How to treat depression naturally?

Hi Aria ,

Contraindications is where 2 or more drugs / procedures don't work  & can cause serious side effects. Thank you Steve W - I agree with you . The bottom line is to read the data sheets/labels provided with prescription drugs / check with your Doctor before mixing herbal / natural remedies with any prescription medication. Your Dr or any health professional needs to know if you are taking natural/herbal remedies regularly. Some are safe & some effect how prescription drugs work. Be SAFE 

Take Care  x

Cazash mentions Data Sheets and I thought I would post how to get at them. A web site Electronic Medicines Compendium contains Summary of Product Characteristics for every drug on the market. The relevant document will list interactions for any drug that interests you. 

     https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/

For St Johns Wort I thought I would list all the interactions. I found a full list but we are not thinking a few lines, more page after page so instead a link. (July 2016 Link no longer works)

     http://www.mhra.gov.uk/home/groups/spcpil/documents/spcpil/con1399709605971.pdf

Reading that should convince anyone that herbal preparations should be looked at in the same way as synthetic drugs. You want Section 4.5

Getting outside is helpful, not necessarily exercising although it is recommended, luckily i live very near the coast and can get to the beach for a walk.  There are other places to walk, it's surprising what is on your doorstep and who you will meet.  Try to eat to look after your digestive tract.  Both of these are difficult at times, i know, but try and stick with them.

I don't want to pull the original helpful 6 things apart but Folate should really be labelled Vitamin Deficiency and include Vitamin B12, Folic Acid(Folate), Vitamin D. Maybe more. Vit B6 Magnesium ??

If you want to seriously check things like this out scientifically, Google is not really adequate. You need Google Scholar. You load Google and as your search term enter Google Scholar. When you have clicked on the link that appears the heading will change to Google Scholar. If you do a search on something it will return links to scientific work rather than general and unreliable World Wide Web stuff. 

Steve

For me all those ideas dont work at the mo, walking alittle some times, gym sometimes, sadly my happy feeling lasts 5 mins then back to sad again

This has helped a lot I will give a few of them a try xx

I found that essential oils help me a lot as well as learning about mindfulness and especially mindful breathing. A good sleep routine and daily goal setting have also been key to me. 

You definitely need to be doing mush more than just popping the pills your doctor gives you. I know how tough it is to start doing this when you are down that deep dark pit and can't see the light, but little daily steps and lots of reassurance was key to me being in the place that I am today. 

Of the list the ones that really work for me was exercise. Start with just walking round the house when I couldn't get out. Then round the 24 hour supermarket at 2 a.m. in the morning when that was the only time I could do my shopping as there was very few people around. Then I would walk to the end of the street and back until I was about to take part in the Moonwalk last year and completed the New Moon. This year I completed the half moon and next year I plan to do the full moon. 

Also this might sound odd, but I bought an inflatable punch tower and used that. Good exercise as long as you remember to remove all your rings or anything that might puncture it. It is good for when you just want to scream so that you can work out that frustration and at the same time you get exercise. 

I also do pilates rather than yoga.

Changing my diet has led to me being able to get 3 meals a day and when I am low and can't eat I now have healthy food in the house. I also use a lot of herbs and spices that are known for their health benefits in my cooking. One the days I just can't eat I make smoothies from frozen firsts, kale and spinach and I also include a protein powder to keep my healthy. 

It is all about what works for you. One thing I have learned is that we are all unique and so is our anxiety, depression and stress. That means that what really works for one person might not for another, but you have got to try. 

It really helps lift my depression when I'm out somewhere walking, felt low this morning but made myself get out for a half hour walk and feel much better now. OK it's not a cure for depression but it seems to be a real positive for me. Interesting to see on here what helps other people, em x

Sometime ago I posted a link to M.H.R.A site to a list of the interactions of St. John's Wort with other drugs. They have re-arranged their site and the link is now as below. The interactions begin to be listed on page 15 of the document. The section on Hormonal Contraceptives is interesting.

http://www.mhra.gov.uk/home/groups/par/documents/websiteresources/con140856.pdf

Hello everyone,

How are you today? Have you seen this older discussion? 

Have any of you tried any natural or alternative methods for treating your depression? If so, what have you tried?
@LyndaJ67‍ @Tina06‍ @Shaunm‍ @BakuBunny‍ @Muffin‍ @Gemma-Louise‍ @littlemisskitty‍ @Chris5k‍ @stephanieannie‍ @Butterbean6‍ @lion997‍ @redgan‍ @lorna1314‍ @Helenmary‍ @Janey124‍ @groundstate‍ @Katwatson72#‍ 

Feel free to share any experiences or tips you may have with us here!

Take care,
Courtney