Diet As Depression Treatment
Our first medication-free depression treatment is about changing your diet.
In 2017, Esther Vermeulen and her colleagues found that people who eat a lot of red meat, added sugars, high-fat dairy products, fried foods and creamy sauces experience more depressive symptoms and depressed moods than others. 4969 people participated in the HELIUS study. This means that sugar and fat equals low mood. It also means that a meal at our nearest fast food restaurant is not as cheap and convenient as it seems. We eventually pay for it with our mental health.
You get the point. Its a good idea to stay away from too much fat and sugar when depressed. But what foods will act as a depression treatment?
Mindfulness Meditation And Depressive Thoughts
Meditation is so effective against depression partly because mindfulness empowers you to handle the painful negative thoughts depression can bring. If you are someone who struggles to manage negative intrusive thoughts, check out the video below. The first shows how a negative thought can turn into a full blown depressive spiral. The second video shows how to stop this spiral at an early stage, using only mindfulness techniques.
Lifestyle Changes To Treat Depression
Exercise.Regular exercise can be as effective at treating depression as medication. Not only does exercise boost serotonin, endorphins, and other feel-good brain chemicals, it triggers the growth of new brain cells and connections, just like antidepressants do. Best of all, you dont have to train for a marathon in order to reap the benefits. Even a half-hour daily walk can make a big difference. For maximum results, aim for 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic activity on most days.
Social support. Strong social networks reduce isolation, a key risk factor for depression. Keep in regular contact with friends and family, or consider joining a class or group. Volunteering is a wonderful way to get social support and help others while also helping yourself.
Nutrition. Eating well is important for both your physical and mental health. Eating small, well-balanced meals throughout the day will help you keep your energy up and minimize mood swings. While you may be drawn to sugary foods for the quick boost they provide, complex carbohydrates are a better choice. Theyll get you going without the all-too-soon sugar crash.
Sleep. Sleep has a strong effect on mood. When you dont get enough sleep, your depression symptoms will be worse. Sleep deprivation exacerbates irritability, moodiness, sadness, and fatigue. Make sure youre getting enough sleep each night. Very few people do well on less than seven hours a night. Aim for somewhere between seven to nine hours each night.
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What Treatments Are There For Depression
There are various treatments that have been found to help with depression. This page covers:
There is also information that you may find useful if a treatment isn’t helping you to feel better.
Remember: you have a right to be involved in your treatment.
The sort of treatment you’re offered for depression will depend on how much your symptoms are affecting you, and it should take into account your personal preference for what sort of treatment you find helps you.
See our pages on seeking help for a mental health problem for more information on speaking to your doctor and having your voice heard.
“I really struggled with the SSRIs, even though my GP told me that was the only course of action. They made me feel worse than I did to start with, then incredibly tired. I fought for a referral for CBT and in the end it saved me.”
Electroconvulsive Therapy May Help Treatment
When psychotherapy and medications dont relieve symptoms of depression, or there is a high risk of suicide, doctors may turn to electroconvulsive therapy . Once called electroshock therapy, ECT has come a very long way since it was first used in the 1940s. According to Mayo Clinic experts, its safe, though there is the potential for side effects such as memory loss that may or may not be temporary, depending on the person.
ECT passes an electrical current through the brain while the person is under general anesthesia, causing a brief, controlled seizure that affects neurons and brain chemistry. Typically the person wakes up 5 or 10 minutes afterward and is ready to resume normal activities in about an hour, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
That said, not everyone reacts the same way to ECT, notes Elizabeth Wassenaar, MD, regional medical director of the Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center in Denver. She explains that people cannot drive the day they receive treatment, and some people find they cannot work the next day.
ECT is initially administered three times a week for an average of three to five weeks, says Dr. Wassenaar. After this initial series, ECT treatments are typically given less frequently twice a week, once a week, every other week, or even less often explains Wassenaar. She adds that ECT is often covered by insurance.
In addition to memory loss, temporary side effects of ECT may include the following:
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What If I Don’t Feel Better
Different things work for different people, so if a particular medication or talking therapy doesn’t work for you, your doctor should offer an alternative.
It’s important to remember that recovery is a journey, and it won’t always be straightforward. You might find it more helpful to focus on learning more about yourself and developing ways to cope, rather than trying to get rid of every symptom of your depression.
What Is Major Depressive Disorder
Major depressive disorder is a serious mental illness that affects how people feel, think, and go about their everyday tasks. The condition can also impact a persons sleep habits, appetite, and ability to enjoy life.
Major depressive disorder isnt something that eventually passes.
