going eau naturale

Hey there

I've looked through the threads but I can't find one on this topic - redirect me if there is one and I missed it please

I'm wondering whether anyone with moderate to severe depression has any experience with choosing to 'treat' themselves naturally - like with a really concious combination of nutrition, exercise, church/meditation, supplements, peer support, osteopath, accupuncture, therapy etc? Just with no 'hard' medications. And doing it on a budget (ha ha ha - sheesh mental health is expensive).

I ask because I was on Fluoxatine until recently but once this particular round of depression started I got the pip and came off them. I did this because I was totally over taking medication that had fairly uncomfortable phsyical side effects (my bowels feel SO much better now that I'm not taking them) but wasn't doing the job I was taking it for i.e. helping me avoid depressive periods.

I'm starting therapy again in a couple of weeks and if they say go back on medication X I will try again. In the meantime though, I want to do my research into the whole total life transformation thing and see if there are any success stories here in real life land (as opposed to "I'm trying to sell you a gym membership/vitamin/religion" land).

Not quite what I surmised, from the heading. Tut tut, Patrick.

A very interesting Thread though I must say.

I've not made deliberate 'changes' but I have from time to time managed to just scrape by without the meds for reasonably long periods of time, but to be totally honest, I don't recall them as real fun episodes in me life.

Nuitrition might be a problem I suspect, simply due to the cost of 'stuff' if ya can't grow ya own - and from what I've read, no amount of Brussel Sprouts will ever kickstart our brains into producing more of the chemicals we need to get from meds. (which is probably just as well 'cos I'd die of starvation before I ate a Brussel Sprout again. Yuck. Eeeew.)

Be interesting to see what others have to contribute to this one. Mmmm, an interesting Thread.

I confess that I did the old marketing trick of using sex to sell a totally unrelated product. It worked though!

Humans. We like us some biological imperatives

Sex?

I thought we were going to be talking about the Amazon Rain Forests and Silverback Gorrillas, Galapagos Island adaptations and mutations, hybridisation and other natural wonders.

I never thought of sex. Hmmm. I wonder if I can get a Pill for that too? Thinking, I mean.

Lolz!

Hi Anita
Love the thread heading

I have had a four year battle with many AD's Psych meds, finally talked to an expert for treating bipolar depession and mood disorder, and yep - last med change was off the AD's and onto Lamotrigine - this is the med I am not having any 'major' problems, no weight gain, weight loss tho- heaps in fact. All the weight put on with the other one. For me Ad's had a reverse effect - life ones, the not so 'nice ones' the 'I'm outta here' kind. I had 11 ECT's and my experience was awful, never again.

I now exercise at least once a day. A walk, a jog or on the ab circle pro.
I am eating more than usual, but not chips and dip, nor cheese on crackers... I do however eat a few bars of energy chocolate after reading, that thread 'chocolate helps' there may be some proof in that, cause I do feel better.

The wow part is not being drugged up. Only taking 2 pills in the morning and the other two at night. Not the handfuls. Although i am on Zoplicon but I like knowing I will sleep.

A long time ago I did a weekend Reiki workshop Level 1. When I'm in a good head space, I would like to get masters. Possibly set it up from home. During the past four years in the early stages of the breakdown I went to a Chinese lady, who did acupuncture... not that I can afford it now.

As for naturals: Iron tabs, vits, folic acid .... another I just read on TMMB was apple vinegar hmmm (not tried it yet)

Anxiety keeps my doors closed more than open, but saying that, a hi to a neighbour is also helpful. I have used techniques from Harris to cope with those panic attacks. they work too.

I could ramble on here. So I think possibly my thoughts would be try and try again for some alternatives that will work alongside those prescribed. Just my humble opinion.

Poetry

I'm glad that your new meds are doing it for you, sounds like all the earlier attempts were horrible!

Everyone keeps saying exercise is pretty much the best non-chemical helper - I've gone so far as to get books on exercise out of the library and made some resolutions about walking to work

There's so much information in the world. Like apparently cauliflour and mango can help with raising seratonin levels. Bananas are meant to be mood raising. Weird.

