Dealing with Depression Naturally

When I'm feeling depressed it's hard to get motivated to do the things that help fight depression like exercise, getting out of bed, calling a friend, etc. But I have found that eating either cayenne or beets give me a super quick mood boost.

Raw is better, and for cayennes I often de-seed them and eat two or three. It's seems like my vision gets clearer and brighter, my thoughts are clear, and I am energized within a few minutes.

I find it more difficult to eat raw beets, so I roast them, make lemon herb beet and leek soup, or shred them and lightly sauté them in olive oil. It gives me the same clarity of mind and eyesight as the cayennes and improves my mood in just a few minutes.

While I have found that dried cayenne does okay for this purpose, I don't think that canned or pickled beets have quite the same effect as fresh beets for me. (But if thats all you have on hand there is no harm in trying! )

I've been struggling with depression for as long as I can remember. While there is no cure all I wanted to share the pick-me-ups I use to give myself enough motivation to get up and move around. I hope it helps someone else out there as well. Good luck to you all.

I think the cold shower has helped with my depression. Before I took the shower I had that feeling of poor concentration and tiredness and a bit of confusion. After the shower I feel better and can think better and im more energized. Before I took the shower I took an Omega 3 pill and bit it and squeezed the oil into my mouth. I also ate a banana and drank some lemon water to wash it all down. While in the shower I did let the water cover my entire head and body and I couldn't help but to began really deep breathing because of the shock of the cold water(I think the deep breathing helped).

I have been dealing with depression on and off for about 7 years. I think it is very possible that I was depressed as a child too. It became a part of my personality, I was always negative. I would always expect the worse. I have been working to be more positive and it has helped the depression some. Recently I have been under a lot of stress and as you may know stress can bring on depression. So I am trying to avoid a major depressive episode at all costs as they are very scary. I have had scary major depressive episodes but I find that meditating on the Holy Bible and positives rather than negatives helps.

I am going to try my hardest to exercise because when I do exercise(dancing is my favorite) I do feel better. Also when I juice fresh apples, oranges, carrots, and grapes, I have better concentration and energy. I noticed this week I have been eating poorly all the sweets and fats I wanted and my body has suffered for it, no doubt. That's why I was here looking for other cures to try to get rid of this depression once and for all but I guess it's gonna take some time and effort as it took some time and effort to get depressed. But the cold shower sure does help also freshly juiced fruits and vegatables also, positive meditation (I prefer those of the Holy Bible).... exercise(dancing, swimming and walking)..Omega 3 and vitamins, active social life(volunteer, facebook or something... be mindful of what you are watching or listening to( you need all positive stuff nothing negative).

Since there are so many things that can be going on in a person's body to cause depression it may take trying a few things. Our bodies were not built to withstand the current fast food lifestyle of today or the high stress.It is important to make sure that your depression is not because your body is short on vitamin and minerals Think about your eating habits even if you are not super obese like me. Blessings of all things good and no depression to all, you are not alone. HALLELUJAH... in Christ Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Thank you God for directing me to earthclinic website. My depression and anxiety level was unbearable today, and I stumbled upon this Cold Shower Therapy by accident, tried my first cold shower, (5 minutes, ) and the effect has been AMAZING. Feel GREAT, and can see a future again for the 1st time in MONTHS, can't wait to get up and into another COLD shower in the morning..what a difference, I normally have to DRAG myself out of bed. Thank you earthclinic.

Vitamin C for depression.

I started taking 1,000mg of vitamin C per day for my skin and immediately started noticing an elevated, happier mood, for no apparent reason. I have tried many supplements for depression and anxiety over the years and I have to say that staying hydrated and taking vitamin C regularly have proven to be directly related to my ups and downs. I also found the following, which relates vitamin C to seratonin production.

Dr. Hugh Riordan also supports using vitamin C as a treatment for depression. He teaches medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He received the Linus Pauling Award from the American College for Advancement in Medicine. He believes that vitamin C is effective against depression because it increases serotonin production. That's the brain chemical that improves mood and promotes relaxation.

“Medical text books [used] to indicate that one of the most common effects of inadequate vitamin C is depression, " says Dr. Riordan. “But we very seldom go to a psychiatrist who measures our vitamin C level."

Niacinamide helps depression. Dr. William Kaufman pioneered niacinamide treatment for osteoarthritis more than half a century ago. He observed that this form of vitamin B3 can relieve both anxiety and depression regardless of whether you have osteoarthritis or not.

Years ago scientists from a major patent medicine company published an article about niacinamide research in animals. They compared niacinamide to the patent medicines Valium and Librium and found their activities were much the same.

Niacinamide is very effective for improving the mood, attitude, and mental clarity of those with type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome. Some users also report that their thinking… or their head… is much clearer when using niacinamide.

I take only 500 mg once in the morning and feel better within a couple of hours. At night I take 1,500 because of its sedative effect in higher doses.

I just wanted to let everyone know that dehydration can cause severe depression. My boyfriend was depressed and was also dizzy. I took him to the ER and they ran tests on him and found that he was severely dehydrated due to exercise, eating too many salty foods, drinking coffee and soda, etc. His doctor said that the dehydration caused his depression, so they gave him 3 or 4 I.V. bags of water. After all that water, my boyfriend said he felt fantastic and his depression was gone!