While most people feel sad at times in their lives, major depression is when a person is in a depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks. Some people feel depressed without knowing why. The onset can happen at any age, but usually begins in adulthood. People may only have one depressive episode, but most have multiple episodes over time.
While the exact causes of major depression are unknown, some risk factors include a family history of depression and significant life events such as trauma, times of high stress, loss of a job or relationship, or the death of a loved one. People with a serious medical illness such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or Parkinsons disease, may be at an increased risk of developing major depression.
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Psychotherapy For Depression Treatment
If there is no underlying medical cause for your symptoms of depression, talk therapy can be an extremely effective treatment. What you learn in therapy gives you skills and insight to feel better and help prevent depression from coming back.
There are many types of therapy available. Three of the more common methods used in depression treatment include cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. Often, a blended approach is used.
Some types of therapy teach you practical techniques on how to reframe negative thinking and employ behavioral skills in combating depression. Therapy can also help you work through the root of your depression, helping you understand why you feel a certain way, what your triggers are for depression, and what you can do to stay healthy.
How Can We Keep Our Stone Age Brain Happy
Brains can change, and we have the capacity to change them. The key is finding the most effective ways to do that. Enter neuroscience. The chemistry of our brain is very responsive to what we do for better or worse. Depending on the choices we make, we can deplete it or enrich it.
In preliminary clinical trials comparing the effect of lifestyle changes against antidepressants, researchers found that lifestyle choices brought about a reduction in depressive symptoms almost three times that experienced by the antidepressant group. There are six primary lifestyle factors that have been proven to protect the brain against depression and reduce depressive symptoms and Ilardi details them in his book, The Depression Cure. Interestingly, these lifestyle factors are remarkably close to the way we would have been doing things had we been living in the Stone Age.
Pillow time. Blissful, restful abundant pillow time.
Yes. I know you know this one, but despite knowing how important sleep is, so many of us remain chronically sleep-starved. We need at least eight hours as eight hours every single day. Sleep is like a superpower. It really is that good and that important to mood and mental health.
Disrupted sleep is one of the most potent triggers of depression, and theres evidence that most episodes of mood disorder are preceded by at least several weeks of sub-par slumber. -Dr Stephen Ilardi
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Diagnosing And Treating Depression
There’s no physical test for depression.
If you experience depression symptoms most of the day, every day, for more than two weeks, you should visit your GP. This is especially important if:
- you have symptoms of depression that aren’t getting any better
- you have thoughts of self-harm or suicide
- your work, relationships with friends and family, or interests are affected by your mood
It can be hard for people with depression to imagine that anything can help them but the sooner you seek help, the sooner the symptoms start to get better.
Your GP may examine you and perform blood or urine tests to make sure there isn’t another condition causing your depression symptoms, like an underactive thyroid.
When you see your GP, they’ll try to find out if you have depression by asking you questions. These are likely to be about your health, how you’re feeling, and how that is affecting you mentally and physically.
Telling your doctor your symptoms and the affect they are having on you will help your GP to tell if you have depression, and how severe the condition is. It’s important to be as open as possible.
Your conversation with your GP will be confidential. This rule can only be broken if your GP thinks there is a significant risk of harm to you or others, and that telling a family member or carer would make that risk lower.
Dont Try To Avoid Stress
It may sound strange but therein lies the solution. It is pointless to think like I wont take stress. On the contrary, we should try to cope with more stress. Without this, you will not be able to overcome your weaknesses. By this, we do not mean that you start inviting challenges, but just as you strengthen your body by lifting heavy weights in the gym, in the same way, by choosing a meaningful goal in life, face whatever challenges come along the way.
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Small Steps Big Impact
If a person feels sustained, intense, feelings of sadness or loss of interest in activities, they may have clinical depression. People also refer to this condition as major depressive disorder.
However, there are small steps you can take to help you gain more agency in your life and improve your sense of well-being.
Read on to learn how to incorporate these strategies in a way that makes sense for you.
Create A Wellness Toolbox
A wellness toolbox is a set of tools that you can use to help soothe yourself when you are feeling down. The tools you find most helpful might not work for someone else so its important to carefully consider what things can help you feel your best. Cuddling your pet, listening to your favorite music, taking a warm bath, or reading a good book are just a few tools you might find helpful. Create a list of the activities you might try when youre feeling bad. Choose an activity to try when youre having a particularly rough time.
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Mild To Moderate Depression
If you have mild to moderate depression that is not improving, or moderate depression, you may find a talking therapy helpful.
There are different types of talking therapies for depression, including cognitive behavioural therapy and counselling.
A GP can refer you for talking treatment, or you can refer yourself directly to an NHS psychological therapies service without a referral from a GP.
If you have moderate to severe depression, the following treatments may be recommended.
