Alternative Treatments for Depression

[turtledude23]

Anyone have experience with non-pharmaceutical treatments for depression? I've heard that Deplin (L-Methylfolate) and SAMe are promising, and possibly St. John's Wort. I've tried rTMS but it didn't do much for me.

[Monica]

St. John's Wort is supposedly good for depression, but I don't have any experience with it. Same with Kava Kava.

I've also heard that colloidal gold is good for depression. The only place to buy colloidal minerals, in my opinion, is http://purestcolloids.com/mesogold.php. I wouldn't mess with any other brand. (I have NO affiliation with this company but am convinced they have the highest quality.) I don't have any experience with colloidal gold for depression, however.

If $$ is an issue, I would seriously try good 'ol sunshine and exercise first! Good luck!

[turtledude23]

Ionized water systems are too expensive for me to try, thanks anyways.

[Monica]

Ionized water systems are too expensive for me to try, thanks anyways.

OK...just giving options, along with the free ones (sunshine and exercise).

[turtledude23]

Ionized water systems are too expensive for me to try, thanks anyways.

OK...just giving options, along with the free ones (sunshine and exercise).

So many people, including doctors, tell me to exercise, maybe I should. I always go for a walk on a sunny day and take vitamin D3.

[reeay]

Some people I know with severe depression have tried exercise (very physically oriented kinds) and diet, and they reported very positive results. Exercise does temporarily increase hormones in the brain that helps you to feel uplifted, and perhaps disrupt the usual biological course of neuro-activities often seen in people experiencing depression.

If this is in the forefront of your mind for trying a new way, it's worth a try. Someone told me about their red and orange ray blockage and how this person worked with it using physical/spiritual means (meditation, yoga, exercise, eating certain types of foods). But keep in mind that whatever psychotropic medications you used stay in your system that needs some help to 'flush out' so herbal or other healing modalities may assist with that. The effects of these drugs may be seen up to something like 20 years after person stopped taking it.

Unlike medicines that take effect within 2-4 weeks, these alternative ways take time, and its possible that there are times when people go thru something like a 'healing crisis' where symptoms get worse before they get better... so it's good to plan this out as a long-term lifestyle change and having lots of support from loved ones and friends and fans may be helpful.

[Guardian]

I'm glad you asked. I've just completed an intensive study on depression and non-pharmaceutical ways to treat it. First off, CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) has been shown to be as effective (if not more so) than prescription drugs at almost every type of depression. But if that's not enough let's continue.

First, is identifying that depression is a symptom, not a diagnosis. What is it a symptom of? William Walsch has identified 5 biochemical phenotypes which cause depression. I argue that there is a 6th, and 7th non-biochemical cause.

Let's begin

Type 1. Undermethylation Depression
Symptoms: OCD tendencies, diminished serotonin, Seasonal affective disorder, Increase libido, Competitive, Perfectionist, Seasonal allergies, SSRI's effective.
Diagnosis: Elevated blood histamine, elevated homocystine, may have MTHFR homozygous TT mutation genotype
Treatment: Methionine, SAMe, Vitamin D, Folinic Acid (not folic acid), Methyl-B12 (not normal B12), Zinc, Magnesium, B6

Type 2. Folic Acid Deficiency Depression aka Overmethylation Depression
Symptoms: Increased anxiety, panic attacks, underachievers, pleasant personality, Food/Chemical sensitivities, High serotonin, High dopamine, High noradrenaline, poor response to SSRI, low libido, high musical/artistic ability
Diagnosis: Low blood histamine, elevated blood homocystine, high urine catecholamines
Treatment: Folic acid, B12, Zinc

Type 3. Pyrrole Depression
Symptoms: Mood swings, fearful, dyslexia/reading disorders, poor short term memory, sensitive to noise/lights, poor immune system, poor morning appetite, stay up late, low serotonin, low GABA, low dopamine
Diagnosis: Elevated Urine pyrroles
Treatment: B6, Zinc (may take 1 month to see a change)

