Depression is a growing problem across America. Some reports state that 17.5 million Americans suffer from depression and the statistics on teen depression are even more sobering.
According to one Surgeon General’s report one in ten children may have a serious emotional problem People with severe depression have a reported suicide rate as high as 15%, making it potentially the number one cause of suicide in the United States.
Americans end up spending billions of dollars on ineffectual and harmful pharmaceuticals to handle depression. Researchers are finding evidence that the cause may be the increasing chemical build-up in our bodies.
The University Pathology Consortium, a not-for-profit academic consortium founded and owned by medical school departments of 6 leading Universities including Stanford, recently attributed some of the symptoms of depression to the effects of medication, drug abuse and exposure to toxins.
“Environmental toxins have increased so much over the last 50 years and are now found in everything from grit on the ground to the make up a woman uses to powder her nose,” says Dr Harry Wong, the Director of Alternative Medicine at the Physicians Plus Medical Group in the San Francisco Bay area.
“Pesticides, toxic mold and harsh chemicals have all become prevalent in our country and toxic chemicals are used in our homes.”
Dr. Wong and his colleagues follow the latest research and treat their patients complaining of depression by looking for underlying reasons, like toxic overload in the system. Even common pesticides used in homes and lawns are now being shown to accelerate aging of the immune and nervous system resulting in serious health problems years after exposure.
“We often see patients who have feelings of depression and one of the first things we suspect is an environmental influence.”
Wong recommends a program based on the book Clear Body, Clear Mind by L. Ron Hubbard, which covers his extensive research into the effects of toxic build up on physical and mental conditions.
“Clear Body, Clear Mind” outlines a simple and effective program to purify the body of past build up of toxins and chemicals. While the book makes o medical claims it outlines a simple yet effective procedure to reduce the toxic build up in the body Over 250 000 people worldwide have completed the program based on the book.
“We routinely see a marked improvement in our patients who do this program,” says Dr Wong. “They think more clearly, have more energy and they are definitely happier.”
Ends.
Sally Falkow is a freelance writer who specializes in alternative health care issues.
www.falkowinc.com
sally@falkowinc.com
For information about dealing with depression, visit
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/dealingwithdepression/
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/copingwithdepression/
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/curedepression/
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/currenttreatmentsfordepression/
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Treatment of Major Depression
September 19, 2004 -- The first and most critical decision the therapist must make is whether to hospitalize a patient with major depression, or to attempt outpatient treatment. Clear indications for hospitalization are: (1) risk of suicide or homicide, (2) grossly reduced ability to care for food, shelter, and clothing, and (3) the need for medical diagnostic procedures. A patient with mild to moderate depression may be safely treated in the office if the therapist evaluates the patient frequently. The patient's support system should be strengthened and involved in treatment whenever possible.
Antidepressants
Studies have show that antidepressant therapy for major depression can dramatically reduce suicide rates and hospitalization rates. Unfortunately, very few suicide victims receive antidepressants in adequate doses, and - even worse - most receive no treatment for depression whatsoever.
One of the biggest problems with antidepressant therapy is that most patients don't stay on their antidepressant medication long enough for it to be effective. A recent study found that only 25% of patients started on antidepressants by their family physician stayed on it longer than one month. Antidepressant therapy usually takes 2-4 weeks before any significant improvement appears (and 2-6 months before maximal improvement appears).
First Line Antidepressants
The SSRI antidepressants, escitalopram (Lexapro), Fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Luvox), or sertraline (Zoloft), are considered excellent choices as the patient's first antidepressant because of their low incidence of side-effects (especially weight gain) and their low lethality if taken in an overdose. All SSRI antidepressants are equally effective.
Because many patients with major depression also suffer with intense anxiety, your doctor may also give you Fluvoxamine (Luvox) or lorazepam (Ativan) to reduce anxiety in mixed anxiety-depression.
Both Fluoxetine (Prozac) and paroxetine (Paxil) tend to be stimulating (elevate your mood); thus patients with mixed anxiety-depression can often dramatically benefit from the addition of clonazepam (Klonopin) to the Fluoxetine (Prozac) or paroxetine (Paxil) therapy.
