Some Ways of Treatment for Depression without Medication

Someone sometimes do not realizing that he was suffering from depression, especially mildly or moderately depressed because symptoms of depression are less prominent at this level. When depression has become a major depression, most of them began to realize to see a doctor and prescribed antidepressants.

There are various ways to cope depression in addition with drugs. This method may be a healthful choice for treating depression. And drug side effects can be avoided. As quoted from Health.com, Wednesday (02/11/2011), these methods include:

1. Exercise
Exercise can relieve depression; exercise may affect the expenditure of brain chemicals that regulate mood, namely nor epinephrine and serotonin. Exercise also releases endorphins which can lead to feelings of pleasure and feeling like a 'floating' on a few athletes runners.

Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham NC, P Murali Doraiswamy, MD, recommends that people with depression to exercise as much as 3-5 times a week for 20 to 30 minutes. Aerobic exercise as brisk walking is the best.

2. Light therapy
On cloudy days in winter, some people prone to mild depression called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). One way to relieve symptoms of seasonal affective disorder is light therapy, which sits next to a box with a bright light like light outside.

Light therapy is usually performed for 15 min and increased up to two hours each day. The timing depends on the severity of symptoms of depression and the intensity of light is determined by your doctor. This therapy does not cure depression, but can relieve symptoms of depression after a few days.

3. Diary
Research has shown that therapies that teach you how positive thinking can relieve depression. Dr. Doraiswamy recommended to people with depression to write their moods in a diary.

"This is a tool used to train someone to track the positive things happening in her life and do not let negative events cause him to fall," says Dr. Doraiswamy.

The diary will keep negative events remain in the perspective of a reasonable and also serves as a reminder that the days of good can happen.

Dr. Doraiswamy recommends not writing a diary every day if they are too much work. Write once a week will be easier for these habits can continue.

4. Acupuncture
Like most other alternative therapies, there are no data that prove acupuncture can reduce depression. However, some research shows it is possible.

One small research by the University of Arizona against 33 people depressed women found that 64% of depressed patients experienced improvement in symptoms after undergoing acupuncture, compared with 27% in the group who did not receive similar treatment.

In the second study in the Journal of Affective Disorders, 70 patients with severe depressive disorder who had been taking antidepressant medication, seems to show greater improvement if they received acupuncture therapy compared with those not receive acupuncture.


5. Support groups
Support groups have long been used as a standard of mental treatment, but not used as frequently as today. This method is an excellent way to help treat mild depression.

This group will provide education about depression, act as community advocates, and provide learning opportunities for people who face similar problems.

"For an alternative to patients who do not interested in discussions about depression, she should look for groups to share interests, whether it is a book club or yoga," says Dr. Doraiswamy.

6. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Dr. Doraiswamy said that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a sophisticated educational effort for people with depression. This method is based on the fact that the mind is a trigger feeling. Aware of the negative thoughts and learn to change unhealthy patterns can change the way the brain works and reactions to situations. See advantage of depression.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term therapy that lasts for 10 to 20 sessions. This method has proven effective in treating mild to moderate depression.

7. Fish oil
Foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, including salmon, albacore tuna, and herring. The study of fish oil cannot be inferred, but it is expected that a deficiency of these fatty acids at any given time can cause mood swings and depression. In areas where the consumption of foods with omega-3 is high, the residents tend to have lower levels of depression.

8. Meditation
Research shows that meditation plays a role in preventing recurrence of depression. This study focused on awareness-based cognitive therapy that combines traditional meditation with cognitive behavioral approach.

In two different studies, depressed patients treated with antidepressants until symptoms subside. Then one group was asked to continue taking the drug while another group continued treatment with meditation therapy.

Recurrence rate of the same group that uses meditation with taking antidepressants (about 30%), and lower than the placebo drink (about 70%). While in the second study found that 47% of the meditation group experienced recurrence of depression, much less when compared with 60% of patients’ only taking antidepressants alone.

9. Turmeric
A study in the Journal of Ethno pharmacology suggests that turmeric may increase levels of serotonin and other chemicals in the brain. Small study of 38 people for six weeks found that turmeric has the same effectiveness with fluoxetine (Prozac) in relieving symptoms of depression. Participants who consumed turmeric have reported that they felt fewer side effects (such as sweating and sexual dysfunction) than those taking fluoxetine.


10. Yoga
Yoga can reduce stress and depressive symptoms. Research has shown that in patients with emotional disorders and major depression, practicing yoga can reduce stress, hostility, anxiety, depression, increase energy, sleep quality, and welfare. Although not too much research on this theme, yoga is proven to be a simple and low risk for depression.


11. SAMe
S-adenosylmethionine, or SAMe, is a supplement that is considered to play a role in the manufacture of neurotransmitters in the brain. Several clinical trials have shown that this material is effective as drugs for treating depression and more effective than placebo. This supplement has also been shown to have fewer side effects than most other antidepressants.


12. St John's wort
One of the most researched supplements to treat depression is St. John's wort, a yellow flowering plant that is used in teas, pills, and extracts. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States analyzed 37 studies and found that these supplements can be beneficial as antidepressants for mild depression.

But there is one caution in treatment of depression by use St. John's Wort. Cause can reduce the effectiveness of some prescription medications, including birth control pills, HIV medications, blood thinners, and some anticancer drugs.