Hi everyone!  Did anyone see tonights show on PBS that dealt with depression?  It was profound in my book.  I realized that we havnt discussed this issue much on this sight but I know FOR CERTAIN that many with health issues, or who are searching to feel better are dealing with serious clinical depression and I would like to open the discussion up.  Some things that come to my mind are:  medications,  getting off of meds, therapy, alternative treatments, living with a depressed person, different types of depression, coping strategies, learned depression, children and depression, suicidal tendencies, diet and depression, success storied in dealing with depression.  Any takers?  Oh, and if you can find the special I suggest watching it.  Smile everyone!

I am definitely interested in diet, exercise and depression. Clinical depression runs in my family, I think I may have it to a degree.... but I am not interested in meds. I know when I eat well and exercise daily, I do much better and feel more in tune with myself. I am curious if certain foods can aggravate/alleviate depression?
Thanks for opeing up the discussion Manya!
Peace,
Cassi

Here's an interesting link to an interview article with Dr. Mark Hyman. He recommends magnesium. http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/2008/03/mark-hyman-md-putting-magnesium-back-in-your-life/

Depression is often the first sign of imbalance.  Traditional Chinese medicine suggests that the first place to look for the cause of this sort of imbalance is the metabolism.
I recommend the superhero plan to those patients with emotional symptoms. It is well balanced and often results in quick improvements. Regular daily exercise is also very helpful.

one thing I have seen a lot in the teaching clinic I work in is a number of women whose major complaint is depression.....and they are one oral contraceptives.  Its actually contraindicated to take the Pill if you are suffering from depression - the synthetic progesterone they use in both the combined and mini-pill acts via the triggering of a specific enzyme to lower the levels of serotonin in the brain - so if you already have an issue with low serotonin, this is a big problem!  and if you have normal levels.....lets just say I would not want to be messing around with anything that would affect the levels of the neurotransmitter in me that kept me calm, happy and helped me sleep!

regarding the food - a big culprit is sugar!  that stuff really is evil.....thats why it tastes so good!

The special showcased people with serious depression and how it affects their life and their loved ones life.  They ranged from a very sad 7 yr old boy to every other age group.  Some of these people couldnt work, they were overweight from meds, or just appeared to be in a stupor.  The saddest thing to me was that when they do find a drug/drugs that work it is only for awhile, maybe even a couple of years, and then they stop working and as they put it the doctor closes his eyes and points to another med, because its anyone's guess what to do next, so now the patient is going off and on different drugs with sided effects and withdrawal symptoms.  It was so sad.  I could relate because I have depression in my family and it made me more determined to approach these loved ones more with the mindset that they have an illness and need the support of someone with just that.  

I have had a life long, serious, chronic depression, as well as an anxiety disorder PTSD.  I have self-medicated in my younger years, and that is soooo not helpful either.  So now I take the meds, and switch as necessary when tolerances are reached.  I know I'm a "lifer" and it absolutely terrifies me to think back to when I didn't have that control over my emotions.  The emotions and lack of anything even remotely resembling normal thought processes were killing me, or maybe a better way to put it is I was killing me, slowly but very surely.  So I take the meds, eat Vegan (most days), exercise when I can, and try to live as kind a life as possible.  While I wish I didn't have to put the extra chemicals in my body, I'm damn glad they were invented and are actually inexpensive.  If I were younger I think I might try to go back to just diet and exercise, but I am going through reverse puberty right now and don't want to rock that particular boat anymore than I have to.  LOL.  And yes, one smile actually can create another so I do try to remember to smile that little half Buddha type smile.  It lifts my face and my spirits.

Okay... after thinking about this subject some more, I realized I probably sounded like a one-woman ad campaign for SSRI's and that wasn't my intention.  What I was trying to get across is that I have an actual mental illness, and that these medications probably saved my life.  HOWEVER, that being said I also wanted to point out that I do think these meds are probably holding me back from that "pink cloud" lightness of being that a lot of you are getting from going vegan and super hero.  It is definately a trade off, and I wish I could do things differently.  But for now I'll take being semi-content and relatively normal, plus knowing I'm eating the best I can to help both body and soul (and protest corporate farming).

I was diagnosed with hypothyroid a few years ago. My main symptom was depression. I was told by the doc that diagnosed me that they don't know what causes it. That your thyroid just stops working and that i would have to be on meds for the rest of my life. I haven't taken my meds for over a year now and my depression is completely gone. I have never felt better than i do now. I eat a high percentage of superhero food. As far as I'm concerned i cured myself. 