Keep in mind, prescribing the right antidepressant is not an exact science. It may take some experimentation on the part of the doctor (make sure you're seeing a psychiatrist, a specialist in psychiatric medications) to find the right antidepressant and right dosage for you. Do not give up if everything doesn't come together right away.
SSRI antidepressants should be taken for 6 to 12 months. Antidepressant therapy should not be withdrawn before there have been 4 to 5 symptom-free months. Withdrawal from antidepressant therapy should be gradual. Never discontinue taking your medication without telling your doctor first. Suddenly stopping your medication could produce severe withdrawl symptoms and unwanted psychological effects, including a return of major depression.
Psychotherapy
In general, psychiatrists agree that severely depressed patients do best with a combination of antidepressant medications and psychotherapy. Medications relieve the symptoms of depression quickly, while psychotherapy can help the patient deal with the illness, easing some of the potential stresses that can trigger or exacerbate the illness.
Dynamic Psychotherapy
Dynamic Psychotherapy is based on the premise that human behavior is determined by one's past experience (particularly in childhood), genetic endowment and current life events. It recognizes the significant effects of emotions, unconscious conflicts and drives on human behavior.
Interpersonal Therapy
Interpersonal Therapy is based on the theory that disturbed social and personal relationships can cause or precipitate depression. The illness, in turn, may make these relationships more problematic. IPT helps the patient understand his or her illness and how depression and interpersonal issues are related.
There is some evidence in controlled studies that IPT as a single agent is effective in reducing symptoms in acutely depressed patients of mild to moderate severity.
The National Institute of Mental Health studied interpersonal therapy as one of the most promising types of psychotherapy. Interpersonal therapy (IPT) is a short-term psychotherapy, normally consisting of 12 to 16 weekly sessions. It was developed specifically for the treatment of major depression, and focuses on correcting current social dysfunction. Unlike psychoanalytic psychotherapy, it does not address unconscious phenomena, such as defense mechanisms or internal conflicts. Instead, interpersonal therapy focuses primarily on the "here-and-now" factors that directly interfere with social relationships.
Behavior Therapy
Behavior therapy involves activity scheduling, self-control therapy, social skills training, and problem solving. Behavior therapy has been reported to be effective in the acute treatment of patients with mild to moderately severe depressions, especially when combined with pharmacotherapy.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
The cognitive approach to psychotherapy maintains that irrational beliefs and distorted attitudes toward the self, the environment and the future, perpetuate depressive affects and that these may be reversed through CBT.
There is some evidence that cognitive therapy reduces depressive symptoms during the acute phase of less severe forms of depression.
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
ECT is primarily used for severely depressed patients who have not responded to antidepressant medicines, and who frequently have psychotic features, acute suicidality, or food refusal. It can also be used for patients who are severely depressed and have other chronic general medical illnesses which make taking antipsychotic medications difficult. Changes in the way ECT is delivered have made ECT a better tolerated treatment.
Importance of Continuation of Treatment
There is a period of time following the relief of symptoms during which discontinuation of the treatment would likely result in relapse. The NIMH Depression Collaboration Research Program found that four months of treatment with medication or cognitive behavioral and interpersonal psychotherapy is insufficient for most depressed patients to fully recover and enjoy lasting remission. Their 18-month follow-up after a course of treatment found relapses of between 33 and 50 percent of those initially responding to a short-term treatment.
The current available data on continuation of treatment indicate that patients treated for a first episode of uncomplicated depression who exhibit a satisfactory response to an antidepressant should continue to receive a full therapeutic dose of that medication for at least 6-12 months after achieving full remission. The first eight weeks after symptom resolution is a period of particularly high vulnerability to relapse. Patients with recurrent depression, dysthymia or other complicating features may require a more extended course of treatment.
