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Dealing with Depression
By Liz
Barrington, Natural Body Healing
Depending
upon the time of year, many of us often feel a little down or
fed up – perhaps because of the dark days and long nights, the
lengthy hours we all work, maybe we’ve had a bad day at the
office, or it may have taken us several hours to get home. We
may even be unhappy about the state of our relationships with
those close to us. More often than not, these feelings are just
temporary – and within a couple of days or so, we start to feel
better, more positive and back on top of things again.
However,
depression is a very different condition to that of simply
‘feeling the blues’. It can often be experienced as a
short-term sense of ‘grieving’ as a result of a natural reaction
to, for example, a death in the family, the loss of a job, the
difficult birth of a child, a marriage or relationship breakup,
or some other traumatic situation.
Depression
in the UK, especially amongst young people, has been rising at
an unsettling rate. In fact
one in six adults will suffer from depression or chronic anxiety
at some point. It is a very serious,
debilitating condition, leading to 3,000 avoidable deaths every
year. Depressive
disorders that develop can be long-term or prolonged forms of
depression which manifest into bipolar disorders involving
alternating episodes of depression and mania.
Symptoms
of depression can often include long-term feelings of sadness,
despair and hopelessness; too much or too little sleep; lack of
energy and fatigue, changes in appetite resulting in weight loss
or weight gain; constant crying; irritability and anxiety;
headaches and backaches; loss of sexual desire and interest in
pleasurable activities; feelings of inadequacy and
worthlessness; digestive disorders and constipation; perhaps
even thoughts of death and suicide.
Manic depression affects around one in 100 people in the UK but
it is a condition rarely spoken about openly. During a
manic episode, the sufferer often has symptoms of hyperactivity,
rapid speech, frequently changing topics of conversation, an
overactive mind and even sleeplessness.
In the West, it is widely accepted by medical professionals that
psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety are often
caused by chemical imbalances within the brain which may have
genetic or psychological origins; it could also be caused by
thyroid disorders, hypoglycaemia, underdeveloped social skills,
or inward feelings of fear, guilt, stress and anger - the
symptoms of which can often be manipulated and ‘treated’ by taking certain
drugs.
The UK has a drastic shortage of therapists to
treat people with depression. Indeed economists have
warned that the UK needs 10,000 more therapists to treat the one
in six adults suffering from depression or chronic anxiety and
get people back to work.
Common
antidepressant drugs that are prescribed for depression include
Amitriptyline (Elavil, Tryptizol), Citalopram (Cipramil),
Fluoxetine (Prozac), Paroxetine (Seroxat) and
Venlafaxine (Efexor), for which there are often too many
long-term side effects and issues with dependency and withdrawal.
In Chinese
medicine, the mind, emotions and spirit are fully integrated
with the physical body – they are energies that are fully
interrelated and entwined. The condition of the physical body
therefore will affect our emotions, our mind and our spirit -
and of course, vice versa.
Holistic
therapists also recognise the key relationships between mind, body
and spirit and therefore acknowledge that any disease which
manifests in the body does have mental, emotional and spiritual
aspects that will also need healing. They will investigate
nutritional deficiencies, poor bowel elimination and parasitic
infections, food allergies and intolerances, lack of exercise,
dehydration, quality of sleep, close relationships, your own
support network, social time spent on pleasurable activities,
little exposure to the sun, time spent being outside in the open air etc.
They will often suggest dietary changes, the use of nutritional
supplements and lifestyle changes.
The link
between nutrition and behaviour has been recognised for
centuries. Deficiency, for example, of the water soluble B
Complex vitamins often leads to various emotional problems.
Nutritional deficiency can be caused by consumption of
nutrient-deficient processed foods or as a result of improper
absorption (due to food allergies or parasites), poor bowel
transit times or issues with metabolism.
Hyperglycaemia and diabetes are certainly well-recognised
sources of emotional disorders and depression. For example, any
sudden drop in the blood sugar level will lead to lethargy and
depressive tendencies.
It is well researched that artificial food additives and food
chemicals along with too much sugar in the diet can give rise to
hyperactivity, especially for the young. Heavy metal toxicity,
often caused by amalgam fillings, or an over-consumption of swordfish, tuna or
canned foods is another cause of emotional disorder; mercury,
cadmium, and lead toxicity are well documented sources of mental
problems.
Endocrine-related disorders such as hormonal imbalances before
and during the menstrual cycle can often affect the emotions.
Hypothyroidism may also be a cause of lethargy and depression.
All of the above conditions can be corrected through proper
nutrition and adopting your own 'self-help' strategies.
