I'm trying St John's Wort at the moment, I've been taking it for a week now. Has anyone tried anything else? It would be good to know if they work and if there's any side effects to consider. My life is lovely, so I can't understand why I'm feeling so low.
Many thanks in advance. I'm 30 years old. I have Fibromyalgia (similar to and same family as ME), I'm wondering if this has any influence on how I feel. I no this sounds quite superficial, but having suffered from depression for over a year, I drink green tea in the day and it really sooths me. It has a small amount of caffeine in it so I feel alert and calm simultaneously. It wont solve your problems but it will keep your mind and body clear throughout the day Actually St John's Wort has not been proven to treat depression. I found this at http://nccam.nih.gov/health/stjohnswort/... which is the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
"Studies suggest that St. John's wort is of minimal benefit in treating major depression. A study cofunded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) found that St. John's wort was no more effective than placebo in treating major depression of moderate severity. There is some scientific evidence that St. John's wort is useful for milder forms of depression."
There are alternatives to taking antidepressants though. Some are listed at http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publicati... My lord nothing like cut and paste hu , your first answer.
Have never tried the St John's Wort, not to crazy about the mass produced, boxed remedies out there.
Have you tried a sun room, or I have even seen the lights you can buy to put near where you sit or work at. Plants grow real well under these lights too!
Oil based fish such as salmon is also good for depression.
Find what works for you.
Wish you well St. John's wort can take up to six weeks to work. Keep taking it until then. You never know if it could have worked for you in you stop taking it now. I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up working for you. It makes it impossible for me not to be happy.
I heard camomile tea can help too. Or some vitamin B.
On top of all that, get some excersize. It releases chemicals that makes you happy. Some other herbal remedies for depression are shown in section 2, at ezy build, below, and the wort usually takes a while longer to become effective: you would do a whole lot better adopting a multidimensional approach to treating depression: attacking it on many fronts.
Ask yourself: "Why do I feel depressed, and when did I first start to feel this way: can I associate this with any recent change in my life?" (if so, it is probably situational depression: counselling, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is indicated). Or, was it a more gradual thing, with no apparent cause? (nutritional deficiencies, hypothyroidism, environmental toxicity, or reactions to some medications, etc., becomes more likely as the cause).
Depression: I KNOW, from experience, how difficult it is, but once you drag yourself out of bed, throw on a dressing gown, and have a little time in the morning light, preferably doing easy stretching exercises, then have a shower, a cuppa, and either fish, or scrambled eggs, and possibly bacon for breakfast.
These provide a lasting energy boost: no carbohydrates for 2 hrs, or extremely little; a teaspoon of sugar is OK, but Xylitol is preferable, (health food stores) or fruit sugar (fructose, such as "Fruisana", from supermarket sugar aisles) or even a LITTLE honey. Splash cold water on your face, to revive you, as needed. No daytime sleeping; only 8 - 9 hrs at night. Overall though, low to moderate levels of protein suit most people best, with considerably more of the complex carbohydrates, preferably from wholefoods, and a smaller amount of fat, or oil.
Antidepressants work quicker than the following; 2 - 6 weeks, but you may have to adjust dosage, or types, whereas St. John's wort is effective for most people, tolerance doesn't develop, and the few side effects don't occur often, and even then are normally not severe.
It doesn't cause sleeping problems, or weight change, but usually takes at least 2, and generally 4 - 6 weeks to become effective. A recent, independent German double blind study showed it to be as effective as Sertraline (marketed in the USA as Zoloft: a commonly prescribed antidepressant) in cases of major depression, with far fewer side effects, and those were generally better tolerated, with a lower rate of discontinuation. Unlike antidepressants, where sexual dysfunction is a common side effect, it happens much more rarely with St. John's wort (I have noticed no effect in this area).
Remember back to a time when life was full of promise, or a day when you felt particularly good, or possibly excited from a good result. Emotional states are associated with memories, and if it isn't major depression, this method can help.
A multidimensional approach to treating depression without medication follows. All except for no. (7.) are safe to use with medication, but not St. John's wort, because of interactions, and it's sensible to check out anything else first with your doctor.
(1.) Take 4 Omega 3 fish oil supplements, daily: (certified free of mercury) it is best if consumed with an antioxidant, such as an orange, or grapefruit, or their FRESHLY SQUEEZED juice. If vitamin E is added, it should be certified as being 100% from natural sources, or it may be synthetic: avoid it. Also take a vitamin B complex which is certified as being 100% of natural origin; a deficiency in vitamin B9 (folic acid, or folate) is known to cause depression. Around 30% - 40% of depressed people have low vitamin B12 levels. Depressed females using the contraceptive pill may benefit from vitamin B6 supplements.
(2.) Work up slowly to at least 20 minutes minutes of exercise, daily, or 30 - 60 mns, 5 times weekly. Too much exercise can cause stress, which isn't wanted when dealing with depression.
(3.) Occupational therapy (keeping busy allows little time for unproductive introspection, and keeps mental activity out of less desirable areas of the brain).
(4.) Use daily, one of the relaxation methods in sections 2, 2.c, 2.i, or 11, and/or yoga, Tai Chi, and/or the EFT, in sections 2.q, 2.o, and section 53, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris whichever works best for you.
(5.) Initially, at least, some form of counselling, preferably either Cognitive Behavio(u)ral Therapy, or Rational Emotive Behavio(u)ral Therapy.
(6.) Maintain a mood chart, and daily activities schedule, as per page R, in section 2, at ezy build.
(7.) As options, if desired, either a known, effective herbal remedy, such as St. John's wort, (the strength varies, but the supplier should be using a standardised hypericin content, so follow the directions) or supplements, such as SAMe, or Inositol (from vitamin and health food stores, some supermarkets, or mail order: view section 55).
If 5HTP is used to boost serotonin levels, (which are low in depressed people) it is best taken with a high carbohydrate, minimal protein meal, like pasta with tomato & basil, and avoid protein for 90 minutes, before, and after, to maximise the amount crossing the blood/brain barrier.
Also, 80% of people in the Western world have low magnesium levels, and these are known to cause depression & anxiety. Try the magnesium supplement types shown in http://www.real-depression-help.com/ Some of these will be available in pharmacies, or supermarkets. Low levels of calcium, and potassium can also cause depression. Have your blood tested, and correct any deficiencies, preferably through improved nutrition.
An improvement can be noticed in as little as a week, if a deficiency is the cause. Also, iodised salt is much preferable to regular salt (one of the treatments in books on depression is iodine drops).
Try to imagine, as vividly as possible, a time in the not too distant future, when you have overcome this temporary setback, and things are much better.
Most depressive episodes last for around 6 months, which is why treatments should be maintained for at least that long, and preferably 1 - 2 years. Then wean off medication, or herbal remedies, over at least 2 weeks, with medical advice, and see how things go, but I would maintain the other treatments, with the possible exception of therapy. Even then, realise that depression recurs in about 50% of cases: know your early warning signs, and be quick to act at the first hint of it returning.
This is a shortened version of the much more comprehensive post, which may be seen on page R, in section 2 of ezy build, above, but to gain full appreciation, it's really best to view the whole of section 2.
If you are already taking antidepressants, and want to use the wort, I suggest that you taper off the antidepressant, over at least 2 weeks, with medical advice as to how long to take, before beginning the wort, which is believed to act by increasing the availability of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, moderately, rather than selectively giving the serotonin levels of the brain a large boost.~~~
Stress is addressed in section 42, at ezy build: view page i first. Other herbal remedies for stress are shown, such as Siberian ginseng. |
