Depression and anxiety affect more than 20 million adults every year. With depression symptoms ranging from mild to severe, more people are seeking help for the treatment of depression and anxiety than ever before. Treatment options for depression and anxiety include prescription medication, hormone therapy, psychotherapy, and a variety of other specialized therapies.
Since each case is unique, there is no “one-size-fits-all” cure for these sometimes debilitating mental disorders. But when natural remedies are used in conjunction with other types of treatment, treatment success rates can soar!
Regardless of whether or not you are in a professional depression or anxiety treatment program, there are a number of things that you can do to help yourself.
Natural remedies for these mental disorders don’t get a lot of attention so they’re often overlooked as successful treatment options. Fortunately the situation is changing. Natural remedies for depression and anxiety are most effective when used in conjunction with professional therapy. For many patients, that combination is enough and additional treatment methods usually aren’t required.
Here are some proven tips for getting depression and anxiety under control:
Banish Negative Thoughts
Although it’s nearly impossible to prevent negative thoughts from creeping into our minds, negativity makes depression and anxiety worse. Try to offset these thoughts by focusing on the positive things going on in your life. Positive, happy thoughts trigger the brain to release “feel good” chemicals that combat depression and anxiety naturally.
Avoid Associating with Negative People
Sharing your life with people who are negative only strengthens your own negative feelings. Likewise, sharing your life with positive, upbeat people strengthens your positive feelings. The choice is voluntarily so choose the people who can help you and avoid the ones who can’t.
Journal Your Way to Relaxation
Take a few minutes each day to write in a journal. You don’t have to create a novel, just jot down your thoughts on the positive and negative aspects of each day and note what made you depressed and what made you happy. At the end of each week take time to reread what you’ve written. Before you know it you’ll have a clear picture of the things that lift you up and which ones bring you down. As soon as possible, start avoiding the things that affect you negatively and start doing more of the things that make you happy.
Tap Into the Power of Affirmations
Affirmations are uplifting statements that you say out loud. Because affirmations are spoken as if the results you are seeking have already occurred, they work by programming your subconscious to make true that which you have already told it to be true.
Feel free to create your own affirmations or use these:
“I deserve the happiness that I feel every day.”
“I think only positive and uplifting thoughts.”
“I am in control of my moods and outside issues do not affect me negatively.”
“I love myself and I deserve the love of others.”
Summary
You are in control of your thoughts and feelings. Depression and anxiety are not unbeatable conditions that you are powerless to control. Start by following the tips presented in this article and then seek the help of an expert in the field of anxiety and depression management if you require additional assistance.
Susan Huebert
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/tips-for-combating-depression-and-anxiety-37658.html
Technorati Tags: Anxiety Depression, Anxiety Medication, Anxiety Treatment, Combat Depression, Depression And Anxiety, Depression Anxiety, Depression Medication, Depression Symptoms, Happy Thoughts, Mental Disorders, Natural Remedies For Depression, Natural Remedies For Depression And Anxiety, Negative Feelings, Negative Thoughts, Positive Feelings, Prescription Medication, Professional Therapy, Success Rates, Treatment Of Depression, Treatment Success
Some people call it the ‘pits’ and some people call it the ‘blues’ and some just call it ‘feeling down in the dumps’. But whatever you may call it, being depressed is a terrible feeling.
The most common types of depression are:
Major Depression, which is characterized by a sad mood, sleep disorders, and a decreased or absent appetite. Often when a person is in a major depression, the person feels a complete lack of drive and motivation and the sufferer lacks the desire to do anything in life. Some people are completely disabled by depression, and some even consider suicide.
Dysthymia: This is a less severe type of long term depression that typically does not completely disable the individual. But it prevents the person from feeling motivated and functioning at optimum levels. Sometimes people who are suffering with Dysthymia also suffer from Major Depression, and when this occurs it is called double-depression.
Manic Depression is also called Bipolar Disorder. This type of depression is not as common as Dysthymia or major depression. It involves cycles of a manic state, alternated with a depressed state. This is often a long term recurring disorder. Sometimes the mood swings occur suddenly. But generally speaking, they tend to be gradual.
There are many variations of depression; the types described here are only three of the most common.
Some of the symptoms of depression include:
Sadness; anxiety; pessimism; insomnia and other sleep disorders; feelings of worthlessness; guilt; restlessness; pain; fatigue; weight loss; headaches; and thoughts of suicide.
Sources of Depression:
As previously stated, there are several types of depression: Major Depression; Manic Depression; and Dysthymia being three of the more common forms.
Many types of depression are hereditary. Living in a stressful environment can lead to depression. A traumatic experience such as a serious loss, relationship problems, or financial trouble can also lead to depression.
Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression as men are, but scientists do not know why.
If you suffer from depression, you will want to seek the advice of your physician. He may prescribe medication for you. But keep in mind that every medication has side effects.
