Holistic ways to fight/prevent depression

[jbischke]

Hey all. I have a family in which many of the members battle depression. We have had a number of rather severe cases recently and so I'm starting to spend some time looking into ways in which depression can be overcome and, in my case, prevented from happening in the first place.

I have no doubt that the thoughts we think on a daily basis are huge in causing depression. In fact, I'm pretty certain that if I wanted to get depressed pretty quickly I could do so by focusing on what's wrong in the world (i.e. following the news closely), watching a lot of television, thinking negative thoughts, etc. So I definitely feel the opposite is true.

However, I'm looking for some more "tangible" stuff that can be done as well. For instance, lately I've stumbled across a couple of things:

Nutrition - I have no doubt that nutrition plays somewhat of a role in depression. If I wanted to get depressed I'd definitely start consuming a lot of refined sugars, caffeine and saturated fats. On the flip side, it seems there is a lot that can be done, especially in the area of EFA consumption. The book Smart Fats was a huge eye-opener here.

Yoga - One of my yoga teachers talks a lot about how we hold rage within the body and when it sits there for too long it can lead to depression. I'm in the process of looking into how yoga can alleviate/prevent depression and recently ordered the book Yoga for Depression for a couple of family members.

What order stuff like this might be important? I'm incredibly grateful for any responses I receive to this.

[Shamou]

Hello jbischke...

I have expressed my view on the subject of depression but since you may not have read it... here it goes again...

In psychology there is a school of thoughts that believes that most depression is a form of self-hate... the ultimate expression of which is suicide...

Now your yoga teacher may have a point when he said that depression can be caused by pent-up rage... what he failed to tell you was that this rage was actually rage directed at yourself... and caused by deceptions in oneself...

So, if you take the position that depression is actually self-hate... you have a pretty good indication on how to start dealing with it...

First and foremost... you should keep in mind that, "whatever you did when you did it was the best possible option at the time..." in retrospect... and with some hindsight what you did then can be viewed as being rather inappropriate... but you simply did not have the appropriate info at the time... so you did your best...

And, second... stop trying to be perfect... no one is... we do the best we can with what we have... and we must learn to be happy and content with that...

And, lastly, the best antidote for depression is, ACTION... don't just stand there... force yourself to do something... take a walk... practice some sport... read, see movies, get on the PC and blog... When you are occupied at actually doing something, you have no time for introspection... so no depression...

The very best of luck to you... and whatever you do... don't give up... better days are on the way...

.

[jbischke]

Thanks Shamou. I'm not depressed but look at my father's side of the family I'm pretty much the only one who isn't. I do think that's it more than a coincidence that I have the healthiest diet, exercise more than anyone on that side of the family, etc. Anyway, I'm looking for any other natural things that can help to fend off depression in people that have it or prevent it in those that don't. Scanned Dr. William Amen's book Making a Good Brain Great and he suggests Gingko Biloba for brain health. That's another example of something that might prove effective.

[Uplift]

Gidday, you might want to look at St John's Wort. Bodybuilders used to be interested in it, and one of it's uses was to treat mild depression. I've never used it, but there's tons of info (for and against) around on it, and it has been a natural herb in Europe for ages.

[jtrikster]

One thing your family members need to do is go to a psychiatrist. depression is a mood disorder and can be treated with medication. Take the medication though to buy yourself time to fix yourself. You can't just take medication, it only tries to help stabilize the brain temporarily. You need to completely shift every single aspect of thinking.

This is where the psychiatrist comes in handy again. If your financial situation allows, go to a psychiatrist regularly and be as COMPLETELY honest as you can. Psychiatrists are trained to really understand what's going on in people's heads and they can help you break out of distructive thought patterns.

Depression is a dark dark place, I have family members who are battling with it and I have dealt with it a few times in my life. Heck, I think everyone's had their own depression experiences whether they'll admit it or not.

I also suggest reading books and continuing to discover other ways of thinking on your own. You cannot solely depend on the therapist. He/she will only help you as much as you allow him/her to. You also need to realize that you need to want to help yourself and change. You need to be able to look deep inside and figure out your destructive thinking patterns and transcend them.

A good book to read that will surely help you is The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra. He has other books that may come in handy, but this book is definitely a good starter into a new line of thinking.

