you will want to look at changing the way you eat, this will help with healthy bodily functions and begin eliminating the toxins that can contribute to depression. This includes sugar, starches typically found in bread and pastas, processed foods, majority of canned foods because of the salts and preservatives, fast foods filled with fats, salts and sugars. Switching to a natural form of diet for your body type and blood type will be a great step towards eliminating depression and food cravings.

           St. John’s Wort, an herbal product that you can purchase as a capsule is reported to work well for depression. The standardized dose is based upon what is called an average human body, 5’3” to 6’ with a body weight of about 125 to 150. This is not exact but it is close to what is considered a standard, average person. Start with the standard dose and track your progress, this herb takes 6 to 8 weeks to begin working. So take it at the same time and according to the directions. DO NOT take this in conjunction with your antidepressants it has been known to intensify the depression with suicidal thoughts. Do not take if your are pregnant without proper medical advice. Anything you take will affect the fetus. Do not go sunbathing while taking this supplement, and watch for signs of constipation or allergic reactions. Other herbs you may wish to try includes basil, lemon balm, California poppy, mate, mugwort, passion flower, poppy seed, scarlet pimpernel, sweet marjoram. As with all herbal remedies watch for signs of allergic reaction, if your depression seems to worsen stop taking them. Each of these has their own personalities and can be very beneficial to your health. They may be used as a tea or in capsule form. Teas may be used three to four times daily, every day to be effective.

            Homeopathic remedies are prescribed according to your accompanying symptoms since homeopathy is based upon the premise that like treats like. One general remedy is nux vomica, the parts used of this plant are the dried bark and seeds. Nux vomica is a native tree to Asia, Pakistan and Vietnam. If using the herb be extremely careful as too much is toxic and deadly. Purchasing the homeopathic version in pill form is safer and nux vomica will treat more than just depression. The other symptoms include inflammation, gastric problems, stimulate the appetite and rheumatic pain, to name just a few. To purchase and read more click here! (link)

            The next supplement today is SAMe, the technical name is S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine. SAMe is a natural occurring molecule in our cells and is reported to treat not only depression but arthritis and liver disorders (WebMD). SAMe comes in doses of 400 and 800 mg. and can be taken twice daily in either dose. There does not seem to be any side effects or warnings.

            WARNING: Do not stop taking your medications without first discussing it with your doctor. It is unsafe to just stop taking medications; you should talk with your doctor about weaning you off of them. Withdrawal can cause suicidal thoughts, create worse depression and other problems.

            This is not intended as a diagnosis or medical advice. The information printed here has been collected from the following resources:

WebMD http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20041202/dietary-supplement-ups-antidepressant-effect

PDR for Herbal Medicines 4^thed (2007) Thomson Healthcare, Inc Montvale, NJ

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