Wouldn’t it be phenomenal if you could regulate and eliminate your depression just by having certain thoughts? I know that this sounds too good to be true, but very often, various types of depression are caused by thinking negative thoughts.
Don’t believe me? Then try it out! It’s really quite basic and simple. Just imagine something that you feel is very troubling or sad. Go ahead, think about it right now! Then come back to this article.
Okay, so what happened? If you really focused and visualized the sad situation, you began to feel sad and a little depressed. And the longer you allow yourself to remain in that thought pattern, the sadder you will feel. As you stay in sad thoughts and keep feeling sadder, you lead yourself into a gradually intensifying depression.
The good news is that if you focus on a happy thought, then you will displace that sadness and depression and have happy feelings instead.
Listen closely now, because here are the keys to eliminating your depression: Our persistent thoughts spring forth from the unconscious mind. These are the thoughts that we find ourselves automatically thinking about during the day.
If the persistent thoughts that keep recurring in your mind are about your problems or sad experiences, then you raise your levels of anxiety, stress, and depression.
But here is the ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’: Since hypnosis can be used to alter our unconscious thoughts, NLP and self hypnosis stress management CDs will rapidly alter the way that you think, feel, and behave. The interesting thing is that the exact same techniques that work for stress management also work just as well for eliminating depression!
Now I’m going to tell you exactly how and why it is going to happen. Hypnosis is a natural state of mind. Specifically, it is the Alpha state of consciousness. We go through the Alpha state as we are falling asleep at night. And we go through it again as we wake up in the morning. We also enter the Alpha state when we are daydreaming and imagining.
The unconscious mind is the seat of our emotions, and it is like a computer; the input controls the output! Hypnosis therapy is a wonderful tool for reaching directly into the unconscious mind and reprogramming it to automatically divert you away from negative thoughts, and promote positive thinking. It’s a tool that allows you to bypass the consciousness to create positive expectations, which will in turn generate positive feelings. You can overcome depression by using hypnosis therapy.
Alan B. Densky, CH
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/mental-depression-and-how-to-talk-yourself-out-of-it-380787.html
Technorati Tags: Call It The Blues, Depressed State, Depression Anxiety, Double Depression, Financial Trouble, Major Depression, Manic Depression, Manic State, Mental Depression, Mood Swings, Optimum Levels, Relationship Problems, Sad Mood, Sleep Disorders, Stressful Environment, Symptoms Of Depression, Term Depression, Terrible Feeling, Types Of Depression, Worthlessness
I have Social anxiety. My doctor prescribed Zoloft which is a depression medicine. I am just curious, how does the same medicine also treats social anxiety???
They go hand in hand. You get anxious about something and after some time it becomes depressed over that same thing. In both cases, when the nerve ends send messages to the next nerve thru a gap, these messages don’t get there, they sort of bounce back to their origin. This is what’s called a chemical imbalance in the brain. These messages are sent via chemicals ‘jumping’ from one nerve end to the other. If they don’t get ‘absorbed’ by the second nerve, we become depressed and probably more anxious about more things in life.
Technorati Tags: Bounce, Chemical Imbalance In The Brain, Chemicals, Depression Anxiety, Depression Medicine, Gap, Medicine, Medicine Work, Nerve, Social Anxiety, Work Anxiety, Zoloft
This is a general question, asking for some "Natural” ways to overcome depression and anxiety. I know that there are prescription drugs you can take so I don’t need any advice on that. But are there any sleeping methods, or good things to eat or drink, etc. to get over anxiety and depression
Try Dianetics. Watch the introduction video
http://www.dianetics.org
Technorati Tags: Anxiety And Depression, Anxiety Depression, Depression And Anxiety, Depression Anxiety, Dianetics, Major Depression, Prescription Drugs, Ways To Overcome Depression
depression & Anxiety” />
Protazen is a proprietary blend of all natural herbs, vitamins, and amino acids. Protazen is bottle in the USA according to strict FDA regulations. Each bottle contains a 1 month supply (60 Capsules). Just take 2 capsules per day.
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: Amino Acids, Amp, Depression Anxiety, Fda, Fda Regulations, Herbs Vitamins, Natural Herbs, Natural Supplement, Natural Vitamins, Proprietary Blend, Protazen, Shopping, Yahoo
HealthDay – FRIDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) — Mildly depressed teenagers
are more likely to have major depression, anxiety disorders and eating
disorders as adults, a new study suggests.
