Despite the recent advent of Prozac and other designer drugs, depression is on the rise. Since World War II, rates of depression have doubled in the U.S., and depression is now the second most disabling illness in the Western world after heart disease. While antidepressants continue to be the mainstay for the treatment of depression, 55-65% percent of people are not helped nearly enough, or they cannot endure the side effects, according to a recent article in the New York Times.
I am one of those people for whom medications were not a good fit. As a result, I have put together a holistic program for the prevention and treatment of depression and anxiety. This program also can balance the moods of those who suffer from bipolar disorder.
I have organized this treatment plan into five areas-physical self-care, mental/emotional self-care, spiritual self-care, people support, and lifestyle habits.
As you read through the material, think of my recommendations as guidelines, not hard-and-fast prescriptions. Each person’s healing journey is unique. Now, let’s begin.
Physical Self-Care
Your physical health is your greatest ally in preventing or overcoming depression. Caring for the body creates a strong foundation upon which to build good emotional health. On the other hand, when the body is out of balance, it can be difficult to maintain emotional serenity. As Thomas Jefferson put it centuries ago, “If the body is feeble, the mind will not be strong.” This is why physical self-care is the starting-off place in your recovery program.
Here are ten basic, common-sense, physical self-care habits that will help you to attain a better mood.
1) Avoid putting junk in your body. Start with the obvious toxins like tobacco, alcohol and hard drugs. In addition, eliminate processed foods such as soft drinks, diet sodas, candy, cookies, cakes, prepared entrees made with artificial ingredients, etc. For people who are sugar-sensitive, refined sugar acts like a drug and wreaks havoc on the brain and body.
2) Give the body sufficient exercise, at least 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week, in a way that breaks a sweat. The practice of yoga is particularly helpful in conditioning the body, calming the nervous system, and balancing the emotions.
3) Drink plenty of water, at least 64 ounces a day (one ounce/every two pounds of body weight) and more if you are active. Carry water with you so that you drink it in between meals. Make sure the water is pure, not city water. The best way to insure this is to use a good water filter.
4) Meet your body’s need for sufficient sleep with a regular and consistent sleep schedule.
5) Eat a diet that contains of a wide variety of fresh unprocessed foods, buying organic whenever possible. Make sure you eat at regular intervals to keep the blood sugar stable. Also eat sufficient protein, as the brain’s neurotransmitters are made from the essential amino acids from protein.
6) Learn how to properly oxygenate your body through deep, diaphragmatic breathing.
7) Get enough exposure to natural light (morning hours are best), especially if you have SAD (seasonal affective disorder). Light boxes are therapeutic for some people.
8) If you wish to explore alternative medicine that directly impacts your brain chemistry, whether it involves herbal remedies such as St. Johns Wort and Kava Kava or amino acids such as 5-HTP or SAMe, find an appropriate prescriber or nutritionally oriented physician to work with.
9) Find a way to fulfill your body’s need for touch through hugs or therapeutic massage.
10) Appreciate your body for the wonderful miracle that it is.
Mental/Emotional Self-Care
The new science of psychoneuroimmunology clearly documents the impact of the mind on the nervous system and immune functioning. Thus, developing positive thinking and feeling habits is an essential part of your “brain maintenance” program. Since negative thinking can actually create painful feelings, it is important to become aware of and release your irrational and self-defeating beliefs. Such beliefs include, “It is important for everyone to like me all of the time,” “I must be perfect in all that I do,” and “It is my fault that I am depressed.”
Other painful feelings are often the result of distorted, negative thinking, known as cognitive distortions. Some common distortions are: all-or-nothing thinking (seeing things in black-and-white categories); mental filter (picking out a single negative detail and dwelling on it exclusively); disqualifying the positive; jumping to conclusions (making a negative interpretation, even though there are no definite facts that support the conclusion); mind reading (arbitrarily concluding that someone else is reacting negatively to you without checking it out); emotional reasoning (assuming that negative emotions reflect the way things really are-i.e., “I feel it, therefore it must be true;” should statements; and personalization (seeing yourself as the cause of some negative external event which you are not responsible for)
Identifying and correcting self-defeating beliefs thinking errors will enhance your mood and help to balance out your emotions. Often, it is hard to do this alone, especially if you experienced trauma or abuse in your childhood. This is when finding a good therapist becomes an important aspect of your recovery program. There are many types of guides to choose from-psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, pastoral counselors, licensed professional counselors, drug and alcohol counselors, etc. Locating the right therapist means finding the right fit, just as in a marriage or business partnership. Take the time you need and trust your instincts. The person you work with will be an indispensable part of your healing journey.
The remainder of the Better Mood Recovery Program is described in Treating Depression and Anxiety Without Medication – Part Two.