In a 1998 article, in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry, entitled "Discontinuing Antidepressant Treatment in Major Depression, the authors concluded:
"The benefits of long-term antidepressant treatment in major depression and the risks of discontinuing medication at various times after clinical recovery from acute depression are not as well defined. Computerized searching found 27 studies with data on depression risk over time including a total of 3037 depressive patients treated for 5.78 (0-48) months and then followed for 16.6 (5-66) months with antidepressants continued or discontinued. Compared with patients whose antidepressants were discontinued, those with continued treatment showed much lower relapse rates (1.85 vs. 6.24%/month), longer time to 50% relapse (48.0 vs. 14.2 months), and lower 12-month relapse risk (19.5 vs. 44.8%) (all p < 0.001). However, longer prior treatment did not yield lower postdiscontinuation relapse risk, and differences in relapses off versus on antidepressants fell markedly with longer follow-up. Contrary to prediction, gradual discontinuation (dose-tapering or use of long-acting agents) did not yield lower relapse rates. Relapse risk was not associated with diagnostic criteria. More previous illness (particularly three or more prior episodes or a chronic course) was strongly associated with higher relapse risk after discontinuation of antidepressants but had no effect on response to continued treatment; patients with infrequent prior illness showed only minor relapse differences between drug and placebo treatment.
Refractory Depression
Refractory depression occurs in as many as 10 to 30 percent of depressive episodes, affecting nearly a million patients. Katherine A. Phillips, M.D. (a 1992 NARSAD Young Investigator) has found that failure to provide adequate doses of medication for sufficient periods of time is perhaps the most common cause of apparent treatment resistance. Once the clinician has determined that a patient is truly treatment-refractory, many treatment approaches can be tried.
Phillips recommends the following treatment strategies for refractory depression:
1. Augmentation with lithium, and perhaps other agents like liothyronine (T3 or L-triiodothyronine) (Cytomel). Trazodone may be worth trying either alone or in combination with Fluoxetine or tricyclics if other approaches have failed.
2. Combining antidepressants - supplementing the SSRI antidepressant with a tricyclic antidepressant. Several studies have shown a good response when Fluoxetine is added to tricyclics and when tricyclics are added to Fluoxetine. It is important to monitor tricyclic levels because Fluoxetine can raise tricyclic levels by 4- to 11- fold and thereby cause tricyclic toxicity.
3. Switching antidepressants - stop the first SSRI antidepressant gradually (over one week), then substitute another SSRI antidepressant or SNRI antidepressant (Effexor). Fluvoxamine (Luvox), sertraline (Zoloft), or venlafaxine (Effexor) often are effective for Fluoxetine or paroxetine nonresponders (and visa versa).
Lexapro http://www.dental.am/drugstore/lexapro.php
Prozac http://www.dental.am/drugstore/prozac.php
Paxil http://www.dental.am/drugstore/paxil.php
Zoloft http://www.dental.am/drugstore/zoloft.php
Fluoxetine http://www.dental.am/drugstore/fluoxetine.php
source: http://www.dental.am/articles_more.php?id=3087_0_2_0_M
www.Dental.am - Top Health News consumer Web site offering health and medical information, news and self-improvement and disease management tools.
For information about clinical depression, visit
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/clinicaldepressiononindianreservations/
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/causesofclinicaldepression/
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/clinicaldepressionsevere/
Antidepressants
Studies have show that antidepressant therapy for major depression can dramatically reduce suicide rates and hospitalization rates. Unfortunately, very few suicide victims receive antidepressants in adequate doses, and - even worse - most receive no treatment for depression whatsoever.
One of the biggest problems with antidepressant therapy is that most patients don't stay on their antidepressant medication long enough for it to be effective. A recent study found that only 25% of patients started on antidepressants by their family physician stayed on it longer than one month. Antidepressant therapy usually takes 2-4 weeks before any significant improvement appears (and 2-6 months before maximal improvement appears).
First Line Antidepressants
The SSRI antidepressants, escitalopram (Lexapro), Fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Luvox), or sertraline (Zoloft), are considered excellent choices as the patient's first antidepressant because of their low incidence of side-effects (especially weight gain) and their low lethality if taken in an overdose. All SSRI antidepressants are equally effective.
