Depression Treatment Options- How to Treat Depression?

Picincu Andra December 05, 2008

Depression is one of the most disturbing and common diseases occur in people. It occurs to all age groups no matter you are a child, old age, middle aged or adolescent. The ratio of occurrence is 1 out of 5 people. Women are more susceptible to depression than men and there is no specific reason for the occurrence of it. However, it is believed that it has something to do with chemical imbalances in the brain. The most common symptoms are, sadness, worthlessness, hopelessness, helplessness, feelings of guilt, fatigue, sleeping problems, irritation and negative thoughts that might prompt sufferer to attempt suicide. It is a treatable disease and you can fight it away rather easily. More than 80 percent people get recovered. If you want to fight it then you need to follow the proper treatment methods with the help of specialists.

Usually people rely on medication method to fight depression, medicines and drugs are used as antidepressants. These antidepressant medicines involve side effects therefore people still looking for those treatment methods that do not involve side effects. Here are some of the best methods that do not require drugs:

1. Psychotherapy is the best and the most effective ways. Therapies like, cognitive behavior therapy, group therapy or family therapy are the best therapy methods to identify the symptoms of depression that affect sufferer. After accessing the symptoms in sufferer a proper support is provided that a sufferer some what lacks. Another type of psychotherapy called talk therapy is useful in teaching methods to fight depression after identifying the root cause in sufferer. Depressed person finds himself relaxed and more learnt about his life. People still do not consider going to therapist, they feel ashamed or embarrassed, but they need to realize that this is the best way to overcome this obstacle.

2. Daily exercise in the gym or at home will help you in out in bursting all the negative energy in the form of sweatiness. You will find yourself relaxed and refreshed.

3.Meditation. You get positive energy and fresh air with meditation.

4. Go for a movie every weekend to entertain yourself.

5.Become socially active, take part in social activities, try to become volunteer in some of the social activities, doing so will engage you in social activities and there will be no room for depression.

6. Find someone to talk to so that you can share your feelings, by sharing your feelings you will find yourself relaxed and easy.

7.Good sleep also has something to do with it, make sure you get proper sleep.

8. Balanced diet also plays a big role in fighting depression. Make sure you have balanced diet. Do not take excessive amount of alcohol as it contains depressants. Alcohol also causes depression to turn severe.

"One day a monk asked the great master, 'How can we avoid hot and cold?' He said, 'Why don't you go somewhere that is neither hot nor cold?' The monk asked, 'Where is a place that is neither hot nor cold?' The master replied, 'When it is cold, be completely cold, when it is hot, be completely hot.'" (Dogen, Shobogenzo, Vol. 2 Translated by Kosen Nishyama [Sendai, Japan, Dihokkaikaku, 1977, p. 33]

This story illustrates the connection between spirituality and depression. To me, it brings up what was the most difficult aspect of my own former depression, which was my constant attempt to escape the sadness. I believe this is a natural tendency, as very few people want to feel sad, and our entire culture seems based on the "pursuit of happiness." Ironically, what I found was that when I accepted the sad feelings, breathed into them and gave them space in my body and mind, they began to loosen and dissolve.

Also, what I learned was that an event during the day might trigger a surface feeling, anger, or anxiety, mostly. I learned that these were "surface" feelings, often masking deeper, more "difficult" feelings like abandonment, or profound loneliness - something all of us encounter at various times in our lives. Once I began to become familiar with these deeper feelings, usually stemming from incidents in my childhood, but sometimes simply a result of the human experience, they became less intense and stopped interfering with my daily life.

That doesn't mean that the source of my sad feelings dissolved. It was still very necessary for me to explore these feelings, mostly in therapy. What was interesting to me about my therapy was the realization that my feelings were layered and complex - which helped me to develop a curiosity about them. The more I learned about myself, the less afraid of my feelings I became, which encouraged me to explore my feelings more deeply and as a result, develop compassion for myself. Developing compassion for myself was a crucial step in healing my depression.

When having a difficult day, I find it helpful to have some quiet time to meditate on my feelings. I allow my mind to follow the string of events that led to my anger or anxiety and then consider what these events remind me of - usually an event from my childhood - and by focusing on these feelings, I am led to underlying feeling. I breathe in and allow myself to feel the underlying difficult feeling, visually giving myself the "space" to hold it. I spend several minutes doing this until the space that I hold the feeling in feels expansive and the negative feeling has dissolved.

What I've learned is that we all share similar feelings even though our particular experiences are unique. When I am feeling particularly sad or distressed over an event, I consider other human beings who are feeling the same way that I am feeling at this very moment, and this helps me to feel less alone in my feelings.

By focusing on the feelings that unite humanity, I automatically connect more deeply to the human experience, and this feeling of connection helps disengage depression.

If you are looking for information on a natural depression cure then this article will be of interest to you. In this article we will take a brief look at what depression actually is, and we will also look at some of the best natural forms of treatment., with the properties of these natural herbs for treating depression.

Depression is a very common condition. In fact it is estimated that around 19 million Americans are affected by this disorder every year. The symptoms can range from mild to severe and in the worst case scenario they can lead a person to commit suicide. There are many forms of medical treatment available to treat this condition, but many people choose not to use them because of their undesirable side effects which include nausea, headaches and sleep problems to name but a few.

Herbs are becoming a popular alternative to traditional medication because they can relieve the symptoms of depression, and they have fewer side-effects than medication. Let's take a look at some herbs that can treat depression:

St John's wort: this herb has been used for centuries and it has many properties that make it good for treating depression. These include its ability to improve the quality of sleep and relieve sadness and other negative emotions associated with this condition. If this herb is used properly its user will suffer from very few side-effects.

Licorice: when this is taken as recommended by a herbalist it acts as a natural anti-depressant. However there are side-effects and these include headaches, high blood pressure and feeling lethargic. So it is important that the recommended dosage be not exceeded.

Ginkgo balboa: this herb is known for its ability to improve circulation in the brain, it can help to treat some of the mental symptoms of depression as well improve memory. It is commonly use by the elderly for its memory boosting properties and studies backup the effectiveness of this herb.

Kava kava: one of the symptoms that a depressed person may experience is anxiety. If you suffer from this symptom then this herb is highly recommended because it treats this problem. However you should not use this herb if you are driving or operating heavy machinery because one of the side-effects is drowsiness.

Siberian ginseng: the cause of depression is believed to be due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, these chemicals include dopamine, serotonin and epinephrine. Siberian ginseng balances the neurotransmitters in the brain, this basically resolves the chemical imbalance.

The herbs mentioned above are the most common herbs that are used as a natural depression cure. Now that you have read this article you should have an idea of how each of these herbs can benefit someone who suffers from depression. A word of warning, if you decide to use the herbs mentioned above make sure you buy them from a reputable seller because there are many people who sell fake herbs (particularly on the internet) and these can be dangerous.