Natural Remedies for Depression | Holistic Treatments & Supplements

Cold Showers

Posted by Jasmine (Edmonton, Alberta) on 01/19/2008
★★★★★

GOD BLESS YOU EARTHCLINIC. Cold showers cured my depression. I have never felt so alive and so happy and grateful to be alive. Thankyou Earthclinic for sharing this great remedy. I have more energy and less stress. Oh and some other pleasant changes I've noticed - my hair is shinier and curlier (perfectly soft curls too, not frizzy like before), and my skin is clearer and softer than before. Right after I do my morning stretches and calisthenics routine I will jump into the cold shower (I almost can't describe how incredible it feels!)

5-HTP

Posted by Fred (Pleasanton, California) on 05/22/2008

Could give the full spelling of what you meant by L-ter ?

EC: L-ter = L-tyrosine (??)

Cold Showers

Posted by Joyce (Joelton, Tn) on 07/28/2008 490 posts

Hi Jeffy, excuse me for asking, but if you experienced death from a cold shower, please tell me whose computer you sent this message on!

Sun Gazing

Posted by Michael (Gig Harbor, Washington) on 08/21/2007
★★★★★

I started sungazing one year ago because I needed more balance in my life. I was depressed do to the lack of sunlight in Western Washington state. In the past year I have logged hundreds of hours of sungazing directly at the sun. Depression disappeared in a matter of weeks, my vision and night vision have both improved. I sleep less and have more energy then I have ever had before. Being in a good mood almost all of the time is another wonderful side effect.

Cold Showers

Posted by Jacklyn (Vancouver, Canada) on 05/03/2007
★★★★★

I've been living with depression for two years, I wanted to find a natural way to help ease the stress of life, cold showers every day have helped me feel better and have elevated my mood substantially, I feel less stress, I especially love taking a cold shower after a workout or jog, I am so happy to hear that cold showers have helped do many people, we have to get the word out!by the way, my hair is a lot shinier too!

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Jen (Ann Arbor, MI) on 12/29/2005
★★★★★

For several months, I have been taking apple cider vinegar in the morning (2tsps w/a glass of water) and I have seen a HUGE change in mood swings and down periods. I exercise regularly and done so for years to help my mental health. But my mood swings were really in the way. I would experience irritability and then despair and on several mornings each month, I would not want to get out of bed. Not so anymore. I started taking apple cider vinegar to get rid of parasites and then realized from reading that it has all kinds of other positive effects. The disappearance of mood swings was a pleasant surprise for me. Also, I think it may work for seasonally related depression. I usually experience melancholy when fall comes and then have a strong down period in the winter. I have experienced none of this for this year and I live in Ann Arbor which is super gray in the winter time. And--one more thing--my skin is much much better with apple cider vinegar!

Chlorella, Copper

Posted by Jeffrey (IDAHO) on 08/03/2023
★★★★★

Re: High Dose Vitamin B For Depression

hello world,

Chlorella has the best multi vitamin b complex out there.1000mg -3000mg per day. It's also considered a super food.

also see fulvic humic from vital earth. that will clean you out and get the gut moving again. probably get the minerals you need to revitalize your soul.

Most people don't know about 2mg of chelated copper per day. watch your soul come back to life. it's very inspiring to see it happen quickly.

Apple Cider Vinegar, Fish Oil

Posted by Martin (Ireland) on 07/28/2023
★★★★★

For depression, take 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar braggs in a glass of water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, wait half an hour before you have your breakfast. Fish oil 1000mg after breakfast. Magnesium citrate in the evening 2 hours before bed.stop drinking sodas coke etc and eating sugary foods they mess up the stomach.to much sugar in the stomach is posion.

If your tiredness has to do with depression, take vitamin C 1000mg after breakfast and also take b complex. The vinegar is to control the candidias in the stomach if you have that, your stomach will be depressed. The fish oil is for a depressed brain. It takes 3 weeks for the fish oil and vinegar to work. I still take all my prescription medication. But I was depressed on it, these vitamins saved me.i have been cured for 2 years now since taking all of this stuff.I still have to figure out something for sleep. I will edit later if I find something. Thank you god and earthclinic.

