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Depression and a non-drug cure

Reference #: 464
Submit Date: 20 Jan 2003
Browse Category: depression
Author: momaearth
Email Address: none
Treatment used: none
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Remedy will cost you: unknown
Country of Remedy: USA
Remedy Source: moma earth
More Links about this Remedy: http://mamaearth.com/depression.html
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Browse: depression

Remedy Description

Coping with and Healing from Depression: My Personal Experiences.

by momma earth....



http://mamaearth.com/depression.html

http://mamaearth.com/pms.html



I definitely do not agree with taking psychiatric medications for

depression, partly because of my personal experiences and partly for

medical and scientific reasons. I will put links to sites which have hard

scientific evidence that psychiatric medication is very dangerous to a

person's health.



I can't claim to have a formula that will heal everyone that experiences

depression. We are all so unique. I can tell you my experiences and the

things that have helped me and many people that I've talked with.



Often people who are at their wits end want the depressed person to take

meds because they think it's the only thing left to do. And the person

taking the meds may also think it's the only thing left to try or they may

use it as an easy way out; they are deemed sick, have done what is

expected of them by taking the meds and maybe attending therapy (which I

only have a slightly higher opinion of) and now they can just let the meds

do the work. It often becomes a viscous cycle because people do not get

better this way, so the doctor keeps trying different doses, different

meds and different combinations of meds. Meanwhile the person has built a

solid identity as a sick person and feels that maybe there is no hope.

Often the doctors tell such a person that they will probably need to be on

meds the rest of their life because of this *chemical imbalance*.



You can change the chemicals in your body without turning yourself into a

toxic waste dump. Anything that alters your mood is changing chemicals in

the body. There are many things you can try that will help you feel better

and cope. In the beginning you just have to agree to try. You may not

enjoy putting effort out and you may not see any reason to (e.g., Some

people just gave up and are waiting to die but don't tell anyone; some

people think for some reason that they like being depressed - a way of

coping.)



The principles of better mental health sound pretty simple, but it isn't

easy to keep up with all of the time. The first thing is that you must get

outside everyday, in the sun, for a half an hour, preferably for a few

hours in the beginning. Even in the cold, especially if you live in a cold

climate because of seasonal affective disorder. Even if you aren't getting

up and about and dressed every day yet, you need to go out in the sun.

Even if you're just sitting in your back yard with a bathrobe, slippers,

or a blanket wrapped around yourself.



You need to cut mood altering chemicals out of your diet, eg, cigarettes,

alcohol, psychiatric medications (do not stop taking immediately - these

need to be carefully titrated down with professional advice), coffee, tea,

diet pills, muscle relaxants (also titrated down), etc. I have to admit I

have yet to completely quit the coffee, but I have it down to 1/2 cup a

day.



You need to eat mood/life sustaining foods. Try not to use much sugar or

packaged foods. That is - switch to a whole foods diet with a very lot of

green leafy and other vegetables, vegetable proteins, some animal protein

might be ok too - don't make it your mainstay (because it is difficult to

digest and weighs you down and makes you feel satiated before you have

eaten enough vitamin packed vegetables), fruits, nuts, seeds, oils, whole

grains, etc. If you're overweight this should help you lose weight too,

which will help.



You must get up, shower or wash up, brush your teeth and get dressed every

day, as early as possible (with the sun). You must agree to trying to

reach this goal. You can either do this by setting the alarm a half an

hour earlier each day or just go for the time you want as wake up time

right away (say pick a time between 6am and 8am); just be aware that in

the beginning there will be some slip ups. But you need to sincerely put

effort and want to do this. Early morning sunlight has been shown to be

the most beneficial in using sunlight therapy for depression; so if you

can step outside a bit or go for an early morning walk, it will help.

Otherwise, just getting up earlier will increase your chances of getting

more sun exposure and feeling like the day has not gone by without you.



You need to move your body and get your blood flowing to revitalize

yourself. This can be dancing, taking long or brisk walks... Everything

helps here. Doing any physical movement is better than stagnating, eg,

going shopping, cleaning, yard work, playing with kids. Ideally we should

do 1/2 an hour of aerobic - vigorous - exercise daily though. I found

starting with short walks becoming longer walks very beneficial. Some

other body therapies that help are breath therapies and meditation.



You need to try to find a support network, ideally, and at most basic you

just need to have social interactions with people from outside of your

home. A support network can be made up of many people with whom you can

have some positive experience, some of whom may be willing to help you out

a little or a lot when needed, eg, family, friends, clergy, professionals,

charities, support groups, community centers, hobby or like-minded groups,

etc. Even some online support helps - but you really need some in-real-

life support too.



One more thing: When you have distressing thoughts or feelings you can't

dwell on them, but you can't suppress them either. It's a balance - you

have to let yourself become aware that you are feeling something; let it

come into your consciousness and if you need to think about it for a

minute to process the thought or feeling and accept/be aware that it is

there; then you have to let it go and move on with your day. I'm not

saying this is always the way. Sometimes people have crisis or breakdowns

when they need to spend a lot of time processing these thoughts or

feelings.



Hope this helps. Try to write a simplified list of things that will help.





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Sites which have scientific and medical evidence that psychiatric

medication is very dangerous to a person's health

http://www.drugawareness.org/index.html

http://www.iatrogenic.org/index.html

http://www.breggin.com

http://www.antipsychiatry.org



To see some sites with alternatives to psychiatry:

http://www.mamaearth.com/linksabcd.html#alternativestopsychiatry



Recommended Reading:

Dealing with Depression Naturally: Complementary and Alternative Therapies

for Restoring Emotional Health by Syd Baumel, 1995



Healing the Mind the Natural Way: Nutritional Solutions for Psychological

Problems by Pat Lazarus, 1995



Mood Foods: How the foods We Eat Affect Our Emotions, Moods, and

Personality by William Vayda, MD, 1995





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Editor: this books talks about the affect of foods on the body

Body Pollution, by Null, Gary, New York, NY: Arco Publishing, 1974

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