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Traditional and NonTraditional Treatments for DepressionWhether you've recently been diagnosed with depression, gone thru a traumatic event, or are just feeling down in the dumps, depression is an awful feeling that can take over our lives if we're not immediately implementing a treatment plan that fits us. I of course am not a medical doctor or a psychiatrist, and the most important thing to do when dealing with mental illness is to seek professional help. Antidepressants Didn't Work I am, however, a person who has battled depression and tried many different treatments for depression. In my experienced opinion, natural remedies are among the best treatments for depression. I am not a supporter of anti-depressants, which in my experience is the first treatment recommended by doctors. When dealing with depression, we can feel like we'll never find a way out of it. Especially if we've tried 'everything' and not had any success. In my quest to overcome depression, I've tried several name brand and generic anti-depressant drugs with varying degrees of success and failure. Some helped overcome the daily dark moods I faced. Others sent me into a dark mood that I could not escape. Imagine your worst and darkest thoughts and feelings swirling around your head, then reading the warning label (or Internet sites!) on your anti-depressant and finding out that suicidal and depressed thoughts and feelings could actually INCREASE if you continued the usage of the drug! Finding that your "CURE" can make your symptoms worse, after having your trusted medical professional prescribe it for you is, well…depressing! Track Your Results A plan or a program developed specifically for you is essential in dealing with your own type of depression or particular situation. Here's what worked for me: First thing, track your mood. In order to see what works and what doesn't work you have to track your results. Take note of every variable during a depressed mood. This in itself can become a key player in your treatments for depression. What did you eat? What activity were you doing? What were you thinking about prior to feeling depressed? How many hours of sleep did you get? You want to determine if there are certain foods, activities, thoughts, etc. that are increasing your low moods. Why? Because you want to find out what will decrease your low moods and ultimately increase your happy moods! Tracking my mood is what helped me the most and inspired ideas for treatments for depression. I was able to see if I didn't get enough sleep, I was more likely to feel depressed or irritable the following day. I was able to learn about diet and depression, and exercise and mental health. I could track when I took certain supplements if I felt better. It inspired research of fish oil and depression, and St. Johns Wort as alternative treatments for depression. Controlling Your ThoughtsPerhaps the most important thing I learned, although it seems obvious now, was how important it is to control your thoughts. Someone described it to me once as "planting a seed". That if you have 1 negative thought you're planting a seed, then its up to you if you continue to water that seed and fertilize that seed, and if you do then it will continue to grow. Controlling my thoughts was the most important thing I learned to do and continue to do now, to battle depressed moods. For me, this was the most effective of my treatments for depression. How do seeds get planted? You can plant a seed yourself by thinking about something in a negative way, or someone else can plant a seed by vocalizing their negative thoughts. It becomes imperative if you are susceptible to depression, to surround yourself with positive people. Positive seeds can get planted and watered as well. Its best to listen to positivity, read positivity, and think positivity at all times. When dealing with depression, thinking positively can be the most difficult. That's why its so important to surround yourself with positivity to influence your positive thinking!
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