Depression

I was in the public school system for 6 years, from 2000-2006. When I got out, I suffered for several months with depression. I never want to go back to those zombie-like days again, and I am so grateful to my husband for helping/putting up with me!
I have felt so much better in the last few months, mostly because of:
I have found that what works for me for the best way to combat (and it is a fight!) depression is the following:

Lots of water
no soda (or at least limit it to once a week!!!)
Lots of Omega-3s (ck out my christopher's egg page) and
I take Carlson's Cod Liver Oil pills
Sunshine - extremely important - I need to walk at least 3 times a week or
I know I will suffer!
Green Tea - lots of anti-oxidants
A really good Multi-vitamin - I like Garden of Life Living Multi and
Nature's Way Alive!
Acidophilus pill - cause 80% of your immune system is in your gut
severely limit caffeine intake

now if only I could wean myself off of sugar........

Here's a couple of websites:
http://www.savvypatients.com/depression.htm
Dr. Mercola

I found this article to be interesting. If you are on medication, you can always do the above and take your pills. If you and your doctor carefully monitor your progess, you can try almost anything!

From the Dr. Mercola website: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/05/22/antidepressant-pregnancy.aspx

Clearly drugs are rarely the best choice for pregnant women who are depressed. There are so many better options.

Antidepressants are the top-selling therapeutic class, with $12.5 billion in retail sales. Depression is an enormously common problem and many people use a drug-based solution to address it.

Second generation antidepressants have traditionally been believed to be safe during pregnancy. However, this report shows that Paxil use may cause a withdrawl symptoms in babies once they are born.

While I am certain many women benefit in some ways from their use, these drugs are in no way shape or form ever responsible for improving the underlying cause of depression.

Sure seems to make a lot more sense to recommend the use of simple therapies which are far more effective and virtually non-toxic.

Now, what would those be?

First and foremost, especially with pregnant women, the use of omega-3 oils is an absolute must. It is also clear that omega-3 fat supplementation and restriction of omega-6 fats will profoundly improve the brain function.

Dr. Stoll is the director of the psychopharmacology research lab at Boston's McLean Hospital and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He discusses this extensively in his book The Omega-3 Connection. He reviews the new evidence supporting the use of omega-3 oils for depression.

I thoroughly enjoyed his book, but disagree with his recommendations to avoid using cod liver oil. It is my experience that as long as the dose is carefully monitored, cod liver oil is far more beneficial than traditional fish oil capsules.

In addition to treating the depression they will also do wonders for improving the intelligence of the child and protecting them from the epidemic of brain injuries such as autism, pervasive developmental delay and ADHD.

Secondly exposure to full spectrum lighting is key. In the summer this is a no-brainer, just spend one hour outside in the sunlight, not behind a window. The window will filter out many of the over 1500 wavelengths that are present in full sunlight. If the problem occurs during the winter then access to full spectrum fluorescent lighting will be very important.

If pregnant women only did the following three steps, the great majority would notice amazing improvement in their depression:

• Omega-3 oils, specifically fish oil, is probably the single most important nutrient for a child with ADHD to take.
• Next they should only drink water as their beverage, taking care to avoid fruit juices, soda and milk.
• Restrict sugars and grains, which cause insulin levels to be elevated.