Because many patients with major depression also suffer with intense anxiety, your doctor may also give you Fluvoxamine (Luvox) or lorazepam (Ativan) to reduce anxiety in mixed anxiety-depression.
Both Fluoxetine (Prozac) and paroxetine (Paxil) tend to be stimulating (elevate your mood); thus patients with mixed anxiety-depression can often dramatically benefit from the addition of clonazepam (Klonopin) to the Fluoxetine (Prozac) or paroxetine (Paxil) therapy.
Keep in mind, prescribing the right antidepressant is not an exact science. It may take some experimentation on the part of the doctor (make sure you're seeing a psychiatrist, a specialist in psychiatric medications) to find the right antidepressant and right dosage for you. Do not give up if everything doesn't come together right away.
SSRI antidepressants should be taken for 6 to 12 months. Antidepressant therapy should not be withdrawn before there have been 4 to 5 symptom-free months. Withdrawal from antidepressant therapy should be gradual. Never discontinue taking your medication without telling your doctor first. Suddenly stopping your medication could produce severe withdrawl symptoms and unwanted psychological effects, including a return of major depression.
Psychotherapy
In general, psychiatrists agree that severely depressed patients do best with a combination of antidepressant medications and psychotherapy. Medications relieve the symptoms of depression quickly, while psychotherapy can help the patient deal with the illness, easing some of the potential stresses that can trigger or exacerbate the illness.
Dynamic Psychotherapy
Dynamic Psychotherapy is based on the premise that human behavior is determined by one's past experience (particularly in childhood), genetic endowment and current life events. It recognizes the significant effects of emotions, unconscious conflicts and drives on human behavior.
Interpersonal Therapy
Interpersonal Therapy is based on the theory that disturbed social and personal relationships can cause or precipitate depression. The illness, in turn, may make these relationships more problematic. IPT helps the patient understand his or her illness and how depression and interpersonal issues are related.
There is some evidence in controlled studies that IPT as a single agent is effective in reducing symptoms in acutely depressed patients of mild to moderate severity.
The National Institute of Mental Health studied interpersonal therapy as one of the most promising types of psychotherapy. Interpersonal therapy (IPT) is a short-term psychotherapy, normally consisting of 12 to 16 weekly sessions. It was developed specifically for the treatment of major depression, and focuses on correcting current social dysfunction. Unlike psychoanalytic psychotherapy, it does not address unconscious phenomena, such as defense mechanisms or internal conflicts. Instead, interpersonal therapy focuses primarily on the "here-and-now" factors that directly interfere with social relationships.
Behavior Therapy
Behavior therapy involves activity scheduling, self-control therapy, social skills training, and problem solving. Behavior therapy has been reported to be effective in the acute treatment of patients with mild to moderately severe depressions, especially when combined with pharmacotherapy.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
The cognitive approach to psychotherapy maintains that irrational beliefs and distorted attitudes toward the self, the environment and the future, perpetuate depressive affects and that these may be reversed through CBT.
There is some evidence that cognitive therapy reduces depressive symptoms during the acute phase of less severe forms of depression.
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
ECT is primarily used for severely depressed patients who have not responded to antidepressant medicines, and who frequently have psychotic features, acute suicidality, or food refusal. It can also be used for patients who are severely depressed and have other chronic general medical illnesses which make taking antipsychotic medications difficult. Changes in the way ECT is delivered have made ECT a better tolerated treatment.
Importance of Continuation of Treatment
There is a period of time following the relief of symptoms during which discontinuation of the treatment would likely result in relapse. The NIMH Depression Collaboration Research Program found that four months of treatment with medication or cognitive behavioral and interpersonal psychotherapy is insufficient for most depressed patients to fully recover and enjoy lasting remission. Their 18-month follow-up after a course of treatment found relapses of between 33 and 50 percent of those initially responding to a short-term treatment.
The current available data on continuation of treatment indicate that patients treated for a first episode of uncomplicated depression who exhibit a satisfactory response to an antidepressant should continue to receive a full therapeutic dose of that medication for at least 6-12 months after achieving full remission. The first eight weeks after symptom resolution is a period of particularly high vulnerability to relapse. Patients with recurrent depression, dysthymia or other complicating features may require a more extended course of treatment.
