When To Contact A Doctor
Most people experience anxiety from time to time. When a person has anxiety so intense that it undermines sleep, daily functioning, or relationships, it is time to seek help. This type of anxiety is a medical condition. And while medication is an option, it is not the only treatment.
A doctor can help with getting the correct diagnosis, ruling out physical health issues, and finding therapy and other remedies.
A person should contact a doctor or healthcare provider if they experience the following:
- They feel chronically anxious for no clear reason or have constantly shifting anxieties.
- Their anxiety is disproportionate to the stress they feel, such as if a person who has a relatively safe and comfortable life is chronically afraid of violence or starvation.
- They experience panic attacks or physical anxiety symptoms, such as a racing heart or stomach pain.
- Their anxiety treatment does not work or suddenly stops working.
Tips To Stay On Track With Treating Your Depression Without Medication
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.
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Increase Your B Vitamin Intake
Increasing your B Vitamins will help your brain produce more serotonin, epinephrine, and dopamine, thus resulting in an improved mood.
Required Ingredients:
- Vitamin B capsules
- Foods that contain high amounts of Vitamin B
Process:
- Eat more foods that contain Vitamin B naturally.
- Take 300 milligrams of vitamin B capsules each day if you do not eat the foods that naturally contain Vitamin B.
- Make this a part of your regular diet.
Healing From Depression The 6 Proven Non
Depression steals people. So far, despite the colossal investment of resources, there is still no reliably effective treatment. What we know for sure is that antidepressants just arent working. According to Dr Stephen Ilardi, respected psychologist, university professor and author of The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression Without Drugs, antidepressants only have about a 50% success rate. Out of the people who do find relief, half of them will relapse, taking the actual recovery rate to 25%. Then there are the side effects, such as emotional blunting, weight gain and sexual dysfunction.
When antidepressants fail to deliver, the hopelessness that lies at the heart of depression becomes even more brutal. If we could immunise ourselves and the people we love against depression, wed be lining up. There is no immunisation, but a growing body of research is finding that there are ways to protect ourselves from depression and alleviate any existing symptoms, particularly for mild to moderate depression.
Its about certain lifestyle factors six of them and the difference they can make to each of us, depressed or otherwise, is phenomenal. The claims may sound extravagant, but science is proving them over and over. The evidence is too compelling for us not to take notice.
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Break Out Of Your Routine Today
Sometimes being stuck in a rut is just that. But if you get out of your same old routine, your mood may come along with you. Take a day off from work and go explore a town nearby. Go out to a restaurant for dinner, even on a Tuesday night. Take a different route as you drive to work, wear something that is totally not you, or take your camera and go on a photography hike. For a major blue mood, consider taking a vacation.
When To See A Doctor
While natural treatments can help with anxiety symptoms, some signs may indicate that you need to call your doctor:
- Your anxiety is chronic , and it interferes with your ability to function daily
- Your symptoms have persisted for six months or more
- Youâre experiencing physical symptoms such as rapid heart rate, difficulty sleeping, stomach issues, or chronic fatigue
- Youâre avoiding people or places
- Youâre having thoughts of self-harm or suicide
Your doctor may prescribe anti-anxiety medications or refer you to a specialist. In some cases, the natural remedies described above may be used along with more conventional treatments to help you manage your symptoms.
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Assess The Parts Instead Of Generalizing The Whole
Depression can tinge recollections with difficult emotions. You may find yourself focusing on things that are unhelpful or perceived as difficult.
Try to stop this overgeneralization. Push yourself to recognize the good. If it helps, write down what was meaningful about the event or day. You can track what you achieved that day, and which activities were enjoyable.
Seeing the weight youre giving to one thing may help you direct your thoughts away from the whole and to the individual pieces that were helpful.
Create A Morning Pampering Routine
When you live with depression, you may notice your personal care starts to decline. You might start by skipping the shower. Brushing your hair may feel like a chore. Maybe you dont remember when you last brushed your teeth.
A small, cross-sectional study found married women who self-pampered were less likely to experience depression compared to married women who didnt self-pamper.
Its possible, however, like with diet, that people who pamper themselves more are more likely to have other beneficial mental and physical behaviors, which might explain lower rates of depression.
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Meditate To Protect Yourself From Depression
Sometimes meditation can replace medication
Another invaluable tool that will help you treat depression without medication, is regular meditation exercises. Regular meditation practice can help you out of a depressive episode and prevent you from falling back into one a second time.
One study reveals that63.6% of the subjects say regular meditation was helpful in moving out of mental health crises and negative thinking.
Meditation is a mind-body health practice that has multiple benefits beyond improving your mental well-being.
Think of meditation as maintenance for your mood. It can help you handle emotions better, spot signs of depression earlier and stop your symptoms from worsening.
Meditation essentially involves three simple steps:
This is great exercise for your brain and it will help you treat depression without medication.
When To Seek Medical Care
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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?
Managing Your Anxious Thoughts
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Do The Opposite Of What The Depression Voice Suggests
The automatic, unhelpful voice in your head may talk you out of self-help. However, if you can learn to recognize it, you can learn to work through it.
