You may be one of the millions of people out there suffering from depression. It’s one of the most widespread mental health issues in the modern world, yet it’s poorly understood, even by those who suffer from it. Although there are pharmacological solutions to treat depression, you don’t have to head straight for antidepressants in order to get a handle on your depression. Here are some all-natural solutions that may help you feel better.
Reversing Depression Without Antidepressants
Regular exercise can be a powerful weapon against depression. It can be difficult to summon the motivation to start working out if you don’t already do so, especially if you frequently feel depressed, but the benefits make it worth the effort. Besides making you healthier and stronger, exercise improves your mental faculties and gives you a sense of control. This feeling of self-determination can help you overcome the sort of powerlessness that is a major factor in depression.
Your diet also plays a surprisingly large role in your mental health. An unbalanced diet risks more than just your physical well-being; it can inhibit your brain function and your mood as well. While a complete rundown on healthy eating is beyond the scope of this article, make an effort to eat healthy, nutritious, well-balanced meals. Also, take care with the scheduling of your meals: Going too long without food has a negative impact on your mental state. Make sure that you’re eating regularly (and healthily!) throughout the day.
Some parts of your diet deserve special mention if you want to deal with depression. Stimulants and antidepressants are both bad for your mental state, especially if you over-indulge. The most important ones to look out for are alcohol and caffeine. Alcohol is frequently used to self-medicate for depression, but it can’t provide any real help. Caffeine has a roughly similar effect when you drink too much of it in order to artificially elevate your mood. Try cutting your intake of these kinds of masking agents.
Vitamin B12: Vital Nutrient for Good Health
When it comes to dietary supplements, B vitamins are particularly noteworthy in the struggle against depression. These vitamins have some of the most subtle yet important effects in the whole range of vitamins. “Vitamin B” actually includes eight different nutrients, all of which are vital to physical and mental health. Take a good vitamin B “complex” supplement that provides plenty of all eight. You may also want to add a B12 supplement – B12 has been noted as particularly important for mental health.
For an antidepressants weapon that’s both all-natural and effective, try taking St. John’s wort. The effectiveness of this herbal extract has been noted in many different natural medicine traditions, and it has been prescribed for depression for centuries. In the modern world, clinical testing has verified that St. John’s wort has a genuine positive impact in the treatment of depression, even though its mechanism isn’t well understood. Since St. John’s wort is a very mild supplement, it makes a low-risk depression treatment for you to try.
Depression comes in many forms and in many different levels of intensity. Making the sorts of alterations suggested in this article may provide relief for mild, moderate, or even severe depression. Keep in mind that facing depression alone is not always effective, though. If you continue to have problems with depression after trying some of the suggestions above, talk to a medical professional to get further advice.