What natural/alternative therapies helped your depression?

anna25071970

Just wondering if anyone has had success treating long-term, chronic, debilitating depression with natural/alternative remedies?

If so, what were these and what was the protocol? How long before an improvement was seen and was this long lasting?

Thanks.

belfastgirl23

Just spotted this and I think that exercise is one of the things that can really make a difference, if that counts as an alternative therapy. Getting even a 20 minute walk every day can improve your spirits a huge amount. It also helps with sleep and energy levels. The toughest thing is probably forcing yourself out of the door, I find if I promise even a ten minute walk, usually once I'm out I can do more...

Hope that helps and *bump* just in case anyone else has any experiences.

jenniewb

Excercise does help, but what I find helps more then anything else is being able to talk about how I feel. Weather it be with a councellor, a friend or even the samaritans it does make a huge difference to my mood and can ame the difference between good and ...not so good choices. Its one thing to be surrounded by friends but friends who really listen and are helpful rather then too emotionally entangled, thats not so easy. Theres no shame in asking for support.

Art therapy has worked for some friends I have, but seeign a specialised art therapist is not so easy. Do able but not so easy to find a good one however worth asking your GP about to see if they know of any areas to enquire into.

Psychotherapy is what has helped me the most though.

Sazbo

jenniewb wrote: »

Psychotherapy is what has helped me the most though.

- I happen to agree with jennie on this. But try anything you feel might be helpful to you - quite often a variety of techniques in combination might help, but always in consultation with trained experts, of course. Depression is no fun, to put it mildly. I wish you all the best.

Sazzy x

wheretheresawill

For me its a combination of prescription drugs, a good psychiatrist, supportive family including pets plus I find high dose vitamin B complex useful, also acupuncture if I can't sleep.
Things like fresh air and getting out seeing nature's beauty help me although I this sometimes backfires when relapsing as I tend to go to really isolated places and just sit and cry which is often a sign i'm not well
Knowing your early warning signs is useful and at that point I work less i.e don't take on the extra shifts in work, I look more carefully at my diet including cutting processed foods but increasing tryptophan from foods like bananas, nuts etc. I make sure i'm taking my B vits at these times.
For me the three things that have kept me going in tough times and then enabled me stay relatively symptom free are medication, less work (less stressful career) and family/pets. It took a long time to get the right meds, some meds undoubtably made me worse, a mix of 2 antidepressants literally booted me out of 5yrs of illness and I have only had little blips in past 5yrs

ztan

I suffer from mild depression, going through various phases... but given the severity of my recent dip, I decided to seek out some supplements to help.

I am finding that Magnesium is particularly useful... it's meant to be good for nerves and muscle function, but can also combat a wind range of other afflictions, physical or mental. It's good for migraine sufferers, and aides women during the reproductive cycle.

A high strength Vitamin B complex definitely helps... and I would also recommend St Johns Wort if you are not on the pill or any prescription anti depressant- St Johns Wort is a natural mood lifter, and can help with anxiety, stress and consequently depression.

Otherwise, depending on the severity, seek help. Try to push yourself each day to do or try something new, even if it's something little.

I am currently forcing myself to jo for a 15-20 min jog every week night, because the exercise does wonders. It will increase your overall body function, fitness and your perceived level of fitness and strength. feeling physically strong is as important as being physically strong.

All that and lots of cuddles from the OH, cat, cushions...

fuddle

I have been trying out 5HTP for sometime now. I'm still unsure of the benefits other than losing my appetite for carbs and sugars, not a bad thing really. Still have down days though, or more the point, down moments within those days. I don't now feel in complete despair as what to do with my day/life/situation/problem/frustration/spilling a cup of tea.

They must be working to be fair, having wrote that I do feel like there's been an improvement but I do feel very tired when I take them, on an evening.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

fuddle wrote: »

I have been trying out 5HTP for sometime now. I'm still unsure of the benefits other than losing my appetite for carbs and sugars, not a bad thing really. Still have down days though, or more the point, down moments within those days. I don't now feel in complete despair as what to do with my day/life/situation/problem/frustration/spilling a cup of tea.

They must be working to be fair, having wrote that I do feel like there's been an improvement but I do feel very tired when I take them, on an evening.

5HTP helped me no end with sleep problems when I was going through the menopause and I was never ever depressed as some women are so perhaps it helped me there.

rubytuesday

I think the very best remedy is walking in nature. I can not praise it highly enough for lifting mood. I try and walk nearly every day come rain or shine and it has made such a difference to my mood. It has also helped me lose weight which in turn has made me feel better. Of course when you are feeling down it is hard to make the initial effort but if you just force yourself to do it you will reap the rewards I'm sure.

londoner1998

For me , a combination of things, in this order:

- yoga- the only thing that helped me with insomia and chronic fatigue when I was rock bottom after losing my father. Guided by an experienced , qualified teacher, even at your lowest you can do something, as there are wonderful resotrative sequences that replenish you energy levels and more stimulating ones that get you going. It helps with panic attacks too. A bit every day can go a very long way and puts you back in touch with your own body. You can do it anywhere anytime. You only need yourself and the floor.
- Swimming- extremely relaxing and again, an insomia killer. Soothing for the nerves
- Magnesium- fantastic for fatigue- I noticed a difference almost inmediately
- Nature- my garden saved me too- I once was in one of those estates, complete despair- I got walking without a destinationand ended up in a garden centre- as I entered, my whole mood shifted- there is something about the energy of nature, plants and animals that is very healing and powerful. They are pure energy, and they have what yoga calls 'innate intelligence' and we need to connect to that. I highly recommend getting plants.
- Eat regularly and don't skip meals, good, nutricious food.
- CBT- I had therapy for almost three years and I can say that that and the yoga literaly saved my life. I am off the therapy now, but I picked up very valuable tools and skills I can now use then things get tricky. I learnt a lot about myself and how I react to situations. I good therapist is priceless.

It doesn't have to be expensive or hard to find, but it is important you try different things and find out what helps you. Some are punctual for me now (ie magnesium, only during stressful times). Others like the yoga are forever, because they enhance the quality of my life no end.

Vaila

ive heard of st johns wart being used, but honestly nothing beats the fresh air and going for a long walk or jog