Type 4. Hypercupremic Depression (High Copper)
Symptoms: Most common cause of post-partum depression, adverse reaction to estrogen, triggers with puberty, pregnancy, or menopause.
Diagnosis: Elevated Blood copper
Treatment: Copper removal with Zinc, B6, add Omega-3, Vit C, and Vit E (alpha and gamma tocopherol)

Type 5. Toxic Metal (only 1 in 25 depressions)
Symptoms: No triggers, no history of trauma, Unrelenting (never any good days), abdominal or chest pains, cognitive deficits (if a child), metallic taste in mouth, angry, irritable, food sensitivities
Diagnosis: Elevated heavy metal on provoked urine testing
Treatment: Appropriate chelation therapy, zinc, glutathione suppository/IV, B6, Vit C

My additional Types

Type 6. Hypothyroid / Iodine Deficiency
Symptoms: Low energy, sugar cravings, cold intolerance, dry skin, weight gain, puffy face, weak muscles, muscle aches, joint pains, thin hair, low heart rate, distant heart sounds, poor memory, low dietary iodine
Diagnosis: Elevated TSH (>2), T3 (may be normal due to rT3), T4 (may be normal due to poor conversion to T3), Low Urine/Saliva iodine
Treatment: Iodine supplement 12-24mg/ day depending on deficiency. May require whole thyroid supplement as synthetic thyroid may not be adequate.

Type 7. Emotional/Traumatic/Social Depression
Symptoms: Known trigger, known trauma, PTSD-like occurence, reaction formations, known unfortunate social circumstances
Diagnosis: Clincal observation
Treatment: Mindfulness meditation, EMDR, Psycholysis

You'll notice the overarching theme is "Zinc, B6", and these 2 alone should cause a significant improvement. Whether you should get folinic acid and methyl-B12 or folic acid and B12 will be dependent on your depressive symptoms.

For more information you can watch William Walsh's lecture here: http://www.domainideology.net/course/

Simply sign up for an account (free) and go to "public lectures" and click "Epigenetics of Mental Health". Good look.

[reeay]

CBT also yield mostly short-term effectiveness more than long-term bc the treatment effects ware off sooner or later... which is their low effect size. But it helps some, especially for depression.

I would rather recommend something like Emotional Freedom Technique which may be done at home and with a therapist, Emotionally Focused Therapy, or even psychodynamic therapy if you want to get to core issues.

[Ankh]

Meditation and continued seeking. Also engaging in social activities and attempts to seek love is helpful. When it gets too much and the heaviness and depression is too deep, I don't want to engage in any social interactions, but then, when forced into it cause of life, I observe how the mood gets a little bit lighter, and I wouldn't want it to be any other way, even though I consciously think that I would be better off alone...

[Hototo]

Depression is the canary in the coal mine of the self. Warning you to go out and have a breath of fresh air.

[norral]

the bach flower essences have several essences oriented towards depression. they are relatively inexpensive. they can be bought at vitacost.com i would also recommend borage essence from flower essence services . links provided below. scan the web for the best prices.

http://www.bachcentre.com/centre/remedies.htm

http://www.fesflowers.com/

ive also heard that lithium orotate is effective . i have no experience with this so do your own due diligence

http://mysite.verizon.net/res003jh/lithium-orotate/

[Hototo]

Also, one way of saying this is "I'm not depressed, I am simply ill able to afford the standard of living that would allow me to experience what I truly desire"

[turtledude23]

Thanks for the advice everyone, especially Guardian.

[native]

I will second the mention of sun and exercise, with the addition of spending more time in nature. My depression went away at a time when I was working outside all day, just enjoying the sun, the calmness of the land, and keeping the body active. Reconnect with nature and being. The Earth is our foundation and will support you with comfort and provide clarity of mind. Garden if you can.