.

Dietary sources

Tryptophan is a routine constituent of most protein-based foods or dietary proteins. It is particularly plentiful in chocolate, oats, durians, mangoes, dried dates, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, red meat, eggs, fish, poultry, sesame, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, spirulina, and peanuts.

Thanks wikipedia!

Other articles warn that without the necessary levels of B6 and B3 in the body, the liver will hijack the tryptophan and use it to make them.

Sigh.

So, anybody fancy a spirulina sandwich on rye (high in B vites) bread?

I wish I could make up my mind. This time last week I was feeling utterly awful and if the dr had handed me a new anti-d I would have started on it with a huge sense of relief.

This time this week I have been feeling 'up' for a couple of days and am determined to stick to this natural thing.

Blinking heck.

Rawr. Too hard. Too much information, costs too much, takes too much time. If I was independantly wealthy I think that I could do it but on a low income - and a precarious one at that given my tendancy to professional self-sabotage by mood swing - it's just too hard.

And it isn't. That isn't true. I'm just failing at trying again.

And that isn't true either. I'm just taking care of me in a down period by not taking too much on right away.

Crap.

ARGH!!!!

Ok. First appt with new therapist is tomorrow. Once I see what she says about forming a plan of action I will make some more decisions. Until then I need to focus on getting my qualification out of the way. Then I can use my spare time more for self-healing stuff.

Right. Forward ho!

Hi Anita

may I venture the theory that you are more so feeling overwhelmed by the vast quantities of information that you have touched on with your natural/self healing considerations.

I suggest that you attack it one step at a time

and make the first step learning how to meditate
head off to youtube and watch a number of vidoes there covering ZEN medtation
it is the simplest form of meditation and the cost to you will be to merely find some quiet alone time to practise...as it does take a bit of time to teach your mind to shut down...it took me about 4 months

once you can meditate it is truely uplifting, soul settling and a lot of people find the first step towards self healing.

britelite wrote:Hi Anita

may I venture the theory that you are more so feeling overwhelmed by the vast quantities of information that you have touched on with your natural/self healing considerations.

I suggest that you attack it one step at a time

and make the first step learning how to meditate
head off to youtube and watch a number of vidoes there covering ZEN medtation
it is the simplest form of meditation and the cost to you will be to merely find some quiet alone time to practise...as it does take a bit of time to teach your mind to shut down...it took me about 4 months

once you can meditate it is truely uplifting, soul settling and a lot of people find the first step towards self healing.

I think you're probably right about the overwhelmed thing. And I started this thread to be a discussion, not me ranting! Although I guess that reaction is as much part of learning to deal with the learning curve. Hmmm. Sorry - my brain is having lots of converstations without me at the moment, I keep saying one thing and then realising that what I think is the thing that my head has discussed with the rest of my head and come to an aggreement on. Usually it means the opposite of what I just said.

You're also right about the meditating thing, although I think I'm going to look at Tai Chi or something else with movement. Sitting still makes me antsy

that is one of the amazing things I have discovered with meditation...at any given time I can have up to seven very different conversations going on in my head at once.

with learning to meditate I have taught myself how to stop individual chats. As I have to to be able to reach a true meditative state.

Tai Chi can be used...and is by many...as a fluid form of meditation. You will first need to learn to moves and then you work on "flowing" the body and mind together. There are also a number of other fluid meditation types...although some find that they lose their spacial awareness and bump into objects.

