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Seeking Natural Remedies for Depression

Posted By Sam (Australia) on 02/02/2013

Can someone help me with a friend of mine who suffers bad depression. She has had a breakdown in the past and is in a real bad place at the moment. She has tried to commit suicide in the past a few times. At the moment she is feeling the same, can't get out of bed in the morning, has constant negative thoughts and feels worthless. Doctors won't give her any medication so is not taking anything.

can someone suggest some natural remedy. she can't afford much at the moment but maybe there is something that can be of help to her.

Replied by Ed2010 (Oakville, Canada) on 02/02/2013

Continous sorrow is the cause of depression. The best way to tackle the depression is to accept what is causing it. It can be anything, usually an important event and altering event in the life, being ignored, deprived, cheated, breakdown.

Exercise can reduce the stress and depression. Spend time in what you are interested. Change is constant. Everything will change with this belief one should pass on. Visiting Worship place regularly can relieve depression a lot. She can take ashwagandha with milk every night that will keep her calm.

Good Health

Replied by Anon (Anon) on 02/02/2013

bless her.. I remember what that feels like - she needs to take b vitamins - b50 or b 100 at least once a day - get out in the sunshine, take cod liver oil - write down 5 things she loves to do and try to do a few of them every week - listen to music, watch kids play - try and plan things for the future near and far so she has things to look forward to. Get her some spiritual healing - try and find a few things to be thankful for and write them down in a gratitude diary. Try and go out for a walk or swim every day. Eat good food.. Good luck

Replied by Ed2010 (Oakville, Canada) on 02/02/2013

I second Anon's point. Go in Sunshine. Staying inside the room deprives you from Vitamin D and natural sunlight. This causes more fatigue, irritablity, depression, boredom it will be a continous reaction which you have to avoid.

Sunlight the source of Life. in fact sunlight improves your health condition promoting variety of reactions in the body that are essential to health.

Replied by Garry (Cambridge, New Zealand) on 01/28/2014

Hi. I understand this posting will be outdated, but I'm hoping this can offer some help. Depression is a multi-factoral imbalance which often begins with a nutritional imbalance. Neurotransmitters (those wonderful little brain chemistry "thingys" that everybody likes to quote but few understand) are not only molecules made primarily from amino acids (protein building blocks), but they ride on pathways made of complex fatty acids. When we have a nutrient imbalance of any one of the components to these neurotransmitters or neural pathways we open ourselves up to psychological/neurological imbalances.

The first place I start with my clients is a good Digestive enzyme that contains a broad spectrum protease and lipase formula. this will support protein and fats breakdown and metabolism. Assuming they are already taking a good multi vitamin - in a capsule or gelcap form - (to provide all the supporting nutrients) I will ensure they are getting a minimum of 2000 mcg of Vit B12 in a sublinguil form per day (or a weekly B12 shot). In countries that permit the OTC sale of GABA (and why New Zealand doesn't allow this I have no idea as it is perfectly safe) I prescribe 500 mg per day. The body uses GABA in its processing of mental stress.

Now comes the trickier part. Depending on what form of depression you might have, you can begin to work with either L-Tyrosine at 250mg taken 2x/day. This dose can be increased gradually up to 1000mg/day, but if you experience a headache you have reached a point where you have exceeded your body's allowable level. Providing this is as much as you have taken, the headache will subside with the help of plenty of water. This doesn't mean that L-Tyrosine doesn't/won't work for you, it just means you have taken too much. Back it off by one capsule.

If you do not get any relief from your depression symptoms after a week of using L-Tyrosine, I recommend switching to a 50mg encapsulated form of 5-HTP. This can be increased to 300mg/day safely.

I always recommend taking a good B Complex with this as this will assist in the metabolism of the L-Tyrosine and 5-HTP. B complex can come in a variety of potencies and forms. Ideally you want an encapsulated form as this will give you a much higher rate of bioavailable nutrients. Take 1 capsule 3x/day with meals.

A good EFA (preferably a high DHA fish oil) should be taken at a dose of 6000mg/day in divided doses and with meals. To check if its a good one, cut one open and give it a good sniff. If it smells strongly of dead fish throw them out. They are rancid and will be treated like a toxin by the body. They should smell slightly fishy, but not too bad. In a gelcap form, you usually get very little after taste so don't worry too much. You can have a glass of lemon juice and water afterwards to neutralize the smell if you need to.

This is a very broad spectrum, somewhat generic, nutrient protocol for depression as each case is slightly different, but it will offer the basics. Once you begin to feel better, you will be more apt to move towards a healthier diet that will hopefully involve juicing and sufficient plant based proteins (as well as animal based) and good fats.

[NOTE: Do not take GABA, L-Tyrosine, or Tryptophan/5-HTP if you are currently on, or have recently come off of any prescription medication for a psychological imbalance. Consult a qualified practitioner to assist you in switching over to natural supplementation safely. Always ask if they have training or experience in this.]

Once the nutrient/digestive imbalances are resolved, if there are any remaining symptoms of depression (and by this point they are usually minimised) talk therapy tends to help the client find effective coping strategies.

Did you know that emotions are actually polypeptides (a multi-protein linked chain)? That said, when we have an emotion response [or imbalance - wrong emotion for a circumstance (think prolonged grief)] it can actually be an amino acid deficiency of a particular amino acid.

Hope this helps someone.

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