Easing Depression

Depression is its particular demon (as in cruelty). Its causes can stem from the exact origins of anxiety, panic, and phobias, and your amygdalae are directly involved. The amygdalae are two tiny organs in your brain responsible for managing your emotions.

 

On November 20, 2013, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine released a study showing "…that the size and connectivity of the amygdala can predict the degree of anxiety a young child is experiencing in daily life…a larger amygdala can equate to higher anxiety in childhood…prolonged stress and anxiety during childhood increase the risk of someone developing anxiety disorders and depression later in life." You can read the article here.

 

 

What is Depression?

 

By definition, to depress is to sadden, make less active, and lower in value. Depression is defined as a hollow or low place, a low spirit, and less activity (not as busy).

 

Depression is caused by neurotransmitter (chemical) imbalances in the brain. While brain function can be assessed with specialized equipment, there are no specific tests to detect chemical imbalances in the brain. However, medical doctors often treat Depression with antidepressants in hopes that they can return neurotransmitters (natural chemicals) in the brain back to a normal range.

 

When you are depressed, it is easy to convince yourself that nothing helps and nothing ever will. Depression isn't the same thing as victim-mentality, where you set yourself up to fail, always the loser or the one being abused. No. It's more of an emotional shutdown. Your mind goes to a place of dark numbness and avoidance. This is especially true with fear-based Depression (outlined below).

 

It's crucial when you are depressed to change this thought pattern of believing nothing helps and that nothing ever will. But, until you are sleeping, exercising, and eating right, you will not have the energy or motivation to change things. Being asked to sleep well, exercise, and eat right when you feel this way is the dilemma of the vortex of Depression. However, setting goals, engaging the senses, and enlisting support from others, such as friends, family, clergy, therapists, or group members, can be helpful. It's essential to have people around you who care about you, support you emotionally, and will hold you accountable.

 

 

Types of Depression

 

  • Atypical Depression: Atypical Depression includes weight gain, sleeping too much, fatigue, weakness, and feeling anxious. Sad and hopeless, with thoughts of suicide most days.

 

  • Dysthymia (Mild, Chronic Depression): Symptoms are the same as for Atypical Depression, but being tired or others notice one is rundown.

 

  • Postpartum Depression: Postpartum depression is typically caused by hormonal imbalance after giving birth or miscarriage, usually appearing in the 4th week after giving birth.

 

  • Bipolar Depression (Manic Depression): Those with bipolar depression experience mood swings from the euphoric highs of mania to major depression lows. Symptoms can include grandiose delusions and paranoid rage.

 

  • Seasonal Depression (SAD): Those with SAD get depressed during certain times of the year when the sun is farthest from the Earth. Most people can erase their Depression by taking vitamin D3 and increasing the dosage during the darker months of the year.

 

  • Psychotic Depression: Psychosis, hallucinations, hearing voices. A break from reality.

 

  •  Serotonin Syndrome: Too much serotonin in the brain is usually a dangerous result of taking prescribed antidepressants.

 

  • Fear-Based Depression: Fear-derived depression isn’t a formal psychiatric diagnosis, but a depression that grows out of chronic, unresolved fear rather than primarily from loss, grief, or biochemical mood dysregulation. The nervous system collapses after being stuck in fear for too long. It develops when someone has lived in prolonged threat mode (emotionally, psychologically, or physically) and the system eventually shuts down to conserve energy. Rather than sadness being the primary emotion, the root is often anxiety, dread, or hypervigilance that finally gives way to numbness or exhaustion. Common sources of fear-based depression are chronic anxiety or panic disorders, long-term stress without relief, trauma or complex trauma (especially emotional or relational), living in unsafe or unpredictable environments, prolonged illness or health anxiety, repeated suppression of fear (“I just have to be strong”). Importantly, the person may no longer feel afraid because the system has moved past fear into shutdown. Fear-based depression feels distinct from classical depression. People with fear-derived depression commonly report emotional numbness or flatness rather than deep sadness, fatigue, heaviness, or “I can’t move forward” feelings, loss of motivation rooted in avoidance, not hopelessness, a sense of being trapped, frozen, or stuck, relief when alone or disengaged from demands, and background anxiety that flares when action is required. A key clue: “I’m not sad exactly. I’m just tired of being afraid.” Fear keeps the body in sympathetic activation (flight, fight, or freeze mode). The Depression is protective, not pathological, which is why fear-derived depression often does not respond well to approaches that focus only on positive thinking, motivation, and behavioral activation alone, because the issue isn’t a lack of will. It’s a safety deficit. More effective approaches often include nervous-system regulation and safety-building, trauma-informed therapy, gradual exposure to the agency (not pressure), somatic or body-based work, and restoring a sense of choice and control.

