I Survived Depression - so can YOU!

In my last post I talked about a treatment for illnesses including depression that dealt with changing one’s environment to change one’s inner self.  In this post I’m going to talk about changing one’s physical being or inner self to heal their depression.  Over the last several years I have been on several anti-depressive medications that for the most part have all worked well in elevating and stabilizing my mood.  Without these medications I probably would not be in the recovery phase that I’m currently in.

However, regardless of the fact that I find medication extremely helpful there is a growing sentiment that is very much against the use of anti depressant medications and in most cases rightly so.  Even as someone who believes in medication it was not an easy thing to agree to.  I don’t even like to take an aspirin, but my use of medication had a lot to do with finally giving up control and accepting my depression.  But, the reasons for not taking medication are very valid and range from physical reasons to side effects.

You see, I consider myself lucky, anti depressant medications don’t work for everyone.  If you are someone who suffers from depression and for whatever reason does not want to follow the usual course of action, which at least in western civilization is medication and talk therapy, there are alternatives.  Just understand that from my experience the more severe your depression is, the greater the chance that you will need anti depressant medications to find relief.  However, if your depression is not that severe here is a look at some of the other alternatives you can choose to try. 

St. John’s Wort whose actual name is Hypericum Perforatum is a plant with yellow flowers. It’s these flowers that get crushed up and made into pill or capsule form that contain the active ingredient.  It usually takes about four to six weeks to feel the full effect of the St. John’s wort. Side effects may include dizziness, dry mouth, indigestion, and fatigue.  Studies have confirmed that St. John’s wort is effective in treating mild to moderate depression.

Several years ago, before I accepted the fact that I have depression, I used to go on and off medication.  It was during this time that I tried St. John’s wort.  After using it for several weeks, I did feel a difference, but not as much so as the medications I had previously been on.

SAM-e which is short for S-adenosylmethionine has been widely used in Europe for many years, but only available in the US since about 1996.  Just like St. John’s wort  SAM-e  is used to relieve depression and elevate mood except SAM-e is considered more effective than St. John’s wort.  SAMe comes in tablet form and is a synthetic form of a compound formed naturally in the body.   SAM-e usually takes three to five hours to reach full effectiveness after ingestion.  Also, it usually takes about a month before  SAM-e becomes fully effective.  Like St. John’s wort one of the main benefits of SAM-e is the relatively few side effects associated with anti depressants. SAM-e is also used for joint pain and fibromyalgia.

Omega-3 fatty acid which is contained in fish oil has been shown beneficial in the treatment of many illnesses including depression especially bipolar disorder.  However, not that much research has been done and much more is needed to confirm these results.  In one high profile study which involved 20 participants, 10 were given omega-3 fatty acid and 10 placebos.   Of the 10 who received the omega-3 fatty acid, 6 claimed to have significantly reduced depression.  The idea to treat depression with omega-3 fatty acid originated when it was realized that countries that consume large amounts of fish have reported many less cases of depression.  Omega-3 fatty acid can be consumed either by a nutritional supplement or simply by eating fish several times a week.  The best fish include salmon, sardines, tuna and trout.

As one who really does not like the use of medications, I really prefer any alternative.  As for anti depressants so many people have experienced side effects that almost anything would be better.  The three alternatives that I have mentioned have had very good results.  The problem exists that although these alternatives are good in treating mild depression, they have not had good results in treating depression that is moderate to severe. 

This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 5:13 am and is filed under Depression, Mood | . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.