In a 1998 article, in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry, entitled "Discontinuing Antidepressant Treatment in Major Depression, the authors concluded:
"The benefits of long-term antidepressant treatment in major depression and the risks of discontinuing medication at various times after clinical recovery from acute depression are not as well defined. Computerized searching found 27 studies with data on depression risk over time including a total of 3037 depressive patients treated for 5.78 (0-48) months and then followed for 16.6 (5-66) months with antidepressants continued or discontinued. Compared with patients whose antidepressants were discontinued, those with continued treatment showed much lower relapse rates (1.85 vs. 6.24%/month), longer time to 50% relapse (48.0 vs. 14.2 months), and lower 12-month relapse risk (19.5 vs. 44.8%) (all p < 0.001). However, longer prior treatment did not yield lower postdiscontinuation relapse risk, and differences in relapses off versus on antidepressants fell markedly with longer follow-up. Contrary to prediction, gradual discontinuation (dose-tapering or use of long-acting agents) did not yield lower relapse rates. Relapse risk was not associated with diagnostic criteria. More previous illness (particularly three or more prior episodes or a chronic course) was strongly associated with higher relapse risk after discontinuation of antidepressants but had no effect on response to continued treatment; patients with infrequent prior illness showed only minor relapse differences between drug and placebo treatment.
Refractory Depression
Refractory depression occurs in as many as 10 to 30 percent of depressive episodes, affecting nearly a million patients. Katherine A. Phillips, M.D. (a 1992 NARSAD Young Investigator) has found that failure to provide adequate doses of medication for sufficient periods of time is perhaps the most common cause of apparent treatment resistance. Once the clinician has determined that a patient is truly treatment-refractory, many treatment approaches can be tried.
Phillips recommends the following treatment strategies for refractory depression:
1. Augmentation with lithium, and perhaps other agents like liothyronine (T3 or L-triiodothyronine) (Cytomel). Trazodone may be worth trying either alone or in combination with Fluoxetine or tricyclics if other approaches have failed.
2. Combining antidepressants - supplementing the SSRI antidepressant with a tricyclic antidepressant. Several studies have shown a good response when Fluoxetine is added to tricyclics and when tricyclics are added to Fluoxetine. It is important to monitor tricyclic levels because Fluoxetine can raise tricyclic levels by 4- to 11- fold and thereby cause tricyclic toxicity.
3. Switching antidepressants - stop the first SSRI antidepressant gradually (over one week), then substitute another SSRI antidepressant or SNRI antidepressant (Effexor). Fluvoxamine (Luvox), sertraline (Zoloft), or venlafaxine (Effexor) often are effective for Fluoxetine or paroxetine nonresponders (and visa versa).
Lexapro http://www.dental.am/drugstore/lexapro.php
Prozac http://www.dental.am/drugstore/prozac.php
Paxil http://www.dental.am/drugstore/paxil.php
Zoloft http://www.dental.am/drugstore/zoloft.php
Fluoxetine http://www.dental.am/drugstore/fluoxetine.php
source: http://www.dental.am/articles_more.php?id=3087_0_2_0_M
www.Dental.am - Top Health News consumer Web site offering health and medical information, news and self-improvement and disease management tools.
For information about clinical depression, visit
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/clinicaldepressiononindianreservations/
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/causesofclinicaldepression/
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/clinicaldepressionsevere/
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Depressed? Wise Woman Ways Offer a Helping Hand
Winter time is depression time for many women. Susun Weed gives Wise Woman wisdom on how to deal when depression strikes!
Winter time is depression time for many women. Perhaps it is harder to look at the bright side when days are short, perhaps the holidays and family demands take their toll on us. Of course, depression can also be triggered by lack of thyroid hormone and by use of steroids, high blood pressure drugs, and ERT/HRT.
But most often the cause of depression is the belief (valid or not) that nothing you do makes any difference. Victimization and poverty lock women into depression. More than one-third of all American women have been victims of sexual or physical abuse; and women make up more than two-thirds of all Americans who live below poverty level. Yet our culture frowns on women who express their anger. No wonder depression is a woman's issue.