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: Adults, Anxiety Disorders, Depressed Teenagers, Depressed Teens, Depression Anxiety, Eating Disorders, Major Depression
Results from a new study suggest that 15 percent of preschoolers have signs of depression and anxiety.
depression/15-percent-of-preschoolers-suffer-depression-anxiety-study#more-786″ class=”more-link”>Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: Depression And Anxiety, Depression Anxiety, Signs Of Depression, Signs Of Depression And Anxiety
depression & Anxiety By Native Remedies” />
MindSoothe is a remedy containing two natural remedies in one and is therefore excellent value for money! The first ingredient, Hypericum Perforatum (St John’s Wort) has been scientifically shown to relieve the symptoms of depression if used regularly ove
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: Amp, Depression Anxiety, Mindsoothe, Money, Native Remedies, Natural Remedies, Remedy, St John S Wort, Symptoms Of Depression, Yahoo, Yahoo Shopping
Depression is a state of mind characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity. It can range from a mild affliction to a point where it severely affects the social functioning and activities of daily living of an individual. There are multiple causes of depression ranging from complex psychological and physiological factors such as lack of self-esteem, or perfectionsim to hormonal imbalances as seen in postpartum depression.
There is increasing evidence that diet may play a causative role in some cases of depression. The food production in industrialized societies uses intensive farming and processing techniques. This can contribute to depleted levels of omega 3 fatty acids, certain amino acids and other essential nutrients in the food we eat. Also over time our food choices and preferences have changed, which has led to a skewed ratio of fats in out diet.
Omega 3 is an important essential fats for the body. Its deficiency has been linked to depression, anxiety, aggressiveness and even insomnia. In some studies it was observed that patients suffering from depression have lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their cell membranes. More startlingly, its deficiency worsens the conditions of ADHD children considerably. Research has shown that patients with bipolar depression who increased their consumption of foods containing omega 3 showed remarkable improvement in mood, which supports the role of omega 3 fatty acids in the treatment of depression .
Omega 3 is required in the diet and cannot be made within the body. Foods rich in omega 3 include oily fish such as salmon and mackerel, flaxseeds walnuts, olive oil, pumpkin seeds. Ensuring 2-3 portions of oily fish per week should provide adequate omega 3 in your diet.
Amino acids are also not produced within the human body. Tryptophan is an amino acid which is converted into serotonin in the body and is a natural relaxant. This can be used in the treatment of depression to assist with a good nightâs sleep, treat migraines and even boost the immune system. Deficiency in the essential amino acid Lysine may cause fatigue, irritability and a lack of concentration. Good sources of lysine include meat, chicken, and eggs and legumes.
Carbohydrates are important in the fight against depression. They help to release the chemical monoamine serotonin. This chemical is found in the brain and is a mood-enhancer. It induces sleep and brings on relaxation. Depression seems to stem from reduced serotonin in the brain. Hence the feeling of satisfaction as soon as a person eats a meal with carbohydrates. Increasing complex carbohydrates that are absorbed slowly such as brown rice, whole grain wheat, bran, fruits and vegetables may be important in the treatment of depression, as this will help ensure a steady supply of serotonin.
Depression can also be intensified or even caused by deficiencies of folate, B12 and vitamin C and magnesium. In a major study, a direct link between low folate levels and neuropsychiatry disorder was established. It has also been suggested that an increased intake of folate can help reduce the high levels of homocysteine often present during depression. Foods rich in folate and vitamin c include spinach, broccoli, tomato juice, kidney beans, lentils and asparagus and increasing amounts of these foods in the diet could be useful in the treatment of depression.
Vitamin B12 is found in animal products such as milk, meat, cheese and yogurt. Vegans and strict vegetarians who do not drink milk products can be lacking in Vitamin B12. Elderly people often suffer from malabsorption of this vitamin due to a lack of acidity in the stomach (which assists in its digestion) and this can lead to mood disorders or even depression. Vitamin B12 is therefore a key vitamin to consider in supplementing for the treatment of depression.
A deficiency of magnesium is sometimes associated with forms of depression. A diet rich in magnesium such as nuts and grains, spinach, and meat may be beneficial in alleviating the symptoms of depression.
Depression is sometimes caused by the increased intake of alcohol and narcotic substances. We are all well aware of the initial euphoria that occurs with alcohol intake, however in the long term, alcohol abuse can contribute heavily to a depressive state.
Diet and depression may well have a cyclical relationship. Depression may be exacerbated by dietary deficiency in the first place and can go onto lead to a loss of appetite or apathy towards food and wellbeing. A dietary approach to the treatment of depression is by no means the whole answer but it could play an important role.
Mitamins Team
http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/depression-hidden-causes-in-the-diet-92604.html
Technorati Tags: 3 Fatty Acids, Adhd Children, Amino Acids, Causative Role, Causes Of Depression, Depression Anxiety, Essential Fats, Essential Nutrients, Flaxseeds, Food Choices, Intensive Farming, Lack Of Self Esteem, Natural Relaxant, Oily Fish, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Physiological Factors, Pumpkin Seeds, Remarkable Improvement, Suffering From Depression, Treatment Of Depression
depression and Anxiety Treatment, 60 Caps., (Native Remedies)” />