For those
who regularly suffer with depression, a key priority should be to
detox your liver
3-4 times per year and daily cleanse your bowels by drinking
plenty of water and eating lots of high-fibre in your diet. In
addition, you should aim to eat
organically-grown
wholesome
foods rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lentils,
beans, soya, oats, nuts, chicken and oily fish 2-3 times a
week. You also need to greatly reduce your consumption of
convenience and processed foods, sugar, dairy, red meat, alcohol
and coffee.
In
addition, natural
food supplements will certainly help those suffering with depression.
Nature’s Sunshine Products (NSP) is THE global leader in
technology in both the production and testing of herbal and
dietary supplements. Their supplements are guaranteed to be the
purest, the safest and the most potent that you'll find anywhere
in the world.
The
following are highly effective and are also naturally
fast-acting as they are easily absorbed into the body:
Zambroza
– This is an antioxidant-rich juice blend formulated with 10
highly nutritious organic fruit and herbal extracts known to
reduce inflammation and protect the body’s tissues against
oxidative stress (free radical damage) and associated diseases
such as cancer and coronary heart disease. In addition, it
helps the body fight the effects of ageing, promotes energy,
reduces stress levels, helps maintain healthy cell growth and
enhances the immune system.
Super Supplemental Vitamin and
Minerals
– This vitamin complex will augment any diet and is essential if
balanced nutrients are in short supply during periods of
physical stress, depression or convalescence, or indeed if you
consume a diet consisting of mostly processed foods, alcohol,
caffeine, fizzy drinks etc.
Vitamin B Complex
– During times of stress, anxiety and depression, the nervous
system uses extra B-complex vitamins to help relieve the body of
tension. Because it is water soluble, B Vitamins in foods are
often destroyed during cooking, in water, through the
consumption of caffeine and alcohol, and also smoking.
Therefore, if you suffer from bouts of depression, Vitamin B
Complex is essential.
St. John’s Wort
– Often referred to as the ‘Sunshine Herb’, this herb has long
been popular for replenishing the nervous system, especially
when the brain seems depleted or when the nervous system is out
of balance. It contains ‘hypericin’, a natural compound that
has been proven to support the nervous system by minimizing the
effects of minor depression.
Flax Seed Oil
or
Omega 3 EPA –
A daily supply of Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are important
because they are used to form the membranes surrounding each of
our trillions of cells. EFAs are used by the brain, nerves,
arteries, skin and what’s more, they balance your hormones and
boost your immunity! They are termed ‘Essential’ because the
body cannot manufacture them and so has to rely on us to include
them in our daily diets, often in the form of supplementation.
LOCLO
– This supplement must be taken with plenty of water. LOCLO
makes it easy to get essential fibre into the diet which is
required for regular bowel movements. Irregular bowel movements
(ie. non-daily) and constipation which is often due to
dehydration and lack of dietary fibre and exercise, often
results in poor bowel transit times. Consequently, the body
slowly reabsorbs the fluid content in the faeces, along
with many soluble toxins. This re-absorption of toxins
poison every cell and organ of the body and puts a huge amount
of pressure on the liver to work even harder to cleanse the
blood and deactivate those toxins. Poor bowel habits and slow
transit times often lead to headaches, coated tongue, bad
breath, tiredness, mental depression, mood swings and feelings
of mental ‘fuzziness’.
Finally,
it’s important to make simple changes to both your lifestyle and diet.
For example, remember to also take regular physical activity to lose weight
if necessary, and to release those 'feel-good' endorphins.
Try to
minimise your exposure to harmful electric fields
that can
contribute to ill health. Evidence suggests your health
can be compromised, so it’s important not to have
prolonged close proximity exposure to electrical appliances,
cordless phones, mobile phones, PCs, laptops, wireless
appliances and electronic equipment, power lines, telecoms masts
and electrical pylons.
Instead,
why not go for a good long country walk and get outside in the
fresh air and exercise at the same time?
Take up pleasurable, sociable activities to have fun and
improve your self-esteem. You should also try to
avoid
toxic chemicals in your household cleaning and garden products,
avoid smoking, reduce your alcohol intake and avoid the use of
unnecessary drugs whenever possible.
Depression is dramatically on the increase in the UK.
Sufferers often feel lost and alone, unable to face what life
throws at them. Perhaps by being more sensitive, compassionate and caring as
individuals, we can each help those in need of our support and
so create a happier and healthier society.
The nutritional supplement product links stated in this article can only be purchased from this website in UK and in Europe; however all other health product links stated on this page are available worldwide from Natural Body Healing.
The above information should not be treated as a substitute for the
medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care
professional.
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