“Look here,” Grandmother Growth motions to you as she spreads her story blanket at your feet. “See how depression is deeply woven with anger and grief. When our need for reliable, joyous intimacy is frustrated, and expression of our frustration would endanger us, depression comes and protects us. When there is no way to deal effectively with situations that enrage us, depression comes and helps us quiet our violent impulses.
“Depression is not an easy companion on your journey, but she knows much about life. In her bundle, she carries the anger you have carefully frozen with frigid blasts of fear and kept nourished with your pain. She carries your wholeness. She carries your ability to go beyond the pain, your ability to allow your rage to move you into health. She carries your wholeness. Will you let her teach you?"
Wise Woman remedies don’t seek to eliminate our feelings, or turn “negative” ones into “positive” ones, but to help us incorporate all of our feelings into our wholeness/health/holiness.
* Welcome the dark. Cherish the deepness. Give yourself over to a day or two of doing nothing. Then, get up, no matter how bad you feel. Set a goal for the day and meet it. Smile - it releases brain chemicals that make you feel good. Smile no matter what. Do it as an exercise. Hate it while you do it. But SMILE!
* Homeopathic remedies include Arum metallicum, for women with frequent thoughts of suicide who feel cut off from love and joy; and Sepia, for women who are disinterested in everything, angry at family and friends, and just want to be left alone.
* It’s more than idle chatter that depression comes with gray skies and happiness with sunny ones. For emotional health (and strong bones) get 15 minutes of sunlight on your uncovered eyelids (outside, no glasses, no contacts) daily. If you can’t get out (or if the sun doesn’t cooperate), wake up 1-2 hours earlier than usual. (You can stay in bed, but keep those eyes open.)
* Sing the blues; dance ‘em too. Women have depended on songs and dances to carry them out of depression for centuries. Dance therapy is more effective than talk therapy for reaching and healing traumatic experiences. Even a single session may have a dramatic effect.
* Find your rage and write it down. Get a massage and let the anger move out of the muscles. Volunteer to help change something you are upset about, even a small thing.
* St. Joan’s/John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) lives in very sunny locations and blooms at summer solstice. I call it bottled sunshine. A dropperful of the bright red tincture taken 1-3 times daily has helped many women relieve SAD (seasonal affective disorder), move through grief, ease the physical pain of depression, and walk on the sunny side! CAUTION: Hypericum in capsules is not as effective and can cause unwanted side effects.
* Oatstraw infusion (not tea, tincture, or capsules) has been an ally for depressed women since earliest times. Gentle Avena nourishes the nerves and helps you remember why life is worth living.
To make an infusion: Brew one ounce by weight of dried herb (that's a cup by volume) in a quart jar filled to the top with boiling water. Steep for at least four hours, then strain and refrigerate your infusion. Drink as many cups a day as you wish. Or make an oatstraw bath by adding two quarts of infusion to your bath water.
* Garden sage (Salvia) is an ancient ally for emotionally-distressed women. In some societies, only crones were allowed to drink the brew made from the nubbly leaves (at least partly because it delays menses and dries up breast milk). Make an infusion (see oatstraw); drink by mixing a few spoonfuls of the dense brew into hot water or warm milk; add honey to taste. The undiluted infusion keeps for weeks refrigerated.
* Behavioral and interpersonal therapies are as effective as drugs in relieving depression. Not only that, two-thirds of those who simply read about therapy improve significantly.
* Thirty minutes of aerobic exercise, especially soon after awakening, has been shown to help women whose depression is resistant to all treatments, including drugs.
* Sleep less. If you are a woman who overproduces a normal depression-causing substance which accompanies sleep you will feel depressed and often find it difficult to wake up. Sleeping more will only compound the problem. Instead, stay up all night once a week. If you can’t cope with no sleep, even mild sleep deprivation (such as sleeping five hours or less for two nights in a row) dramatically decreases depressive symptoms in some people.
