Natural Approaches To Overcome Depression And Anxiety Without Drugs
by Malehealth Guru on May.18, 2010, under Mental health
If you’re experiencing depression and are interested in ways to overcome depression without medication, a holistic approach will address many different areas while attempting to reestablish balance. The nature and severity of your symptoms will determine the best course of action. Low level depression can often be self managed effectively, while more severe depression may benefit from professional help.
Mood disorders have both a psychological and physical basis. Each case is highly individual, and it may not be obvious if one aspect plays a stronger role than the other. A thorough physical checkup may be helpful to provide some feedback in establishing a personalized course of action.
A general list of some areas to look at include:
*unresolved emotional issues
*reducing your levels of stress
*evaluating your diet
Because trauma is a natural part of being human, unresolved emotional issues are often involved in depression. It’s common that skills for dealing with and resolving traumatic events are not fully developed while growing up, so sometimes we are unconsciously still carrying around the energy of unresolved emotions from earlier in life.
Some researchers have found that energy from unresolved emotions are often a main cause of illness. If you suspect that you may have unresolved trauma involving child and/or sexual abuse, the safest route would be some form of professional therapy. Self help options are available for less severe cases.
In today’s quickly changing and fast-paced world, stress management skills are critical. Of course, this is even more so if you’re experiencing depression or anxiety are regular basis.
Biofeedback, meditation and focused relaxation training can help you release stress before it builds up to harmful levels. If your lifestyle tends to be sedentary, finding ways to get regular exercise on a daily basis will be very helpful.
It’s becoming more well-known how important diet and digestion are in emotional experience. The stomach and intestines have a very sensitive nervous system network called the enteric nervous system. Stress negatively affects this system which can result in indigestion, acid reflux or ulcers. Paying some attention to diet can be a good way to help heal depression naturally.
Highly processed foods can cause an allergic irritation in the digestive system because of the high levels of artificial additives it contains. Some improvement in depression symptoms may be noticed from simply switching from processed food to organic, natural food. Also finding and eliminating food allergens from the diet is important.
Vitamins for Depression and Anxiety
Another option that works well with the tactics already discussed are vitamins and nutritional supplements. Herbs like valerian and passionflower are often helpful, especially if you’re experiencing insomnia.
Fish oil for depression is also known to be helpful.
Some other supplements for depression include:
high quality depression vitamins
*Omega three fatty acids i.e. fish, flax or borage oil
*5-HTP, Amino acids, SAMe
A natural, holistic way to overcome depression without medication involves a strategy that considers unresolved emotional issues, stress reduction and diet adjustments. A natural health care provider can help you develop a course of action best suited to your particular needs.