I really do hope this helps because everyone deserves to live a better and especially for those who are depressed. Once you realize that it's not the outside world doing this to you, that you're doing this to yourself and once you can forgive yourself and realize hey if I can create pain for myself, then that means i can create happiness...It's a very liberating realization.

Use all of what I'm saying and what you find out to help your family members out. I am sure with enough persistence you will be successful.

I really do wish the best for you and your family!!

-YoYo

[da1prophet]

Originally Posted by jbischke

Hey all. I have a family in which many of the members battle depression. We have had a number of rather severe cases recently and so I'm starting to spend some time looking into ways in which depression can be overcome and, in my case, prevented from happening in the first place.

I have no doubt that the thoughts we think on a daily basis are huge in causing depression. In fact, I'm pretty certain that if I wanted to get depressed pretty quickly I could do so by focusing on what's wrong in the world (i.e. following the news closely), watching a lot of television, thinking negative thoughts, etc. So I definitely feel the opposite is true.

However, I'm looking for some more "tangible" stuff that can be done as well. For instance, lately I've stumbled across a couple of things:

Nutrition - I have no doubt that nutrition plays somewhat of a role in depression. If I wanted to get depressed I'd definitely start consuming a lot of refined sugars, caffeine and saturated fats. On the flip side, it seems there is a lot that can be done, especially in the area of EFA consumption. The book Smart Fats was a huge eye-opener here.

Yoga - One of my yoga teachers talks a lot about how we hold rage within the body and when it sits there for too long it can lead to depression. I'm in the process of looking into how yoga can alleviate/prevent depression and recently ordered the book Yoga for Depression for a couple of family members.

What order stuff like this might be important? I'm incredibly grateful for any responses I receive to this.

I've been on antidepressants for a number of years and while they help I can't overemphasize the importance of proper nutrition and exercise. I agree with the poster that said its something you need to get dealt with by a professional but even after you find an antidepressant that works for you (if that's the route your doctor chooses to take) there's a ton of work you need to do yourself to really fight depression. But this post is dead on--nutrition and exercise works wonders...

[escapee]

Our bodies are not designed for a sedentary lifestyle and crappy man-made processed food. So if you do the reverse you would live the fullest, longest and happiest your gene has designed you too.

There are tons of studies on JAMA that link depression to lifestyle and nutrition. the following is just one example


JAMA -- Abstract: Effects of Exercise and Stress Management Training on Markers of Cardiovascular Risk in Patients With Ischemic Heart Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial, April 6, 2005, Blumenthal et al. 293 (13): 1626

For patients with stable IHD, exercise and stress management training reduced emotional distress and improved markers of cardiovascular risk more than usual medical care alone.

[The David]

I would put exercise even higher than nutrition, as far as depression is concerned.

[Iksander]

^--- ditto. I have had my moments, and, above all else exercise always made me feel better when I was way down there.

Getting angry AT something is healthy too because anger is a step up from depression:

Terminator: Anger is more useful than despair.

[pylonian]

One of many places where Chinese medicine excels is in the treatment of depression, anxiety and other common problems of this type. It's a relief because these problems are so debilitating, and Chinese medicine is a relatively inexpensive way to address them. Not to mention that while you're dealing with the depression, you will be supporting your body systems in a number of other ways - ultimately leading you towards a more complete state of well-being.

Your yoga teacher was spot on when she talked about anger/rage being a source of depression. It is not the only cause, to be sure, but it is one. In CM we talk about extreme emotions (of any type) as stagnating the Qi of the body, especially the Liver Qi. The Liver is classified as a Wood organ. When we think about wood not as the dead stuff we make floors out of but as the living vital flora of our forests we can think of it as spreading, moving, outreaching, striving for the light. When something like a very strong emotion comes in it stifles that spreading motion and when the Liver gets stifled, it can shut down pretty much everything in the body.

The suggestions about food and exercise would also be echoed by Chinese medicine physicians - with some specific suggestions as follows:

1. Continue yoga or any other exercise that involves the stretching of the tendons and muscles. The chinese concept of Liver plays a strong role in the tendons, especially, and some people find that when they active their tendons and muscles strongly with stretches that this alleviates the symptoms of Liver Qi stagnation.