Effects Of Stress On Depression
Stress can make you feel less able to maintain positive habits or coping strategies, which are important to managing depression. This can make symptoms of depression feel more intense. Interrupting a healthy routine can result in negative coping strategies, such as drinking or withdrawing from social relationships. These actions can result in further stress, which can then make depression symptoms worse.
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Practice These Coping Skills Every Day
I recommend doing many if not all of the following coping skills and techniques once a day when experiencing depression. Its important to know you probably wont be motivated to do any of them at first because depression frequently saps motivation. In other words, know that its normal to feel unmotivated until youre halfway done.
The patients I work with who frequently practice these coping skills get better.The seven techniques can be memorized with the acronym MY PEERS.
1. Meaning: Find small ways to be of service to others.
Find personal meaning by serving something larger than yourself. Remember service doesnt have to be big to count. Consider this, Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued it must ensue as the unintended side effect of ones personal dedication to a course greater than oneself. Viktor E. Frankl, Mans Search for Meaning
2. Your goals: Find workable goals that give you a sense of accomplishment.
Most people feel guilty when talking about goals because they set unreasonable or unworkable goals. A goal is workable if its:
If something goes wrong with your goal, adopt a what can I learn from this? attitude . Also, be careful when comparing your progress with others. We usually compare our biggest weakness with another persons biggest strength. This is unfair .
3. Pleasant Events: Schedule pleasant activities or events.
4. Engagement: Stay in the present.
5. Exercise: And, eat right too.
Try To Eat A Healthy Diet
Some people don’t feel like eating when they’re depressed and are at risk of becoming underweight. Others find comfort in food and can put on excess weight.
Antidepressants can also affect your appetite.
If you’re concerned about weight loss, weight gain or how antidepressants are affecting your appetite, talk to your GP.
See tips on how to eat more healthily.
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Helping A Suicidal Friend Or Relative
If you see any of the above warning signs:
- get professional help for the person
- let them know they’re not alone and that you care about them
- offer your support in finding other solutions to their problems
If you feel there is an immediate danger, stay with the person or have someone else stay with them, and remove all available means of committing suicide, such as medication.
Over-the-counter drugs such as painkillers can be just as dangerous as prescription medication.
Also, remove sharp objects and poisonous household chemicals such as bleach.
Psychotherapy Focuses On Thoughts And Behaviors
Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is designed to help people identify and effectively deal with the psychological, behavioral, interpersonal, and situational aspects of their depression.
Each type of psychotherapy has different goals. According to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, these goals include helping people in these ways:
- Adjust to a crisis or other current situational difficulty.
- Identify negative or distorted beliefs and behaviors, and replace them with positive, healthy ones. Or create a list of more realistic beliefs to balance out the distorted ones when they occur.
- Identify life problems that contribute to depression and change behaviors that worsen it.
- Address relationships and experiences to improve interactions with other people.
- Develop skills to better cope with stress and solve problems.
- Identify issues in life that feed into depression and learn how to avoid behaviors that make these problems worse.
- Regain a sense of control and satisfaction in life to counter symptoms of depression such as anger and hopelessness.
- Learn how to set realistic life goals.
- Develop healthier behaviors that enhance the ability to tolerate and accept stress.
There are four common types of psychotherapy used to treat depression:
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How Is Depression Treated
Depression treatment typically involves medication, psychotherapy, or both. If these treatments do not reduce symptoms, brain stimulation therapy may be another treatment option. In milder cases of depression, treatment might begin with psychotherapy alone, and medication added if the individual continues to experience symptoms. For moderate or severe depression, many mental health professionals recommend a combination of medication and therapy at the start of treatment.
Choosing the right treatment plan should be based on a persons individual needs and medical situation under a providers care. It may take some trial and error to find the treatment that works best for you. You can learn more about the different types of treatment, including psychotherapy, medication, and brain stimulation therapies on the NIMH’s depression webpage. For information on finding a mental health professional and questions to ask when considering therapy, visit NIMHs psychotherapies webpage.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms
Major depression symptoms vary from person to person. To receive a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, some of these signs and symptoms must be present for at least two weeks. Anyone who has questions should consult their doctor.
- Continued feelings of sadness, hopelessness, pessimism, emptiness
- Fatigue, lack of energy
- Insomnia or other sleep issues such as waking up very early or sleeping too much
- Anxiety, irritability, restlessness
- Lack of interest or joy in hobbies and activities
- Changes in appetite, leading to weight loss or weight gain
- Moving, talking, or thinking more slowly
- Trouble concentrating, thinking clearly, or making decisions
- Vague aches and pains, such as headaches, joint pain, back pain, or digestive problems
- Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
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