Depression, Self-Help and Home Remedies

St. John’s Wort, Exercise and Meditation Techniques

Sep 18, 2009 Michael McGrath

Depression home remedies include herbal supplements and meditation techniques. Just how safe are these treatments?

Depression self-help should be undertaken carefully, as controversy surrounds some home remedies for depressive episodes. Evidence supporting depression self-help techniques is often limited in scope and inconclusive. While home remedies for depression may offer some benefit in mild cases of depression, moderate to severe depressive episodes are serious medical conditions that require treatment by professional mental health practitioners.

Exercise and Depression Symptoms

Mental health counselors recommend exercise as a reasonably safe depression self-help technique. Exercise lowers stress levels and helps people with depression set goals for themselves. Regular exercise also improves energy levels, which often plummet during depressive episodes.

Before starting any new exercise program depressed individuals should discuss their exercise options with their health care provider. The exercise program should challenge the depressed person to reach goals without becoming overwhelming, and ideally should provide enjoyment.

Meditation Techniques, Relaxation, and Depression

Some evidence supports the use of meditation techniques in depression treatment. Regular meditation produces a number of positive results, including better stress responses, an increased feeling of calmness, and physiological changes in the brain that may help alleviate depression symptoms. Some people find that yoga offers benefits as both a meditative practice and exercise.

Relaxation techniques include guided imagery, progressive relaxation and relaxing breathing techniques. Relaxations techniques help retrain the mind and body’s response to the physical and mental effects of stress.

St. John’s Wort and Herbal Supplements

A number of herbal supplements claim to offer successful depression home remedies. Care must always be taken when using herbal supplements to treat any ailment, especially when taken at the same time as prescription medication. “Natural” does not mean safe (consider that many prescription medications have their source in natural substances, and that many natural substances are toxic).

Herbal supplement purity is also an issue. Some herbal substances contain “filler” ingredients that may not appear on the product label, and the quality of herbal supplements varies widely from product to product.

In the U.S. herbal supplements are not held to FDA standards, and there is little in the way of quality control. Some herbal supplements contain exactly what the product claims, while other supplements are of inferior quality.

Herbal supplements used in depression self-help include St. John’s Wort, ginko biloba, omega 3 fatty acids and Sam-e, a dietary supplement sometimes used to treat depression in Europe.

St. John’s Wort is also used to treat cases of mild depression in Europe. U.S. studies on St. John’s Wort have, overall, concluded that while St. John’s Wort may have an effect on mild depression, the herbal supplement has no effect on moderate to severe depression symptoms.

Important Warning:when St. John’s Wort is taken in combination with prescription antidepressants a life-threatening event known as serotonin syndrome may occur.

Other Depression Home Remedies

Many other home remedies and alternative treatments claim to treat depression. Acupuncture, biofeedback, massage therapy, aromatherapy and hypnosis all make claims that they alleviate depression symptoms. Evidence supporting alternative depression treatment is limited, and often restricted to anecdotal evidence or very small clinical trials.

As noted above, depression is a serious medical condition. While depression home remedies can be explored, they are no substitute for a mental health professional’s care. People who do pursue alternative depression treatment should seek their doctor’s advice before trying any home remedy. Some depression self-help, such as aromatherapy, is unlikely to cause negative side effects, but other home remedies carry dangerous risks that include serotonin syndrome and medication interactions.

Resources

Mayo Clinic. (Retrieved 16 September, 2009). Depression (Major Depression): Alternative Medicine.

WebMD. (Retrieved 16 September, 2009). Home Remedies for Depression.

Disclaimer: The information contained within this article is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute in any way for care and treatment by a qualified health professional.

The copyright of the article Depression, Self-Help and Home Remedies in General Medicine is owned by Michael McGrath. Permission to republish Depression, Self-Help and Home Remedies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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