Dear Diane,Thank you for your post.  Thank you for recognizing that YOU need these meds and congratulations for working hard to get to where you are.  I am absolutely a proponent for natural healing , especially diet....plant based diet, however, I also know that some people really need what modern medicine has to offer and I love your joint and balanced approach and I think you have a great attitude.  I have tried a few antidepressants and did find one that works for me.  I have a family member with severe depression, she could have been one of the folks on the PBS special.  I feel that I too have always been depressed but I always blamed it on my circumstances and I also fought the medication path because I wanted to do it naturally.  But my lifestyle, my problems (spare you the details) really made it hard to be a true superhero.  If someone is going to go natural they darn well better be prepared to stay off ALL sugar, caffeine, white flour, alcohol, any animal products, chemicals, pesticides, including cosmetics, household cleaners etc......I just couldnt do it to the point of NOT needing anything and one day it hit me that my kids were going to grow up with a depressed mom and I made a decision to get some help.  Fast forward, I am now eating better than I have in years and am somewhat healing from the trauma in my life and I think someday I may want to try to get off medication, but in the meantime I share your attitude.  Keep smilin!

Hi guys,

We all share the goal of finding out what tools will add to the quality of our lives.  Please resist judgements if those tools are not considered groovy enough, or if they violate some poorly defined principle.

Using medication is a personal decision that one makes with the help of their physician. We all want to see the use of these medications where appropriate and will continue to try to find every other tool that makes us whole.  That doesn't mean that those who use medicines should judge themselves harshly, that never helps. It means that we will all try to find natural solutions to the extent that they are possible.

For those that wish to try, use caution when discontinuing anti-depressant medications, the rebound can be quite severe. 
Justin

I just wanted to be clear that I was talking about going off of my thyroid meds (synthroid) not anti depressants. Obviously my depression was a result of an imbalance of lifestyle, not mental illness.

Hello friends!  Well, I have struggled with depression my whole life, and am currently on day one of no meds, after weaning off of them for, oh, over three months now.  It's really difficult at times.  When I'm eating REALLY cleanly, it's much better, but sometimes little things set me off.  At the same time, without my meds I can see the negative results from processed, chemical-laden foods much more strongly.
Right now, I'll be honest, it's not that great, BUT it is my time of the month and I have difficulty with depression around that time, meds or no meds, and I'm choosing to believe that tomorrow and the next day will be better.
@Cassi, just from personal experience I'd say a huge YES!  Aggravate: Sugar's an obvious one, as is dairy (though I'm vegan now, not vegetarian)...let's see....processed things--even whole grains products, if they're not sprouted, affect me.  Soy products (but I don't blame it on soy--I blame it on the processing thing).  I think the thing to remember is that emotions are so linked to your physical state, and especially with depression, I can feel my BODY become depressed when my mind is really down too.  Interesting.
What helps?  So far it's amazing, something as simple as vegetables and brown rice.  Oils tend to disagree with me, but wow, give me a bowl of brown rice with maybe a bit of soy sauce...it's insane the difference.
I will say to anyone thinking about going off of them, Justin has a point: eat as superhero as possible.  I'm vegan, not superhero, but at this point am seriously considering eating as superhero as I can afford (probably no umeboshi plums or things of that nature--they're way too expensive, but grains and vegs I can do!) because even after a bowl of brown rice I feel much calmer, more level-headed and at peace.  If anyone wants to talk more to me about my experience with the whole process, feel free to ask!

Hi everyone,
I've been on anti-depressants for about 10 months now and I'm still trying to find a doasge that works for me - just last week my GP put my dosage up by another 10mgs. My first thought is to be upset that I'm having to take a higher and higher dosage of chemicals, just to get through the day.
However, a thought occured to me... When I'm depressed, everyday life is a struggle because I have absolutely no motivation to do anything. Making sure I eat the right foods is difficult enough, let alone eating vegan. So I'm thinking, if I find the right dosage for me, I'll have the motivation to really start looking after myself, and it's only when I start looking after myself (in terms of what I do and do not put into my body) that I can ever consider a life without the meds.

I've suffered from depression since I was a teenager (I'm now 25) and I figure I might need to take the meds in order for me to find the motivation to beat depression naturally.

I'm not sure if that makes any sense whatsoever but I know what I mean...I think! ;-)

-Julia

Julia...your point is exactly what we are trying to get across......we all need to do what we as individuals need to do.  No one in this community wants to encourage or discourage something as personal as the choice to take anti ds.  I hope you continue to feel better and better!  To anyone considering going off meds...as already stated....be very careful.  This applies to thyroid meds too. ( I hope you dont feel attacked Suzy). Somewhere I posted about hypothyroidism and meds. Maybe search it?