* Low levels of calcium, zinc, and B vitamins are associated with depression. Get more by eating more cheese and yogurt, more garlic and mushrooms, more whole grains and beans.
* Lack of vitamin B12 doubles the risk of severe depression for older women. This critical nutrient, found only in animal products, is destroyed by tofu and soy beverage. Drink real milk, eat real cheese, eat meat at least occasionally and watch your mood improve :)
* 1600 mg of SAM-e (A-adenosylmethionine) relieved the symptoms of moderate depression as well as imipramine, but no better than Hypericum (St. J's wort). CAUTION: Of the brands tested by Consumer Reports, only Natrol, Nature Made, TwinLab, and GNC passed all tests.
* Avoid hormone replacement - ERT/HRT - if you're depressed; it's strongly associated with an increase in suicide attempts.
* Women who used to take lithium say they have gradually switched over to skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora). A dose of infusion is one cup/250 ml or more per day; of fresh plant tincture is 5-8 drops twice a day; of the dried plant tincture is a dropperful/1 ml several times a day. CAUTION: Skullcap can make you sleepy.
* For women whose depression resists all other therapies, electro-convulsive treatments (ECT), previously known as shock treatments, have been updated with special care taken to minimize harm. The women I spoke with who were using ECT told me it was incredibly effective, and the side-effects, including severe memory loss, acceptable to them. From doing nothing, to ECT, the range of remedies available to depressed women is enormous. To help you choose wisely, these effective, simple Wise Woman remedies are in order of safety: the safest remedies first, and the most dangerous ones last.
This is a shortened version of the depression section in New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way, available through www.ashtreepublishing.com or your favorite bookseller.
If you liked this article you will want to visit Susun Weed online at www.susunweed.com
About the Author
Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures, teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health.
For information about brain scans for depression, visit
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/brainscanfordepression/
Winter time is depression time for many women. Perhaps it is harder to look at the bright side when days are short, perhaps the holidays and family demands take their toll on us. Of course, depression can also be triggered by lack of thyroid hormone and by use of steroids, high blood pressure drugs, and ERT/HRT.
But most often the cause of depression is the belief (valid or not) that nothing you do makes any difference. Victimization and poverty lock women into depression. More than one-third of all American women have been victims of sexual or physical abuse; and women make up more than two-thirds of all Americans who live below poverty level. Yet our culture frowns on women who express their anger. No wonder depression is a woman's issue.
“Look here,” Grandmother Growth motions to you as she spreads her story blanket at your feet. “See how depression is deeply woven with anger and grief. When our need for reliable, joyous intimacy is frustrated, and expression of our frustration would endanger us, depression comes and protects us. When there is no way to deal effectively with situations that enrage us, depression comes and helps us quiet our violent impulses.
“Depression is not an easy companion on your journey, but she knows much about life. In her bundle, she carries the anger you have carefully frozen with frigid blasts of fear and kept nourished with your pain. She carries your wholeness. She carries your ability to go beyond the pain, your ability to allow your rage to move you into health. She carries your wholeness. Will you let her teach you?"
Wise Woman remedies don’t seek to eliminate our feelings, or turn “negative” ones into “positive” ones, but to help us incorporate all of our feelings into our wholeness/health/holiness.
* Welcome the dark. Cherish the deepness. Give yourself over to a day or two of doing nothing. Then, get up, no matter how bad you feel. Set a goal for the day and meet it. Smile - it releases brain chemicals that make you feel good. Smile no matter what. Do it as an exercise. Hate it while you do it. But SMILE!
* Homeopathic remedies include Arum metallicum, for women with frequent thoughts of suicide who feel cut off from love and joy; and Sepia, for women who are disinterested in everything, angry at family and friends, and just want to be left alone.
* It’s more than idle chatter that depression comes with gray skies and happiness with sunny ones. For emotional health (and strong bones) get 15 minutes of sunlight on your uncovered eyelids (outside, no glasses, no contacts) daily. If you can’t get out (or if the sun doesn’t cooperate), wake up 1-2 hours earlier than usual. (You can stay in bed, but keep those eyes open.)
