Natural depression help - other than St. John's Wort? - Page 2

[emma1325]

Originally Posted by Katc8910 

I second the recommendation for the Mood Cure.  Also check out Potatoes not Prozac - you can get the basic info to get you started on their website.  Propert nutrition is KEY.  What helps me most are proper nutrition, exercise, supplements, keeping busy and changing my negative thought patterns (cognitive behavioral stuff).  Proper nutrition for me means adequate complete protein (20-30 g per meal) like meat, fish, cheese, eggs, adequate fats and low-glycemic carbs (I do eat a sweet potato at night 3 hrs after dinner as recommended in Potatoes not Prozac).  You need the carbs to convert the tryptophan from protein to serotonin and melatonin.  I avoid "bad" carbs like sugar and high glycemic foods that spike my blood sugar too much and then lead to a blood sugar crash, which can leave me feeling anxious (I also avoid grains). For some caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate) can cause anxiety (I'm ok with green tea).  Exercise of any kind is good, but for me I need more intense physical exercise as opposed to something like yoga.  The following supplements helped me at various times: SAM-e (I use Natrol), Vitamin D (I take 8,000IU), magnesium, b-complex (though I prefer to get all my vitamins and minerals from the foods I eat), 5-HTP, Rescue Remedy and fish oil.  If you're going to try amino acids, definitely read the Mood Cure first. 

Thanks so much!!

[autumnsummers]

All great suggestions for  depression. Glad to hear you are feeling better hope it has continued!  St John's Wort doesn't work for everyone. Sometimes a combination of herbs will be more helpful. Here at Herb Pharm we have  the Good Mood Tonic which contains herbs for both mild depression and occasional anxiety. The herbs are  St. John's Wort, Ashwanganda, Skullcap and Prickly Ash.  Another herb  to  consider for mild depression is Lemon Balm.  Do keep up the exercise and keep reaching out as it's so easy to get isolated. 

[grisandole]

How much St. John's are you taking? 300mg works for me but for others they need 600 or 900. Personally, I would not take Valerian every day, since it makes me tired, which would lead me to feeling depressed, lol. But if it's working for you, or you take it before bed, ymmv.  I know the tanning bed helps me, so does getting outside for a walk each day, no matter how short, if the weather allows. Good luck!

[sbgrace]

OP, I'm glad you're doing better. I hope that's continuing.

Other options in case it might help someone who comes across the thread:
5-HTP
Inositol (double blind, controlled study here)
Both 5-HTP and Inositol would be avoided with other meds that might increase seritonin uptake like standard antidepressants (SSRI's)

SAM-E can safely be, and in studies has been, combined with SSRI based medications. It acts differently.

SAM-E (that one helped my husband; 5 HTP didn't; some information here)

[littlesnail]

Hi Emma.  I'm sorry you are struggling with this.  It's great you are doing so much proactively to conquer it though!

I had anxiety and depression for years and later realized it was a thyroid and hormone problem by eating the wrong foods.  It looks like you are taking a great set of supplements.  The B vitamins, fish oil, and cal/mag helped me.  But most importantly I did a food elimination diet and found out I was sensitive to gluten, soy, and a few other things.  Eliminating those permanently from my diet, plus switching to basically an all organic diet focusing on local food, made a huge difference.  I also stopped being vegan and now eat a lot of grassfed meat, which also made a huge difference.  And I cut out almost all sugar.

And no caffeine except sometimes yerba mate.

I just feel I am a really sensitive person, and I have to treat my body as such.  But it took me about 20 years to figure it out myself.  The gluten caused me the most anxiety.  Now if I eat some, I basically have an anxiety attack.  But I never would have known I had a problem with it until I totally eliminated it for a couple weeks.  Just an idea!