St John's Wort

Posted by Paracelsus (Orlando, Fl) on 09/16/2020 46 posts
★★★★★

If you suffer from the occasional blues or even extended depression, St. John's wort is the herb for you. There have even been scientific studies that show St. John's wort to be as effective if not more effective than Prozac.

My wife and I have been using it whenever needed for years. Always great results. As with all herbal remedies, you probably want to pay attention to the quality and the place or origin. Personally I avoid everything from China. If you can get something locally, I think that is much preferred.

Sunshine

Posted by Anon (Anon) on 06/05/2016
★★★★★

I get depressed. I have most of the symptoms of thyroid insufficiency. Get up early in the morning and go for a walk or go jogging out in the country as the sun us coming up. Laying out in the sun helps a lot. Just wear dark clothes like jeans and a long sleeve shirt with a hood so you don't burn. Or go somewhere you can lay out without clothes, but only for maybe 15 to 30 min at a time. Lay on the ground on a blanket for an hour. Read a book. Drink your green tea w/ fresh lemon juice. You will feel soooo good.

Making smoothies with fresh parsley is also good. Thuja, Valerian, kava kava, ginkgo, st. John's wart, green tea, lemons, parsley. All good. Anything that increases melatonin or improves circulation, or diminishes inflammation helps. Get more sleep, don't drink coffee. I have social anxiety, chocolate, kava kava, nutmeg, ginger help with that. Goldenseal w/ Echinacea helps. Lugol's iodine helps. Eating clean/organic, raw fruits and vegetables and filtered water. Avoiding cooked food. Carbs. I've got some stomach issue, I find myself scowling a lot, the ginger makes me more relaxed when that happens. Eating certain foods, especially some wheat foods like cake especially, causes severe depression the second I put it in my mouth. It's like my brain revolts. Frankincense essential oil is also a blessing. Also, buy a pair of pink tinted sunglasses, you'll be amazed at what a difference they make. Life is strange....

Also, if you're depressed, figure out how you can please God. Look back over your life and if you have wronged anyone go make it right. When you see someone in need help them. Be kind to everyone. Tell the people you love that you love them. Write letters to people you love and tell them about it. Just get up every day with one goal: to make the world a better place.

Low BCAA Protein Diet

Posted by Lilac (New England) on 04/27/2016
★★★★★

I am tremendously helped with my chronic depression by a diet that cuts way down on Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's). That is because BCAA'S lower the serotonin and the dopamine in the brain. And you need serotonin and dopamine to feel good. Do your own research. Google "Branched-Chain Amino Acids and Depression."

To experiment with this, try this diet for a few days to a week and see if it works for you:

Vegan + no or very limited nuts, beans, & seeds. Simple.

Explained in more detail:

Vegan means no beef, chicken, lamb, pork, ham, cold cuts, turkey, eggs, dairy (no yogurt, cheese, milk, etc.) IN OTHER WORDS NO ANIMAL PRODUCTS OF ANY KIND EXCEPT HONEY AND GHEE ARE OKAY.

AS WELL, cut way down on these plant proteins: legumes, beans, lentils, peas, all nuts, all seeds. I remember the diet this way:

Vegan plus nuts, beans, seeds. So simple.

It's a limited diet, yes. But you may see good results, as I do. You will have more serotonin and dopamine, which will free your mind. It works for me.

Plus I uploaded my DNA results from 23andMe to Nutrahacker, and now I know what supplements/foods are good for me and which to avoid. For example I'm positive for the MTHFR mutation, so I take folate. Usually one with the MTHFR mutation takes methylfolate, but Nutrahacker tells me I don't tolerate methyl groups well, so It take folinic acid instead. Nutrahacker told me lots else, too. For example I have the CBS mutation, which means I must follow a low-protein, low thiols sulfur diet. No time to go into it all here. It will cost you around $199.00 for 23andMe plus around $35.00 for Nutrahacker. You will never regret it.

For me, my Nutrahacker results plus the low BCAA diet and low sulfur diet is great. Take it from someone who has searched high and low to cure my dysthymia, and doesn't like pharmaceuticals.

