Posted by Indie on July 19, 2004, at 9:41:04
In reply to Re: what's the point?, posted by attoday on July 18, 2004, at 21:12:03
Hi Attoday,
I am sorry that you are not feeling well. It sounds though like you are putting up a good fight and trying to work through your troubles. I also think that it is good that you don't want to depend soley on medication to fix everything. But it is important that you remember that depression is usually a bio-chemical imbalance and that imbalance needs to be fixed before you will start feeling better. It doesn't neccesarily mean that you must go on medication to fix it. I, personally, would give anything to be off of medication but I get suicidally depressed without them, so I have had to accept them as part of my healing process.
It sounds like you function very well despite your depression though so there are a few things that you can try before resorting to meds. There is a great deal of evidence that depression and other mental illness can be helped by nutritional supplements. There is some research that suggests that many people with mental illness are severely deficient in certain nutrients. Even if you have a good diet, it is possible that your body does not absorb them and therefore, they are not available for your body to use.
If you are detirmined to stay off of medication, here are a few tips to help yourself through nutrition.
1) You should be on a multi vitamin/mineral supplement. This will support your brain health as well as overall physical health.
2) I believe that everybody who experiences any sort of mental illness should be taking Omega 3 supplements. (ie Fish oil. There is growing research that shows that a lack of Omega 3 in the American diet is one of the factors of the increasing rates of mental illness in the country.
3) B Vitamins support brain healys and tend to lift your mood and improve overall mental function. Taking a good B-Complex should help.
4) There is alot of evidence that shows that some Amino Acids can reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as a number of other symptoms. I do not know enough about this to really advise but if you jump onto the alternative board there are some folks that have a ton of knowledge about this and many other forms of nutritional healing.
5) Exercise!! I don't know if you do already but getting exercise is sooooo important to maintain a healty mind. If you are extremely depressed, it may be very difficult to work up the energy to do this, but if you force yourself to do it you will definately begin to feel better. Find something that you really enjoy doing. Running, Walking and bike riding are great ways to start. I also recommend doing Yoga, it is one of the best ways to control anxiety.
I know that that is alot of information to digest at once, but if you slowly start to integrate these regiments into your life you can very likely get rid of the depression without having to resort to meds.
All of this should really be discussed on the Alternatives board, so if you want more information, I suggest you post there. There are people on that board who are much better suited to advise on this stuff than I am. I personally am just starting to work the nutritional stuff back into my treatment, but I have had good success with it in the past.
Good luck and I hope you start feeling better soon. I look forward to seeing you on the alternatives board. Remember though, depression is a physical illness just as diabetes and the flu. Don't blame yourself for how you are feeling.
Indie
> I can relate to your feelings right now. I just turned 30 3 weeks ago. I do have a job, but I don't particularly care for it because it is stressful and about making more money for a big corporation. I'm finding that I have little hope in my life. My boyfriend has been supportive, but it is taking a toll on our relationship.
> My therapist has suggested taking Antidepressants. I'm not sure what else to do at this point. I am in volved in a coda group as well to help me with my codependent issues. My therapists just listens to my week and how I feel. I don't get feedback.
> I'm at a point where I don't think I'll ever feel better unless I take medication and that isn't a positive move in my eyes. The meds might not even work.
> I hope you find something to move you through another day... as I am trying to find the same.
poster:Indie
thread:367451
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040717/msgs/367705.html