 

 

Causes of Depression

 

This is not a complete list, by any means. 

 

  • Ongoing stress, constant worry, chronic anxiety, and negative self-talk.
  • Medical conditions
  • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
  • Heavy metal toxicity
  • Chronic yeast infection
  • Adrenal abnormalities (either very high or very low-stress hormones)
  • Antianxiety and antidepressant medications
  • Antihistamines (over-the-counter and prescribed)
  • Anti-inflammatory agents (for injuries and arthritic conditions
  • Anti-seizure medicines (for epilepsy)
  • Birth control pills
  • Blood pressure medication (Anti-hypertensives)
  • Chemotherapeutic agents (for cancer treatment)
  • Corticosteroids (a synthetic version of the adrenal stress hormone used for conditions such as asthma, arthritis, and eczema)
  • Recreational drugs, such as nicotine, marijuana, cocaine, and amphetamines
  • Alcoholism
  • Consuming imitation sweeteners, excessive sugar, caffeine, alcohol, or carbonated beverages
  • Unbalances in the microbiome
  • Mitochondrial Dysfunction
  • Chronic health concerns (fear)
  • Frequent infections, such as the Herpes Simplex Virus
  • Living in fear

 

 

Allopathic Medicines Used to Treat Depression

 

Typically, Depression is treated with psychotherapy and medications. And while medication will rarely ever work to erase panic attacks and phobias, I believe it may help alleviate Depression, especially Manic Depression.

 

The following is a list of medications, with brief descriptions, that doctors are currently prescribing for anxiety and Depression.

 

  • Benzodiazepines – Create a sedating effect that relaxes muscles and creates drowsiness and lethargy.
  • Tricyclics (TCAs) – Act to increase serotonin-norepinephrine in the brain by keeping it around longer (basically acting as antidepressants, which are SSRIs)
  • SSRIs – Antidepressants that keep serotonin and other "feel-good" chemicals in the brain longer.
  • MAOIs – When symptoms don't respond to Benzodiazepines, Tricyclics, or SSRIs, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (a type of antidepressant that prevents the breakdown of serotonin and noradrenaline) are administered.

 

It's important to understand that doctors don't know how these work, and there is no scientific proof that antidepressant drugs work at all. It's hoped that these drugs will bring some order and balance to the brain's natural feel-good chemicals, such as Serotonin, GABA, and Dopamine, and keep them circulating longer to help balance your mood. This approach doesn't work for everyone. Symptoms get worse in some people from taking these medications, such as increased anxiety, insomnia, suicidal thoughts, and suicidal actions of suicide. There can be terrible side effects. If you are prescribed medication and feel worse, tell your doctor.

 

Over-the-counter medications, alcohol, nicotine, and recreational drugs, those things you may feel offer you a temporary "high", may also be contributing to your Depression.

 

 

A Better Approach to Depression

 

A better approach to treating mild to moderate Depression is to go about it more naturally by reducing or erasing physical symptoms, correcting negative thought patterns, and facing avoidance behaviors.

 

Managing depression naturally involves supporting your nervous system, balancing neurotransmitters, reducing inflammation, and strengthening your immune system. When used together, these strategies reduce the likelihood of Depression, physical symptoms, and improve immunity and mental health.

 

It's essential to get enough sleep, exercise regularly, take supplements, and eat a well-balanced diet (see Foods for Peace of Mind). Sense-based activities can help increase confidence and esteem. A personal sense of accomplishment and peace of mind can be derived from engaging all of your senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and spirit. 

 

 

Supplements for Depression

 

  • Tryptophan or 5HTP
  • L-Theanine (found in Green Tea)
  • SAM-e  
  • B Vitamins (particularly Folate, B-6, and B-12) 
  • St. John’s Wort
  • Ashwagandha 
  • Lemon Balm
  • Lavender