Treating Depression Naturally with Homeopathy

Depression tends to affect more women than men. Homeopathy diagnoses and treats the type of moody blues one has, or is going through, while looking at each individual as a completely unique persona - as distinctive as their fingerprint.

No one is exempt from stress or tension. We all have to go through the ‘grind’ some time or the other - each in our own ‘individualistic’ ways. Besides, we all react to stress differently. Medical researchers say that there may be a biochemical foundation to depression.

Sadness and other negative feelings are all normal reactions to a serious loss and/or tragic event. Also, everyone suffers, now and then, from a mild case of blues. When depression persists to a point where it affects your daily life, it also leads to a lack of ability to live normally.

Mind researchers suggest that depression may be biologically- or genetically-based. Neurotransmitters in the brain may be one possible cause of depression.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals released across a small space between a neuron, the basic unit of the nervous system and the receptive site of another neuron (synapse). Lower levels of one neurotransmitter - norepinephrine - at the receptor sites are also blamed for depression.

Sometimes, the cause of depression may not be known. Certain conventional medications - like anti-hypertensives, or medications used to treat high blood pressure - may be one trigger. A severe lowering of the mood can also occur as a reaction to lack of sunlight all through the winter months, or changes in the inner biological clock that runs us all - especially during new or full moon nights.

Research suggests that people who are depressed have learned to be depressed. It is also suggested that a person who develops symptoms of depression may have few close relationships and little social support from those that do exist. Social support, in the form of family and friends, often acts as a pillow to stress.

Signs & Symptoms

• Negativity in all aspects of life: a feeling of pessimism, a belief that nothing can make your life better
• Changes in sleep pattern: sleeplessness; disturbed sleep, getting up too early, or sleeping more than is necessary
• Changes in eating patterns: lack of or change in appetite, or eating too little or too much
• Fatigue; difficulty in concentrating or making decisions
• Isolation, withdrawal from people, and neglecting your appearance
• Persistent sadness; and, self-disgust
• Social withdrawal, digestive disturbances, gloom and, in certain cases, suicidal tendencies.

   

Fact-File

Depression, the ‘common cold’ of emotional illness, is clearly on the ascendant in the elderly age-group - the ‘trigger’ being post-retirement blues, loss of spouse, loneliness and nuclear families, with grown-up children living separately. Researchers say that people who are depressed have only ‘learned’ to be depressed. They also emphasise that most elderly people with depression may have few close relationships and receive little, or inadequate, emotional support from their children.

While surveys suggest that depression is widespread, although several cases never come to the attention of doctors, studies signify that anti-depressants, the mainstay of conventional treatment, provide no more than modest benefit, not to speak of adverse side-effects. Besides, 40-60 per cent of depressed patients experience ‘relapses’ after conventional treatment. This exemplifies why there is a need for effective, natural alternatives, such as homeopathy. Homeopathy ‘distils’ and diagnoses the type of depression a person has; it does not just look at the apparent symptoms in isolation. It analyses each person (mind-body) as a completely unique individual. This holistic approach relates to the individual’s personality, temperament, sensitivities and also sensibilities.

Healing With Homeopathy

Twenty-six-year-old Mitisha, a business analyst, came to us with weight problems. When we began to record her case, her mother reported that she suffered from extreme mood swings with frequent bouts of depression. She also, as we analysed, seemed to lack interest in routine activities, because she felt ‘that nothing was going her way - in life and also career.’ Her thyroid function tests pointed towards hypothyroidism. When we distilled her detailed case history and analysis, we deduced that a homeopathic remedy appeared to be the remedy of choice for her health issues. We also began to track and monitor her weight, body fat, bone mass, visceral fat, muscle mass, total water content, basal metabolic index (BMI), and metabolic age on every follow- up. As the treatment progressed, she slowly began to feel better. Her mood swings too became less and not as frequent as they were before. She also began to shed her excess weight - this seemed to help her regain her lost confidence.

Obesity is a chronic disease. It is believed to be the outcome of certain interactions between our genes and the environment - and, also our mind. While overweight is defined as ‘abnormally high body weight due to excessive accumulation of body fat,’ there are certain ethnic differences in the distribution of subcutaneous fat. Yet, the general cause of the disorder is plain overeating. Besides, excess weight may also result from abnormal retention of water, bizarre muscular development, or some tumours, including a few endocrinal disorders.

Depression is one of the most commonly treated conditions by professional homeopaths worldwide. In a 6-year study of 6,544 patients, published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 71 per cent of patients on homeopathic treatment improved. In another review of 1,783 patient conditions, published in Homeopathy, 63.06 per cent of depressed patients experienced significant improvement with homeopathic treatment. Yet another randomised, double-blind study of a group of patients, suffering from moderate-to-severe depression, found homeopathy to be as effective as anti- depressant drugs. There was no evidence of side-effects, following homeopathic treatment.

Homeopathy not only helps patients who first and foremost suffer, or have problems to recover, from depression; it has also been shown to reduce related depression in patients having fibromyalgia, or following oestrogen withdrawal in cases of breast cancer.

Depression affects over 250 million people worldwide. It accounts for 4-5 per cent of total short-term disability days; in 76 per cent of such cases, the employee is a woman.

It is also reported that employers are losing billions of dollars every year in lost productivity, directly related to depression. A study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry found that an employee with depression averaged 27.02 lost workdays per year, from absence or poor performance on the job.

Homeopathy has the potential to offer a fairly cost- effective, effectual and safe alternative treatment plan for depression, in comparison to conventional medicine, while contributing significantly to reduced lost workdays.

How does homeopathy work? Most individuals with depression present with common symptoms, but these symptoms come about as a result of different causes. When treating depression, the ‘cause’ of what leads, or has led, to depression often helps your homeopathic doctor in choosing the right homeopathic remedy.

Self-Help

• Sit quietly; think what exactly is disturbing you
• Take a good look at how you respond to daily events
• See how you can make adjustments to reduce your stress levels

• Don’t blame others for your problems
• Exercise regularly for 20 minutes, 4-5 times a week; or, go for a 30-minute walk, 4-5 times a week
• Eat healthy and nutritious food, with 4-5 servings of fruits and vegetables, everyday
• Avoid sugar and caffeine. Remember: sugar and caffeine raise your stress levels
• Develop a hobby to take your mind away from stress
• Try relaxation, yoga, meditation, music tapes etc.,
• Become socially involved; watch a TV comedy show
• The individual, or a loved one, or caretaker, should consult their doctor, if one is not able to control one’s depressive spells, and follow-up on a regular basis.