Fight Depression Without Drugs

The condition known as depression can range from a self-limiting case of the blues to a life-threatening illness. Medications are often prescribed for depression, and if you are experiencing significant, debilitating depressive symptoms, drug therapy may be your best option for improving quality of life. If you prefer to fight depression without drugs, however, there are many simple, effective strategies to try, especially if you’re dealing with a passing case of the blues or a situational depression triggered by life circumstances. These steps can also be helpful when used along with medication for serious depression.

Steps

Changing Your Thinking Patterns

  1. Tackle manageable problems. Not all problems have straightforward solutions; depression can be exacerbated by issues that are out of your control, like health problems, financial problems, and the death of a loved one. In order to overcome life’s toughest problems, it helps to get practice by tackling something you can change. What are the smaller obstacles in your life that cause you to feel negative day by day? Practice overcoming those, and you’ll gain strength to face the bigger issues.
    • Set solution-oriented goals. Think of concrete ways you can improve your situation. Has your house gotten overly cluttered? That’s something you can tackle. Make a detailed plan to clean the house, room by room, and allow yourself to feel satisfaction with each mission you accomplish.
    • Keep track of your progress in a journal. Sometimes the simple act of writing a goal down provides motivation to move forward and make a change.
  2. Express yourself. Depression tends to cause people to retreat from life and avoid communicating a lot with other people, but it only gets worse when you keep emotions bottled up inside. Your feelings have value because they are a part of you, so find a way to express them.
    • Don’t spend too much time alone. Have daily conversations with friends, family and classmates and avoid negative people. It’s not necessary to talk about your depression; just be yourself and say what comes naturally. The most important thing is to remember you are not alone and there will be always someone ready to help.
    • Writing, dance, visual arts, music and other types of art can be extremely therapeutic forms of self expression.
    • Don’t be afraid to express sadness, fear, anger, anxiety and the other emotions that accompany depression. These feelings are as much a part of life as happiness and satisfaction. Compounding your emotions with shame will only make you feel worse.
  3. Nourish your spiritual side. Many people find that turning to spirituality helps them find peace when they’re dealing with depression.
    • Try meditation, which is focused on developing thought patterns that lead to self-awareness and peace. Research meditation groups in your area or practice on your own.
    • If you are a religious person, consider attending your place of worship more frequently, and getting involved in groups that meet outside of services. Spending time with like-minded people will give you the comfort of being part of a community.
  4. Be kind to yourself. Depression can lead to extremely negative feelings about one’s abilities and personality. Focus on what you like about yourself and the positive things you have to offer the world, rather than dwelling on things that are going wrong.
    • Don’t blame yourself for being depressed. Depression affects almost everyone at one point or another. You aren’t weak or cowardly; you have a condition that can be debilitating, and you’re taking steps to face it head-on. That’s brave.

Changing Your Activity Patterns

  1. Spend extra time outside. Breathing fresh air, reconnecting with nature, and basking in sunlight to restore your body’s vitamin D levels can go a long way toward uplifting your spirits. Spend time outside every single day. When possible, leave the city and go for a walk in the woods, or take a drive to the nearest lake or pond.
    • If it’s too cold to go outside for long, open the blinds and let natural light flood your house.
    • During the darker winter months, light therapy products can help replace the sun’s rays. These are available for purchase at many drugstores and online.
  2. Stay busy. Sticking to a busy daily routine is an important way to escape the blues. If you don’t have a job or classes to go to, bring your laptop or a book to a local coffee shop. Don’t allow yourself to skip a day just because you’re feeling a little sad.
    • Make a list of the chores that need to be done each week, and check them off as you get them accomplished.
    • Take on responsibilities. Giving up responsibilities when you’re depressed can lead to feelings of inadequacy and helplessness. Offer to take your elderly relative to the grocery store each week, and make a point of being extremely reliable.
  3. Exercise every day. Moving the body has a way of relaxing the mind - in fact, exercise is proven to decrease feelings of anxiety and depression. Find an exercise that appeals to you, like walking, yoga, swimming or biking, and do it every day.
    • Don’t worry about exercising to lose weight. Focus on how good it feels to use your body, to feel your heart pumping and your breathing get faster.
    • Exercise with a partner to make it more fun. Try making a weekly walking date with a friend or relative.

Practicing Self-Care

  1. Eat foods with antidepressant properties. In addition to eating a balanced diet, increase foods that are known to help with depression. These include foods high in omega 3 fatty acids, such as salmon, sardines and walnuts, and food high in other healthy fats, such as avocados and coconut oil.
  2. Try supplements. There are many supplements on the market that are said to act as natural antidepressants. Be sure to talk with your doctor before adding supplements to your routine, as many are contraindicated with certain prescription drugs.
    • St. John’s Wort is a popular supplement that is said to treat depression and anxiety.
    • 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is derived from an African plant, and is said to be an effective natural mood stabilizer.
    • S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAM or SAM-e) replaces natural compounds mammals produce to stabilize moods.
    • Green tea contains L-Theanine, a natural antidepressant. This may be taken in pill form or consumed as tea.
  3. Cut alcohol and drugs. Alcohol and drugs might alleviate the symptoms of depression in the short term, but they almost always make things worse after a while. To gain full control over your emotions, it’s best to cut them out entirely.
    • Alcohol is actually a depressant, and sometimes causes negative feelings to grow worse even while it is being consumed for pleasure.
    • If you’re struggling with an addiction to alcohol or drugs, it’s important to get treatment right away. You won’t be able to lift yourself out of depression without outside help. Contact your local AA or NA group for more information.
  4. See a therapist. When you don’t feel you’re able to conquer your depression alone, know when it's time to seek outside help. Therapists are trained to help people develop new thought and behavior patterns to ease depression and prevent it from happening again. Your therapist will develop a treatment plan tailored to your needs.
    • There’s strong evidence that talk therapy, particularly cognitive therapy that concentrates on changing negative thought patterns, can be an effective treatment for depression, either alone or when combined with drugs.
    • Pastoral counseling and 12-step groups can also offer a place to talk out your feelings and get help with circumstances that accompany or are caused by depression.

Tips

  • See your healthcare provider for an initial diagnosis. Depression may be caused or made worse by other illnesses your doctor can rule out or treat.
  • Practice gratitude and compassion daily. Concentrate on the good things in your life and on performing uplifting actions towards others.
  • Living in now is the most powerful way of finding the lost sense of life. Avoiding multitasking; instead, try to concentrate on one single activity and find the beauty and peace in it. Having time and giving time to people, being in peace what is outside, accepting. Never let any task being a means to an end. Instead give it a permission to be worth in the now. Practice simplicity and perception of beauty.

Warnings

  • Check with your healthcare provider before initiating use of any herbal remedies or supplements, as these may interact with other medications you are taking.
  • Do not simply stop taking medication prescribed for depression. Your condition may worsen. Withdrawal from some medications causes serious side effects. Discuss reducing your dosage or discontinuing medications with your doctor, so the process can be managed.

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Sources and Citations

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