I hope this info helps someone else because who would think something as simple as water could help depression!

Hello, I have a cure for depression to share with you!!! Simply sage the herb you cook with. I started with half a tablespoon daily and worked up to one tablespoon in the span of one week. I mix it with a little honey to form a paste and swallow with my coffee in the morning. Within days I had no more depression, which I have had since my early teens! Very inexpensive to buy a bottle of sage, this is a mircle cure! Can also use fresh sage leaves and brew into a cup of tea.

An unbelievable cure for depression is an essential oil named palo santo.

I have an occasional bit of depression and using palo santo is like magic, I have recommended it to a couple people and they had the same result; one person came to me with bad depression and while we were talking she sniffed the palo santo a couple of times and a while later I asked her how was her depression she replied she had not realized it was gone.

I have found many herbal remedies are so subtle that you don't realize the condition is gone or lessened. I have seen the same result for pain remedies anyway I don't need to keep on, best wishes

Yes, 5HTP was a lifesaver for me. I had depression so bad that I would cry at the drop of a hat for no apparent reason. I took one 200mg NOW brand cap, opened it up and placed the powder under my tongue. I figured it would be absorbed faster this way. I was right. Within an hour I was back to myself, cracking jokes with my wife and feeling normal again. If you are low on seratonin this supplement is the ticket. I take a 5HTP whenever my body tells me too which is occasionally. I don't think it's good to be on this supplement forever as it is said to deplete dopamine levels, another important neurotransmitter. The big question is how do you know if you are low in seratonin? These are some of the telltale signs of low seratonin:

Anxiety - This can be anything from mild panic to extreme impairment and distress in a high-stress situation.

Fatigue - If you catch yourself being tired all the time regardless of the amount of sleep you get, consider caffeine a major food group and habitually experience mental fogginess, there may be something other than just being too tired.

Depression - Let's face it, everyone has times when they're just down and melancholy, it's part of life; however, if you have "the blues" consistently for extended periods of time you may be experiencing a depressed mood that may require additional intervention.

Impaired cognitive function - Can't remember where you put the car keys and have to think hard about simple math? Cognitive function is directly impacted by serotonin levels and a severe deficiency may result in mental fogginess, minor memory loss and slowed problem-solving abilities.

Low self-esteem - Habitually feeling disgusted by yourself or feeling worthless are not normal things. At times, everyone is bound to believe negative things about themselves. If this severely low self-esteem keeps up for weeks or months, other issues may be the cause.

Loss of pleasure - A marked loss of interest in hobbies previously enjoyed or a sudden lack of even a sense of satisfaction at a job well done are also symptoms of a serotonin deficiency. When the noted lack of pleasure gotten out of activities becomes nearly non-existent, it may be something beyond mere boredom.

Insomnia - Though everyone has the occasional difficulties sleeping at night due to stress or anxiety, insomnia or hyposomnia can be seriously detrimental to health if you're repeatedly not able to sleep until very late hours and only manage to get a few hours of sleep each night or have sleep that is consistently interrupted by waking and being unable to go back to sleep quickly. On the same token hypersomnia, or too much sleep, may also be a symptom of serotonin deficiency.

Poor impulse control - This may often manifest itself in obsessive-compulsive behaviors, manic spending or in addictions such as drugs or alcohol. Many severe addictions are caused or exacerbated by low levels of serotonin.

Peace, Steve

Wow, I'm totally shocked how well this works. I have been dealing with depression for 18 years and have tried medications, supplements, everything except for this. Last Sunday I was feeling down in the dumps and I thought I would just go for it and drank a whole shot down. Within 15 minutes, I was full of energy and ready to do things. I would exercise caution and reccomend only doing a tablespoon and chase it down with water and don't drink too much apple cider vinegar on an empty stomach your first time. The shot I drank got me out of the dumps but it was way too much and too strong, I couldn't fall asleep and felt a little hyper on the edge. I was extremely productive with my work over the next couple days, so I decided I wait wait till I felt depressed again and only do a little bit before trying the ACV again.

Well now it is 4 days later and I was feeling pretty hopeless, depressed, and no motivation to do anything. I took a tablespoon of ACV and drank a bottle of water right afterwords. This is truely magical, I can't believe how good I feel, this is not placebo. I'm going to go to the gym and get some work done, and work on some music, something I did not feel like doing all day until I had the 2nd dose of ACV. I reccomend this with all my heart. Who would have known? Be sure to get the raw, unfiltered kind with mother!

Having been suffering from bipolar, bulimia, anxiety disorder and depression for 5 years. Tried ACETYL L-CARNITINE. Have one thing to say, it's freaking amazing! I'm surprised you don't hear about it much. It helps my anxiety better than cold showers, antidepressants, and even Xanax! I'm so happy that that i found out about it. It's like the hell I've been living in for years is over. This supplement has the strength of a prescription drug. I advise everyone who has anxiety problem to give a try. Though I need like 50 mg a day instead of 5000 the way they recommend. 5000 is too much for me to tolerate. Find your dosage. And never give up. Try every supplement for depression and anxiety out there, one by one. Some will do nothing, some will make you feel worse, but there'll be one, two, or even more that will help you and make your life a beautiful and joyful thing to have. Good luck everyone.

