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Alternative Medicine For Depression Can Make a Difference

  • Posted on July 1, 2009 at 7:36 pm

It is time to get serious about ridding your life of depression symptoms by looking toward alternative medicine for depression in order to get your life back. Do you realize the effect that depression has on your health? Cancers, migraines, high blood pressure, and heart disease are just a minimal list of the possibilities that can occur when one is depressed.

Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, consistent worry, and doom can drive you to the point of feeling like there is no way out. When you seek help for your symptoms, you need to know that there is alternative depression medication that can be used as a form of treatment for those devastating symptoms.

Alternative medicine for depression is preferred because of lack of side effects along with higher success rates for getting rid of depression symptoms. The ability to return to normal life is easy when one consumes ongoing alternative depression medications. Prescription medications just impose too much of a health risk to be trusted as a reliable source of treatment. There are too many things that can go wrong, and the horror stories associated with prescription medications are heard of more often than not.

Some of the alternative medicine for depression that is available include St. John’s Wort and vitamin B-complex. You can find St. John’s Wort at almost any over-the-counter pharmacy. Prices usually range from $5.00 to $30.00 depending on how many pills are in a bottle, and how many milligrams they are.

St. John’s Wort has been proven to work effectively to elevate the bio-chemicals in the brain, serotonin, and dopamine. Anyone taking St. John’s Wort needs to check in with their physician first before mixing it with other prescription medications in order to avoid possible complications.

Vitamin B-complex can also be purchased for an affordable price at any over-the-counter pharmacy. If you prefer not to take vitamin B in pill form, then you will need to make sure that you obtain a plentiful amount by consuming a variety of food sources such as milk, eggs, nuts, green leafy vegetables, lean meats, and fruits.

Vitamin B-complex can be looked at as an alternative medicine for depression because it increases energy, metabolism, and promotes an overall healthy nervous system. Vitamin B-complex boosts mood and promotes restful sleep, which is a major component in fighting depression. When used in combination with St. John’s Wort, it is twice as effective at being an effective alternative depression medication.

But inevitably, the real cure lies in you. If you are ready to start getting serious about living a fulfilling life that is composed of happy moments instead of ones that are filled with gloom and ongoing sadness, then you will ultimately do something about it. We make the final decision as to whether or not we will be happy. The search for help is not out of reach, and it begins with making the decision to opt for alternative medicine for depression to enhance and change your life for the better.

Diana is a Natural Health Consultant and is currently taking classes to earn a certificate in herbalism. Her website, Natural Health and Herbal Remedies, offers the knowledge, insights and experiences she has gained from her journey into the world of natural health and her quest to share it with others. Get your Free Ebook about natural remedies for anxiety and depression.

Article Source: Alternative Medicine For Depression Can Make a Difference

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Atypical Depression

  • Posted on July 1, 2009 at 7:36 pm

Atypical depression, a subtype of major depression, is the most common form of depression today. People who suffer atypical depression exhibit all the normal symptoms of depression but they also react to external positive experiences in a positive way. Atypical depression sufferers respond to their environment, enjoying the company of friends but slipping back into deep depression when alone or faced with a stressful situation. It is this aspect of atypical depression that differentiates it from melancholic depression in which external positive experiences still result in depressed feelings.

People who suffer from atypical depression also exhibit other symptoms that aren’t normally associated with “normal” depression including:

• Increase in appetite with a weight gain of ten or more pounds.
• Hypersomnia -over sleeping of more than 10 hours per day.
• Leaden paralysis of the arms and legs
• Long term pattern of sensitivity to rejection in personal situations that causes social or work related withdrawal.

In 1998 Dr. Andrew A. Nierenberg, associate director of the depression clinical and research program at Massachusetts General Hospital, published a study that found 42% of participants suffered from atypical depression, 12% had melancholic depression, 14% had both depression subtypes and the remaining did not suffer from depression.

Studies have also found that atypical depression begins earlier in a person’s life than other forms of depression with most sufferers beginning to show symptoms in their teenage years. Those who suffer from atypical depression are also at greater risk of suffering from other mental disorders such as social phobias, avoidant personality disorder or body dysmorphic disorder. Atypical depression is more prevalent in females than males as well, with nearly 70% of it’s sufferers being women.

Treating atypical depression is an ongoing process. Research has shown that MAOIs such as Nardil or Parnate work reasonably well as do the newer SSRI medications (Lexapro, Prozac, Zoloft). Most patients prefer the SSRIs because they do not exhibit the unpleasant side affects of the MAOIs.

It is also important that if you or someone you know suffers from atypical depression that you or they seek psychiatric help. Atypical depression is not easy to diagnose the treatment choices can vary from patient to patient. A general care practitioner does not have the expertise to differentiate between the subtypes of depression and may not know the best course of treatment for their patient.

Andrew Bicknell is a writer and Webmaster of Depression and You.com. Visit his website for more information about Atypical Depression and other depression disorders.

Article Source: Atypical Depression

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