Sad Monster

Dealing with Depression as a Christian can be confusing. 

So many Christians will preach that if you just have strong enough faith, that it will take away your sadness and it can really hurt your relationship with God when prayer doesn't always take away the tears and/or tension. 

You can trust God and take care of yourself!!! 

You don't have to be suicidal or unwilling to get out of bed to have depression. It can be a lot more subtle.  It can just sap the enjoyment out of everything in your life. 

• You get up in the morning
• Do whatever you need to do
• Take good care of your family
• Go to bed 

and feel "disconnected" from the world and/or you can find yourself constantly tense or angry and you don't know why. 

It's nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, if you ignore it, you are doing not only an injustice to yourself, but also your family, because they deserve the best "you". 

Am I saying that you should run to your doctor and load yourself up with pharmaceuticals? 

No, of course not. 

In an act of transparency, I will say that I am medicated for anxiety/depression. (please try not to judge) BUT I tried everything else natural first, before I had to face facts and realize that I had a "mental cold" and I needed a little help.

Some natural treatments to try: 

  

"Alternative Treatments for Depression

Alternative treatments for depression rely on the fact that depression, at heart, is a biochemical illness. Whether the main triggers are physical or emotional, these triggers then induce a broad range of neurochemical changes that, in turn, leads to the feelings of depression and to the physical and psychological disruptions that being depressed then causes.

Once one thinks about the biochemistry it should not be surprising that alternative treatments for depression often play an important role. Almost every biochemical in our body is either directly derived from a biochemical found in food, or else is the product of the body’s processing of such foodstuff. Especially important are the co-factors or small molecules that help our metabolic enzymes assume their proper shape, so that enzymes can make our metabolic pathways do their work. In almost every case these enzyme enabling co-factors are vitamins and minerals such as B vitamins, magnesium, and selenium. The following tables list selected natural treatments for depression that have good scientific support for a beneficial role for treating depression.

Alternative Treatments for Depression: Nutrients and Herbs

Nutrients and Herbs	Presumed Mechanism of Action
Inositol	Intracellular Second Mechanism
S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAMe)	Improves Methylation Pathways
Fish Oil	Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acid
Tyrosine	Amino Acid, body uses to make Norepinephrine and Dopamine
Eliminate Wheat Gluten	May apply if blood antibody test is abnormal
Anti-Hypoglycemia Style Diet	Mood Stabilizing Effect
Folic Acid	Improves Methylation Pathways
Vitamin B12	Improves Methylation Pathways
Tryptophan	Amino Acid, body uses to make Serotonin
L-Carnitine	Improves mitochondrial energy metabolism
Thiamine (Vitamin B1)	May help energy pathways
“Allergy” Elimination Diet	May be helpful for some

See also: Anxiety and Depression Treatments | Metabolic Systems|Mood References| back to top

Alternative Treatments for Depression: Herbs and Hormones

Herbs and Hormones	Presumed Mechanism of Action
St. John’s Wort	Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor
Estrogen	Often helps in perimenopause; usually does not help during menopause
Testosterone	Possibly helpful for both men and women
Thyroid, especially T3 form	Double Blind Studies Show Improvement even if thyroid blood tests are normal
DHEA	Adrenal gland hormone
Appropriately paced exercise conditioning	Many studies show benefit

Other Natural Depression Treatments

If you are vulnerable to depression due to biochemical, psychological, medicine side-effects, or other factors, this vulnerability will tend to increase if you also have suboptimal function of one or more of your body’s functional physiological symptoms. For example, we will want to repair any nutritional deficiencies and metabolic imbalances we can identify whether or not that particular nutrient or metabolic pathway has been specifically studied as a treatment for depression.

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Natural Anxiety Treatments

Anxiety, feeling tense or nervous is not the same thing as depression, although they often occur together. Many but not all of the alternative treatments for depression also improve anxiety, but others do not. The following natural anxiety treatments that have some scientific studies supporting their use:

• Magnesium
• Inositol
• Valerian Root
• Kava Herb
• Rhodiola Herb
• Appropriate Exercise (not too much, not too little)
• Hypoglycemia Diet"

(http://www.drpodell.org/alternative_treatments_for_depression.shtml)

ESSENTIAL OIL BLENDS:

http://www.aromaweb.com/recipes/depression.asp

http://www.aromaweb.com/recipes/anxiety.asp

Try natural remedies first (always combined with moderate exercise). Give them a couple months to work. If you get worse, or don't improve don't be afraid to temporarily get some medical help.