Test for Hypothyroidism

Posted by R27 (Mexico) on 03/28/2015
★★★★★

My 30 years of depression ended years ago, the day I took the proper dose (for me) of dessicated (non synthetic) thyroid medication. To cure chronic depression, the first step is to determine if you are hypo-thyroid. From my experience, forget the usual blood test and read the book on hypothyroidism by Dr Broda Barnes, md, phd (deceased) -- after years of research, he found that basal temperature (underarm temp. first thing in a.m.) is best indicator of low thyroid---if below 97.8 f.

If you have low basal temp., search on web Dr Broda Barnes, and choose an M.D. who follows his protocol---an association exists of such physicians. If you follow this advice, it could change your life forever.

Water

Posted by Alone53 (Cali) on 09/03/2020

As I said in my recent comment, he was dehydrated and the doc said it caused his depression and water cured it. My whole point to that comment was to make people THINK about looking back at their eating habits as in do you eat alot of salty foods, drink alot of coffee, etc? If you do then it's logical to conclude that you might be dehydrated and need to drink water.

5-HTP

Posted by Andrew (Cambridge, England) on 02/09/2013

also mate.. St Johns Wort. Hypericum... Amongst other things, it's earth's natural antidepressant... Raises your serotonin levels as does 5htp. but St Johns Wort is more natural.

5-HTP

Posted by Amy (Los Angeles, Ca, United States) on 02/10/2013

Thank you very much for your advice! I am wondering: Do you take any other supplements to combat anxiety and depression?

Amy :)

5-HTP

Posted by Kelly (Cambridge, Ma) on 02/08/2013

You have to wean very slowly - about 5mg's at a time with your anxiety med and about 10mg's at a time with your SSRI/anti-depressant. It's why dropping from the 60mg to 30 made you feel horrible. It's too quick a drop. The rule of thumb is, the slower the better.

Anxiety med - Instead of 2mg's, take 1.5 mg's/day for a couple of weeks by taking 1 tab as your first dose and a 1/2 tab as your second, or vice versa. After two weeks, go to 1mg - 1/2 tab am and pm for two weeks, then to 1/2mg per day for 2 weeks, etc.

SSRI/Anti-depressant - Since it's in capsule form, you could ask your MD to prescribe them in smaller doses, making it easy for you to wean down 10mgs at a time, or pick yourself up some empty capsules. You'll find them at GNC or the Vitamin Shoppe, etc. You can split your 60mg capsule into smaller doses. It's labor-intensive, but it will get the job done.

Start by opening the capsule and dividing its contents into 6 lines (eyeballing it to approx. 10 mgs in each line). Then, only put 5 of the lines into the empty capsules (25 each) so that you'll be taking a total of 50mg's per day for a couple of weeks.

After a couple of weeks, do the same - divvy up your capsules, except put only 4 of the lines into your empty capsules, then 3, 2, etc. taking each dose for a couple of weeks.

When you get to the point where you have weaned down to the final 10mg of the anti-depressant, make your last final two week dose 5mg/day and you should be good to go.

Hang in there. You'll do fine.

Serotonin Increasing Remedies

Posted by Ed2010 (Oakville, Canada) on 02/06/2013
★★★★★

Milk Kefir abundant in Serotonin. Noni Juice contains Serotonin. Brown Rice contains Tryptophan which is a precursor to Serotonin. Red Miso is rich in Tryptophan, which is readily available in absorbable format.

Wheat Grass Juice contains nice amino acid profile providing serotonin.

Warning: Soy Milk is a Goitrogen and Tryptophan Inhibitor.

5-HTP

Posted by She (Richmond, Virginia, United States) on 10/23/2012

I'm on Effexor for depression and anxiety. I would love to stop taking it and try something more natural. But I know from previous experience that if I forget to take it within 6 hours I start having withdrawal symptoms. The withdrawal symptoms are like having a really bad bout of the flu. Can't get out of bed, have really vivid dreams, etc. What is 5 -HTP and how could I start taking that and get rid of the Effexor? Thanks for any advise!

5-HTP

Posted by Juliette (Reston, Va) on 10/23/2012

Check out the book The Mood Cure by Julia Ross. Really lays out a plan for you, helps you identify what your mood type is. Very simple and easy to read. Has chapter on getting off anti depressants! Lots of information on 5htp and other amino acids... can get it used off amazon for pretty cheap. Good luck!