While I think that medtation can be fantastic for a lot of people please don't get the idea that I am trying to claim it is 'the great cure'. It seems, from what I have read and uncovered, that it is more useful for people who have 'developed' depression and less useful for people who are depressed due to chemical/hormonal imbalances.

oddly enough while I have found the meditation has had a markedly positive effect on my depression it actually has made my anxieties more prominent. think this has a lot to do with the fact that I have social anxieties and meditating has raised my awareness of the vibes that people give off. hahaha now I am sounding like a nutjob...oh well I guess there are worse places than this it come across as knitting with one needle.

lolz - in that case then maybe I wont look up those meditations, if I fret any more about other human beings I'll end up living alone in a hut in the bush

it would be lovely to be able to stop the chitchat but I did wonder today - as I was atempting to apply my new therapists "stop that" brain training technique - what do you think about once you've stopped the thoughts from looping around and around and around?

Anita, I am Pleased to be the Bearer of Wonderful News…

You ask, ‘…what do you think about once you've stopped the thoughts from looping around and around and around?’

Anita, is sounds to me as though your brain is evolving and morphing into Manhood.

We don’t think about anything. Hours at a time – Nothing.

We simply rely on our Brain Stem to keep us breathing until another random thought sparks into life within our head, looks around, see’s how lonely it is there, and withers, plunging ya back into that blissful ‘Woohoo, I can sit and think of nothing for Hours State’ called Being a Bloke.

You want even Better news?

Lots a Motorsport on the telly this weekend, so not only do you have the pleasure of no thoughts;, ya can belch, fart & (this is the best bit) scratch ya nuts whenever and where ever you feel so inclined.

Ah, Blokehood, where WE understand the ability to think of Nothing.


I hope this Post helps explain things, Anita.

So I just need a sex change!

Excellent. If anyone needs me I'll be in a hospital in Thailand

Ok. I found something I like. Red Seal relaxing tea. It might just be the conscious care of me thing - taking time out to make and drink the tea etc - or it might actually work, I don't know. But it has worked a couple of times now to help me stop thinking thinking thinking, so yay! And much cheaper than a flight to Thailand

And no St Johns Wort in it, so it shouldn't mess with ADs.

So,

How was ya First Day of a V8 Motor Racing weekend as a Bloke in the Making, Anita?

'Though I must say, this 'Red Seal Tea' stuff sounds a bit um, unblokish still, so be careful or you might lose all the gains of the week, pffft. Ya see, WE see something called Red Seal and ya just know its an auotomotive fluid of some sort, maybe Brake or Clutch fluid (green is Antifreeze, don't drink that). I'm not sure Russel Ingall would drink Red Seal tea. Murphy might?

All silliness aside, I do hope that you are having an enjoyable, safe weekend, Anita. Take care, eh?

I'll disguise my hippy tea as steroids whenever I'm in the steam room with the lads, that should do the trick

My weekend is packed out with schoolwork. Funny thing is, for the first time in months, I'm actually working and actually enjoying it. So maybe I'll be adding "perservering with something that you know, in your head, that you enjoy, even when it makes you want to scream and gives you the mad gut wiggles" to the list of natural things that are helping this time round.

Loved the v8s, altho i am a petrolhead anyway, but have only raced once in the last season (drag racing), as have had a breakdown over xmas.
I also like to be busy, it seems good to look at the end result and feel proud.

I guess if we were to be all doctory about it we could call that "taking part in activities that encourage naturally occuring positive emotions"

now Anita if you are going to use language like in your last post I am afraid that you will leave me no choice but to report you to Admin (and he is one nasty sod)...I am willing to be lenient with you this time...so long as you promise to never bring "doctory" descriptions to this "eau naturale" thread again??!!

Lolz

Never again, I swear

Orright ladies and gents. I am going to the gp tomorrow to get a prescription for either aropax or the one starting with c that I can't spell.

After yesterday's session today I was just bizarre. I think I'm actually this ... close to crossing the line at work and, given that I work in quite a structured environment, that will just cause too much rawar. And will just make other people uncomfortable and stuff, which I'm not really a fan of.

So. The Red Seal tea is a good thing. Bananas are awesome too. But I give up for now. I'm going to keep thinking/reading/posting about this going natural stuff but for the meantime, and until my new therapy lady kicks in, I'm gleefully going back on ADs. Because far the fuck OUT am I sick of feeling like this.