If you believe an event wont be fun or worth your time, say to yourself, You might be right, but itll be better than just sitting here another night. You may soon see the automatic thought isnt always helpful.
Tip #: Adjust Your Perspectives
You may have heard the phrase, you are what you eat. While our physical health can determine some of our emotions and mood, we are also made up of what we think. The entire premise behind the popular Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approach involves identifying the thoughts and beliefs which lie at the root of our depressive and anxious responses to life. Once we become aware of the patterns in our thinking that spur our negative emotions, we can grab those thoughts by the reins and refuse to let them have control.
You may not need the intense treatment offered in a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy program, but you can still apply some of the tips and tricks of this specialized therapy. One of the most popular concepts in treatment is the idea of Radical Acceptance. This applies the idea that it is what it is. No amount of regret, worry, or obsessing will make a difference when changing some things in life. It will only stop you from enjoying what is real and prevent you from progressing in the things that are genuinely within your control. Radical acceptance is the practice of determining what lies outside our control and then letting it go.
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Sleep In A Different Bedroom
Many people with depression also have insomnia. Switching your sleep location can help, says Cumella. You can also reduce insomnia by getting up at the same time every day, never napping for more than 20 minutes, shunning caffeine after 3 p.m., and relaxing for an hour before bed. If you opt a 20-minute snooze, heres more about the things that happen to your body when you take a nap.
Take Walks Especially In The Winter
Many people feel depressed during the winter months, when they travel to and from work in darkness and dont get enough natural sunlight. Physical exercise, however, encourages the release of hormones and neurochemicals that boost mood, says Richard Brown, MD, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at New York Citys Columbia University and coauthor of Stop Depression Now. Walking outside during the day will give you a few short doses of sunlight, also shown to boost mood, particularly in the winter.
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Drink One To Two Cups Of Coffee Or Tea Each Morning
Regular, modest caffeine intake decreases the risk of depression by more than 50 percent, says Edward J. Cumella, PhD, a professor of graduate psychology with Purdue University Global in the Phoenix, AZ area. Research backs this up. For example, information published in a 2015 issue of the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research notes that coffee may have a protective effect on the risk of depression.
The Depression Epidemic: Our Stone Age Brains
There is an undeniable connection between lifestyle and depression. A modern lifestyle is making us sick. The more modern a society, and the more removed it is from the primitive hunter-gatherer way of life, the higher its rate of depression. Our world has changed phenomenally and our lifestyles have changed along with it, but our brains have hardly changed at all. They remain remarkably similar to the ones that powered people in the Stone Age when sleep was abundant, food was nutritious, and people wandered in groups, constantly on the move in the sunshine.
Our Stone Age brains just werent designed to handle the sedentary, isolated, indoor, sleep-deprived, fast-food-laden, stressed-out pace of twenty-first-century life. -Dr Stephen Ilardi
Our brains are beautifully crafted to support Stone Age bodies that live Stone Age lives. When Stone Age brains are forced to live a modern lifestyle, the effect can be devastating. The brain and the body become depleted of the very things that have been fuelling them for thousands of years before now.
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What Is Samhsa’s National Helpline
SAMHSAs National Helpline, , or TTY: is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.
Also visit the online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message: 435748 to find help near you. Read more about the HELP4U text messaging service.
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.
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Spend Time With Friends
If youre depressed, you generally need a doctors help and treatment may include psychotherapy, medication, or both. However, if you are in a low mood, there are natural remedies or lifestyle changes that may help. Regular social contact with a close friend may boost self-confidence and encourage you to make other positive changes that will help fight depression, such as starting an exercise program.
Being Proactive Is The Best Way To Fight Depression Without Meds
Unfortunately, some of my clients were already on antidepressants when they came to see me. Theyd consulted their doctor, who may have had:
- little time for them
- limited knowledge of how to treat depression without medication
- not referred my client to a suitably qualified therapist.
Also, the protocol your doctor follows is often to prescribe antidepressants and offer talking therapy simultaneously .
Oh, how that frustrates me as a therapist!
If you do both at once, how would you, as the patient, ever realise that youve made progress because of your own efforts and not because of the medication?
Most people can get better with time and without any medical intervention.
However, you do need good information to help you find ways to beat that depression without medication.
Fortunately, though, these days, doctors are increasingly prescribing exercise and other health-promoting lifestyle changes.
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How To Prevent Anxiety And Depression
Battling anxiety and depression is not easy. However, if you make effort to take certain measures in your day to day life, you will certainly notice an improvement in these conditions. Along with the help of natural remedies for anxiety and depression, the following methods can be used to help you manage and cope with these issues.
- Exercise daily, for at least 20-30 minutes.
- Keep a journal and write in it each day.
- Make sure you get plenty of sleep. SleepAdvisor.org got some advice for reducing anxiety before bed.
- “The Quality of sleep matters as much as the quantity.” Check out this article on how to get a higher quality of sleep.
- Limit alcohol and caffeine.