Depression is a serious condition affecting millions of people. Prozak and other drugs in the same class have been used by some 40 million people world wide. That represents earnings of tens of billions of dollars for producer Eli Lilly.
Now, there is evidence that these drugs don’t work. According to a paper published in the journal PLoS (Public Library of Science) Medicine, people taking a placebo were as likely to improve as those taking the drug.
The papers authors, professor Irving Kirsch from the department of psychology at Hull University and colleagues in the US and Canada show that only the most severely depressed patients benefit.
The information was obtained from the Food and Drug Administration from a request for the full data under freedom of information rules. “Given these results, there seems little reason to prescribe antidepressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients, unless alternative treatments have failed,” says Kirsch. “This study raises serious issues that need to be addressed surrounding drug licensing and how drug trial data is reported.”
Kirsch also said, “using complete data sets (including unpublished data) and a substantially larger data set of this type than has been previously reported, we find the overall effect of new-generation antidepressant medication is below recommended criteria for clinical significance.”
Depression Can be Treated Naturally
The first treatment I learned for depression was adrenal support. It always worked too. Later I met someone who treated the liver to alleviate depression with good results. And, almost every client I have ever see needs help with the adrenals, and the liver.
However, as the years have gone by, I have learned quite a bit more about the biochemistry of conditions such as depression, panic attacks, manic/depression, various forms of dementia including Alzheimer’s and more. Much of it does have to do with the adrenals and liver, but the real complications happen when brain chemistry gets out of balance.
Now I look to brain chemistry early on, as this indicates many things especially the main nutrients that the whole body needs. The brain is the last place that gets scrimped on nutrient wise, so treating a deficiency here will often help other physiological issues.
Natural Treatments for Depression
The Adrenal Brain Chemistry Link
Now, there are many treatments for depression. Adrenals weakened by a poor diet, emotional stressors, toxins or a combination are the main cause of depression in most cases.
The adrenals link with the brain through the hypothalamus which, among other things, processes emotions. Intense emotions (and excess carbohydrates) cause the adrenals to pump out more stress hormones which can further affect the adrenals and feed into the cycle.
The liver breaks down stress hormones well as excess brain chemicals. Excess of these substances can contribute to many emotional conditions. Supporting the liver in this process often helps lift depression.
Fight Flight
This is an instinctual response to a threat on our physical safety. The ego’s job is to protect the body/mind, so everything gets involved when there is a flight/flight reaction.
The body gets ready to run or fight by shutting down all non-essential systems: the immune system, sex center, digestion, cellular repair. Not to mention that the muscles tense up, the spine compresses in the neck (to be able to take a blow), the spine torque’s, and other physical responses our body has to threat. And, the emotional body is affected if this goes on for very long.
There is an Applied Kinesiology technique that clears emotional components that get stuck in the body. These issues can be from any time of life, they can be minor and there are instances where other peoples emotions overwhelmed the nervous system.
Other Natural Depression Treatments
Fish oils have been shown in clinical trials to reduce depression. Most people, especially if they don’t eat fish, need a large dose for one to three months to start. From five to six thousand mg. twice a day to start, then reduce to one or two mg. twice a day. The ones that have an enteric coating are best.
Exercise is another treatment for depression that has good results. Walking is one of the best exercises available. The hard part is getting yourself to start.
Walking feels so good that after ten or fifteen minutes you won’t remember what the problem was.
The supplement SAM-E in fairly large doses, 800 mg per day, can have a great effect in many cases. I have a psychiatrist friend who refuses to give her clients antidepressants until they try SAM-E first. The greatest drawback is that it is expensive at this dosage.
More serious conditions are not listed here as they are rare, and most are beyond natural healing techniques.
This page is for educational purposes only. The information provided in not intended for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. If you have, or suspect you have a health problem, you should consult your health care provider.
This news is not surprising. But the pharmaceutical companies have a lot of power and any organized attempt to change the routine prescription of these drugs will meet with heavy resistance. That means insurance coverage for alternative techniques or supplementation or encouraging health practitioners to consider protocols with fewer side effects. In fact, I’ll bet this study has been criticized publicly or criticisms by scholars who are paid by the drug companies are in in the works now. Thus, it is up to the individual to be responsible for his or her own health care.
I have found that any natural treatment is compromised if the body is still being mistreated with heavy caffeine, sugar or nicotine. These will interfere with the treatment nudging the body or mind to repair itself.
You are so right Mary, thanks for pointing this out.
A diet filled with processed foods is the major source of most of our modern ills today. And, any toxins such as nicotine also contribute significantly.