St John's Wort hands down the best

My wife was suffering from depression. She started taking St. John's Wort once or twice daily plus sublingual vitamin b12 and the depression is gone. St. John's Wort has been shown to be more effective against depression than Prozac. Go for the natural stuff, it doesn't cost much and has no side effects. Don't let the big Pharma run and ruin your life.

Many people have reported the benefits of magnesium chloride oil applied topically here on EC, but magnesium chloride tablets are also well absorbed and according to the recent study link below, at the proper dose can have a significant impact on depression in people. This is important because many of the side effects from prescription antidepressants can be hard to deal with and even unhealthful, so alternatives like magnesium chloride tablets which are more likely to have healthful side effects are very useful in the treatment of depression.

This study is very helpful because it not only shows that mag chloride tablets are useful for depression, but it is also well tolerated with a very good safety profile. This study is also useful because it shows the dosing used and describes the benefit achieved. According to the study, some participants started to see benefit after just two weeks of supplementing. Participants of the treatment group took 4 tablets of magnesium chloride per day. This is the manufacturer who supplied the magnesium chloride tablets and the tablets are similar to those used in the study, but possibly 20mg more per tablet.

https://www.amazon.com/Alta-Health-Magnesium-Chloride-200/dp/B00IX05914/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1505075869&sr=8-3&keywords=alta+health+magnesium+chloride

As you can see from the study they used four tablets of Alta Health Magnesium Chloride at 500mg per tablet for a total of 248 mg of elemental magnesium per day. Magnesium chloride is well absorbed topically or orally. The tablets seem relatively easy to take compared to mag oil application to the skin everyday.

Here is a link to the full study:

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0180067

One important finding from the study is that some people may be able to get by with a smaller dose than what was used in this study.

Art

I recently started taking alternating hot/cold showers. I start off quite warm then gradually make it as hot as I can for about 3 minutes then switch to cold for about 1 minute. I do 3 cycles and gradually make the hot hotter and the cold colder each cycle. I've only been doing this for 2 weeks now but the chronic headaches I've had for 30 years have lessoned (only 1 in the last 10 days-absolute heaven) and I've mysteriosly lost 8 lbs. (I'm quite obese) without changing my eating habits. The fact that it has been stinking hot the past 2 weeks and I'm sweating to death with no air conditioning could also be a factor for the weight loss! LOL My body temperature stays cooler for a few hours after my shower, even in this 30+ weather. I've also been doing some awesome meditations, listening to binaural beats and watching subliminal videos so it could be a combination of everything.

When I went to my Dr. last week and he asked how I was, I told him he'd better sit down. I've suffered (and I do mean suffer-suicidal thoughts daily) chronic depression for the last 17 years. I've gone off meds 3 times - once for 4 years even- but always end up crashing and need to go back on. Anyways back to the Dr. appt... I told him I had been HAPPY!!!! for 7 whole days and I hadn't cried since Sunday. The reason I cried was because I didn't know how long this would last. Had a bum day yesterday but not too bad today.

I thought it could be the combination of all the above or just my meds kicking in after trying 3 different kinds in 2 months. Not until I read all these posts did I think my showers could actually being contributing to my emotional well-being. Being 45, back in college with a bunch of 20 year olds, dealing with my disrespectful, pot smoking 17 year old son, chronic headaches and migraines, depression, hormone hostage (peri-menapause)... well I can use all the help I can get. I've also developed tennis elbow from being on the computer most of the day for school and homework. The showers haven't helped with that yet so I'm going to try emmursing my arm between my 2 kitchen sinks in hot and cold water.

Thanks for reading and I will definitely be checking out more of this website and referring my friends to it.

Cold Shower Therapy for Depression:

I didn't initially read about cold shower therapy for depression here, but wanted to comment on the positive benefits and why scientists think it works.

I've suffered from treatment resistant or refractory depression since the age of sixteen and am now forty-one years old. I've tried over 50 medications (MAOI's are the best in my personal and medical option), had over 70 ECT (electronvulsive or shock therapy treatments at the age of 18/19), and have tried every other known treatment for depression in the history of mankind.

Cold showers (or baths, swimming in lakes) has been a complimentary or adjunct therapy for me over the past several years. Scientist think it stimulates the blue spot or locus cerulus in the brain which is the main source of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (noradrenaline), but it also stimulates endorphins and has other effects on the hypothalamus/pituitary like stimulating thyroid hormone, helping with hot flashes (I have them with depression) and helps normalize circadian rhythms. I believe it works wonders and am living proof.

I also want to add something else for those who suffer from depression that they might want to try. Sleep deprivation for one or two nights. You might think it would cause depression, but it stimulates most of the neurotransmitters in the brain and is useful for enhancing the antidepressant effect of medications.

Lastly, if one is not so depressed that they're bed ridden, exercise can work wonders.