2. Whether through yoga or some other tradition, take up some focus breathing exercises. Qigong can also be useful here. Working your diaphragm strongly will have an effect on the stagnation in the Liver channel and organ.

3. Food recommendations would depend on your attendant symptoms and constitution (such as, do you have digestive symptoms, insomnia, etc?) but two easy things - First, eat well cooked brown rice with a few meals a week, being sure to chew the rice carefully and completely with mindfulness. This releases the inherent sweetness of the rice which is a "sweet food" the Liver loves - it relaxes the tension there. Second, add a little pungency to your life - some spicy foods can help break up the stagnation everywhere in your body - which will benefit the liver. Try some pad thai with extra spice, for instance. Scezchuan peppers are especially useful here.

Also - visiting a Chinese medicine physician might bring you considerable relief. At my site I list several tools to help you find a great Chinese medicine physician.

How to find a legitimate Chinese medicine physician and

7 Features of your GREAT Chinese medicine physician

For depression, I can especially recommend Worsley style 5-element acupuncture, which is sometimes simply called Classical 5 Element Acupuncture. There is a partial list of practitioners here and if you live in Oregon, I can make specific recommendations. Other Chinese medicine physicians can certainly help, just be sure to check out their qualifications and educational experience, as basic TCM style acupuncture and herbalism has limited effectiveness with emotional/mood troubles.

Sorry to give you such a wordy reply.

[maclinda]

Excellent depression fighter: 15 minutes of activity outside in the morning, with no glasses or hat. Morning sun is an antidepressent, you get your day's worth of Vitamin D and exercise has been found to be effective in depression.

[Christian223]

Hey, did you try EFT?

EFT Provides Impressive Health and Emotional Freedom--New Discovery Often Works Where Nothing Else

It may seem weird, but it really really works, try it you wont repent.

Heres a video about depression and EFT

Overcoming Depression - Tapping.com

Good luck.

[Ak47]

I don't always agree with medication (at least i don't in my case). I'm not so much of a conspiracy theorist, but let's face it- propaganda in many forms can convince us to be and think many different things when applied correctly. The medicine industry- just medication alone; is one of the biggest industries in the world. Who's to say we're not forcably depressed so that it is such a large industry? People generally seem more caught up with the fact "i'm depressed, how can i correct this problem now" naturally, worrying about themselves... rather than, "why does it seem like 90% of America is depressed, and how can we just fix it at the root." Just an observation...

In my case, i'm a very pessimistic, apathetic; a plain negative type of person. I truely don't believe that this is the fault of a chemical imbalance, but simply my method of thoughts. I've always been a philosophical, questioning type of person- and when you get deep enough with most anything there is often a lot of bad. Thinking of things like this is obviously depressing usually, but in my opinion it's just a heightened perspective. I don't want to lose that perspective, and that wisdom gained from deep negative thoughts. Then my ideals would be even more one sided than they already are- just in the opposite representation.

For nearly the last year i was heavily depressed a lot of the time. Very little sunlight exposure, unhealthy diet (though i'm young so my metabolism can still handle it to some degree), etc. Living on a 27 hour circadian rythm as a result of the near constant darkness of my basement. Heh, weird perhaps, but after going through so much depression myself, with little assistance, and no medication. Now that i'm all of the sudden, for no reason, feeling much better about myself lately (perhaps because it's now summer, and i'm going outside more), I feel like a much stronger and a more diverse person than i originally was.

^props for the person mentioning anger causing depression. i'd have to agree, i'm typically a pretty aggressive person inside- but i never show it unless it's a very serious situation usually. i'm sure something like that had a play in my depression.

not sure what to suggest to the person who started the post- everyones depression can be caused by different things, and cured in different ways. i don't believe that medication is the answer in a good portion of people though; just the easiest cure to fall back on- it's often just a ploy to take your money a lot of the time imo, especially in a capitolist society.

[infinitethoughts]

jbischke

The cure for depression is extremely simple, but when I outline it, there will be a lot of hostility towards it.

Why? Cause the thing that is causing the depression is also the thing that is making people, companies, society a lot of money.

The cure is absolutely no synthetic chemicals introduced to the human body.
And I mean none.