* Sing the blues; dance ‘em too. Women have depended on songs and dances to carry them out of depression for centuries. Dance therapy is more effective than talk therapy for reaching and healing traumatic experiences. Even a single session may have a dramatic effect.
* Find your rage and write it down. Get a massage and let the anger move out of the muscles. Volunteer to help change something you are upset about, even a small thing.
* St. Joan’s/John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) lives in very sunny locations and blooms at summer solstice. I call it bottled sunshine. A dropperful of the bright red tincture taken 1-3 times daily has helped many women relieve SAD (seasonal affective disorder), move through grief, ease the physical pain of depression, and walk on the sunny side! CAUTION: Hypericum in capsules is not as effective and can cause unwanted side effects.
* Oatstraw infusion (not tea, tincture, or capsules) has been an ally for depressed women since earliest times. Gentle Avena nourishes the nerves and helps you remember why life is worth living.
To make an infusion: Brew one ounce by weight of dried herb (that's a cup by volume) in a quart jar filled to the top with boiling water. Steep for at least four hours, then strain and refrigerate your infusion. Drink as many cups a day as you wish. Or make an oatstraw bath by adding two quarts of infusion to your bath water.
* Garden sage (Salvia) is an ancient ally for emotionally-distressed women. In some societies, only crones were allowed to drink the brew made from the nubbly leaves (at least partly because it delays menses and dries up breast milk). Make an infusion (see oatstraw); drink by mixing a few spoonfuls of the dense brew into hot water or warm milk; add honey to taste. The undiluted infusion keeps for weeks refrigerated.
* Behavioral and interpersonal therapies are as effective as drugs in relieving depression. Not only that, two-thirds of those who simply read about therapy improve significantly.
* Thirty minutes of aerobic exercise, especially soon after awakening, has been shown to help women whose depression is resistant to all treatments, including drugs.
* Sleep less. If you are a woman who overproduces a normal depression-causing substance which accompanies sleep you will feel depressed and often find it difficult to wake up. Sleeping more will only compound the problem. Instead, stay up all night once a week. If you can’t cope with no sleep, even mild sleep deprivation (such as sleeping five hours or less for two nights in a row) dramatically decreases depressive symptoms in some people.
* Low levels of calcium, zinc, and B vitamins are associated with depression. Get more by eating more cheese and yogurt, more garlic and mushrooms, more whole grains and beans.
* Lack of vitamin B12 doubles the risk of severe depression for older women. This critical nutrient, found only in animal products, is destroyed by tofu and soy beverage. Drink real milk, eat real cheese, eat meat at least occasionally and watch your mood improve :)
* 1600 mg of SAM-e (A-adenosylmethionine) relieved the symptoms of moderate depression as well as imipramine, but no better than Hypericum (St. J's wort). CAUTION: Of the brands tested by Consumer Reports, only Natrol, Nature Made, TwinLab, and GNC passed all tests.
* Avoid hormone replacement - ERT/HRT - if you're depressed; it's strongly associated with an increase in suicide attempts.
* Women who used to take lithium say they have gradually switched over to skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora). A dose of infusion is one cup/250 ml or more per day; of fresh plant tincture is 5-8 drops twice a day; of the dried plant tincture is a dropperful/1 ml several times a day. CAUTION: Skullcap can make you sleepy.
* For women whose depression resists all other therapies, electro-convulsive treatments (ECT), previously known as shock treatments, have been updated with special care taken to minimize harm. The women I spoke with who were using ECT told me it was incredibly effective, and the side-effects, including severe memory loss, acceptable to them. From doing nothing, to ECT, the range of remedies available to depressed women is enormous. To help you choose wisely, these effective, simple Wise Woman remedies are in order of safety: the safest remedies first, and the most dangerous ones last.
This is a shortened version of the depression section in New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way, available through www.ashtreepublishing.com or your favorite bookseller.
If you liked this article you will want to visit Susun Weed online at www.susunweed.com
About the Author
Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures, teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health.
For information about brain scans for depression, visit
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/brainscanfordepression/
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