(fyi when I took 5htp I took it twice a day once in afternoon once at night really worked for me)

5-HTP

Posted by Wayout (Motown, Ca/ Usa) on 10/24/2012

Hi She! One of the major uses of ascorbic acid is its use as a detoxifying agent. It even is used on poisonous snakebite! It nullifies toxic effects, while enhancing drug effectiveness, so less is often needed - and doctor should be consulted first to be really safe about lowering dose, or titrating off. That said, all too often they just want to put one on $omething el$e... at least that's how mine was, though I was dying right in front of him.

Be prepared for a lot of toxic withdrawl symptoms if you do it without some good detoxifying agent. It was a nightmare the way I did it, a decade ago, and it doesn't have to be that way at all. --T.

5-HTP

Posted by Jc (Boston, USA) on 02/12/2012
★★★★★

Rachel, You are right on. The reason eliminating irritants to the gut like gluten help is that many hormones and neurotransmitters like seratonin are manufactuered in the gut. Take good care of your digestive track by eliminating junk food and highly processed foods. Personally, I have found that Tryptophan is more effective than 5htp. Good post and thanks.

Niacin

Posted by Jack (Los Angeles, Ca, Usa) on 11/16/2011
★★★★★

Thank you all for your advice. It's greatly appreciated. I have a relative who has been on Luvox (an SSRI; anti-depressant) for a while, taking 50mg a day, and who was on a bunch of other drugs last year (they kept trying to treat the "symptoms" with a different drug, instead of figuring out the "cause" (ironically, the anti-depressant itself), and eliminating that), and we just found out about Niacinamide (Vitamin B-3), and how it helped the guy who started AA to get rid of his depression. Actually, he used Niacin, but Niacinamide doesn't have the hot flashes that Niacin causes.

Can we start to give him the Niacinamide while still on the Luvox? If so, how much Niacinamide do you suggest? They are in 500mg capsules.

Btw, I successfully stopped my panic attacks with it (I only had two attacks my whole life; I'm still blown away that I even had them). I took between 500mg and 2000mg per day, and only needed to take it for a few days. And that was over 3 years ago.

Niacin

Posted by Debbie (Melbourne, Australia ) on 10/18/2011
★★★★★

Seekthetruth, I know what you mean about wanting to help someone and your friend not being open to it. I have a similar situation with someone. It is soo hard to even speak to them.

Niacin or B3 is very effective for treating depression and Dr. Hoffer had great success with it. From the linked article:

"Bill began to take niacin, 3 g daily. Within a few weeks fatigue and depression which had plagued him for years were gone. He gave it to 30 of his close friends in AA and persuaded them to try it. Within 6 months he was convinced that it would be very helpful to alcoholics. Of the thirty, 10 were free of anxiety, tension and depression in one month. Another 10 were well in two months".

http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_niacin.html

Also magnesium is very good for depression. Swimming in the ocean particularly good or just bathing in epson salts or magnesium chloride.

5-HTP

Posted by Joylie (Solana Beach, Ca) on 08/15/2011
★★★★★

I love 5-HTP. It has helped me while I've gone through some pretty tough times. I just take 50 mg. Every night. But even at that lowest dose, it has made a big difference for me. :-)

5-HTP

Posted by Linda (Atlanta, Ga) on 07/01/2011
★★★★★

5HTP helps me very well when I have the Blues. I take only 50mg in the morning. It works very subtle. I notice when I do not take it. I also take PS (Phosphatidylserine). It helps me get up and do my work and it helps me with procrastination. I found with 5HTP that it works better in low dosages. When people take too much they experience anxiety.

5-HTP

Posted by Lily (Brisbane, Australia) on 08/25/2010

Hi Gtijes, the best thing to do is ask your chemist/pharmacist if 5htp is safe to be taken with the meds you are on and then if it is safe you can go into one of the hundreds of forums on the internet that help you and suggest how to reduce and finally stop taking your prescription medication. You can then add in your dosage of 5htp that you think is necessary to replace your reducing meds. I hope you succeed with ease. Lily.