To do this, one has to be extreme.
Research the water they're drinking, find the filters to clean it. (Showers too.)
Research the foods they're eating, find foods with no pesticides, herbicides, synthetics preservatives, etc.
Research the personal care products, get rid of products with petro chemicals in the products.
Get rid of all synthetic "medicines".
Even household cleaners. The petro chemicals will be absorbed by the human skin into the body by using the product.

As I said. There will be hostility, cause our entire infrastructure is built upon toxic chemicals, and the unconscious mindset is to defend this infrastructure.

[Ibanez]

Weightlifting/exercise has been shown to be effective in treating depression.

Yes, also fish oil has a beneficial effet.

[jaludwick]

Ever thought about Chiropractic?!

your nervous system control everything - healing, thinking, feeling.

A Chiro takes pressure of the nervous system and give the body a chance to heal.
Depression is just a symptom - QBQ - what's causing the depression? Is the nervous system interfered with?

It's so much more than pain relief

Find a wellness or upper cervical doctor.

be well

[Sunnybayes]

I say bad thoughts are the effect of depression, not the cause of depression. I can meditate and not have any thoughts, though sometimes I can still feel depressed, so therefore my thoughts are defiantly not the cause.

Your physical body is the source of depression. If you don't use your body like it was intended to in nature then you will become depressed.

Its our over use of oil is what makes us depressed:
Isolating cars and houses, unhealthy processed foods

Primarily is the social isolation that causes depression.

Stop watching TV, walk for 30 minutes a day, learn to meditate.

[bdp]

People have already mentioned the fish oil, diet, exercise, and sunlight. These should be your first approach to fight depression because they are the most fundamental. The following things have been effective for me:

Take a concentrated fish oil or DHA/EPA supplement.
Exercise every day without fail.
Spend plenty of time outside in the sun.
Get plenty of direct sunlight on your skin and in the whites of your eyes.
Eat lots of leafy green vegetables, fruit, and nuts and seeds.

[groove88]

Originally Posted by infinitethoughts

jbischke

The cure for depression is extremely simple, but when I outline it, there will be a lot of hostility towards it.

Why? Cause the thing that is causing the depression is also the thing that is making people, companies, society a lot of money.

The cure is absolutely no synthetic chemicals introduced to the human body.
And I mean none.

To do this, one has to be extreme.
Research the water they're drinking, find the filters to clean it. (Showers too.)
Research the foods they're eating, find foods with no pesticides, herbicides, synthetics preservatives, etc.
Research the personal care products, get rid of products with petro chemicals in the products.
Get rid of all synthetic "medicines".
Even household cleaners. The petro chemicals will be absorbed by the human skin into the body by using the product.

As I said. There will be hostility, cause our entire infrastructure is built upon toxic chemicals, and the unconscious mindset is to defend this infrastructure.

Just out of curiousity I.thoughts, where have you got this information from?

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by infinitethoughts

jbischke
The cure for depression is extremely simple, but when I outline it, there will be a lot of hostility towards it.

No hostility whatsoever... but I certainly would like appreciate some reliable studies to support your statement...

.

[Amit_S]

I'm struggling with depression myself. I really don't feel sad. I just feel empty. Its a feeling of absolute nothingness (and I don't mean it in the meditation sense.)
One thing I have found useful is looking for ways to introduce more emotion any way you can. Right now when I feel the emptiness coming on I just read a few jokes. Theres even a thread by Shamou in the recreation section. Jokes don't help me every time...but they do help me.

Thanks for opening this thread jbischke
By the way it's Dr. DANIEL Amen, not William
I have read his Change Your Brain, Change Your Life. A really cool book. He takes each part of the brain, discusses the problems you might have if any part is injured or overactive or underactive etc.
Depression is caused when the Deep Limbic System is overactive. In a normal person this part is relaxed and cool.
Low fat foods are not healthy. The brain is made of cholesterol/fat. The Deep Limbic System (DLS) needs fat and protein (meat, milk, eggs, cheese, omega 3s etc..). Protein is the building block of brain neurotransmitters.
Between regular meal a snack of omelet or some dairy stuff is preferable to simple carbs.

Shamou: Self hate eh..? I think yes. I'll have to look more into this.

[Addict]

I have to agree with you o