Central West Naturopathic
PH: 02 6342 3887
104 Kendal St. Cowra 2794
24 Spring Street Forbes 2871
email: centralwestnaturopathic@hotmail.com
www.centralwestnaturopathic.com.au
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Depression
Have you ever had feelings of sadness you can’t explain, low mood or lethargy, or
just plain disinterest in activities of the day? Some would call this depression. It is
a fact of life that we all have emotional highs and lows, and there is nothing that
says we have to be ecstatically happy all the time. In fact such a state of constant
euphoria could in itself be diagnosed as extreme. What matters is that there is
recognition of the normalness of mood changes, within limits.
Grief is the emotion associated with the loss of something or someone we hold
dearly, upon which we have placed emotional value. It is normal to feel sad when
we lose a relative, close friend or pet. Even trading in the old car brings its own
feelings of loss. But that sense of loss is something we overcome, we have a
managed sense of regret for the loss, and get on with our lives again. If that
sense of loss becomes life controlling and all-consuming a diagnosis of clinical
depression may result. There is a psychiatry reference called the DSM4 that says
the grief should be resolved within 2 months. I do not agree with such a time line
as people all deal with issues in their own way and time. Often it is not
medication that is required, but counselling and the support of family and friends
that helps deeply grieving people through their emotional crisis.
Depression can be caused by factors from outside (such as loss or trauma), or
from inside (hormonal issues, mineral imbalance, nutritional deficiencies). The
DSM4 gives a list of behaviours or conditions upon which diagnosis of depression
can be made, but does not ask why these conditions may exist. Anti-depressant
medications have their place in some cases, but do not change the cause of the
depression. Often medication and complication go hand in hand. The mood is
managed, the problem masked, but the cause still hasn’t been resolved. The first
rule of competent prescribing is ‘investigate before you medicate’.
People who are bored, isolated or inactive can become depressed. If your world is
small then problems in it can appear more significant. Pills – whether prescribed
or ‘over the counter’ supplements - don’t change boredom, isolation or inactivity.
In these cases change in life style is necessary. It is a fact that if you repeatedly
do the same thing the same way you will get the same results. To make a change
in results you need to change what you do, and limit what you will put up with.
Become active, join a group, find new interests. Become a community volunteer.
If we are constantly exposed to hurt, bullying, and dissatisfying work or
relationships mental health will be affected. Busy people don’t usually have time
for depression. Focus on the good things that are happening in life, rather than
dwell on the negative issues. Another factor to consider is self centredness, or
fixation on minor symptoms or problems, which become out of proportion to
reality. Here the ‘depression’ can sometimes described as attention seeking.
If there are underlying physical, nutritional or metabolic problems these need to
be addressed, not just masked by mood controlling medications or symptom
suppression. Some common underlying conditions that cause emotional
suppression, often wrongly considered to be depression, include underfunctioning thyroid or adrenal glands, anemia, pituitary dysfunction, malnutrition
syndromes including obesity, and mineral toxicity. Living in rural environments
exposes us to chemical sprays, hard water, animal borne infections and allergies
to animals and pollens. These can also affect our mental health and need to be
considered in a treatment plan. One significant precursor to depression is
intractable pain of arthritis or other diseases, like cancer. Good palliative care
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Author: Stephen Tamplin, RN, ND, DAc
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Central West Naturopathic
PH: 02 6342 3887
104 Kendal St. Cowra 2794
24 Spring Street Forbes 2871
email: centralwestnaturopathic@hotmail.com
www.centralwestnaturopathic.com.au
_____________________________________________________________________
includes effective pain management.
We can all have issues in life which make us anxious from time to time, especially
when we appear to be not in control of our circumstances. Anxiety is not
depression, but an episode of emotional stress. To overcome these stressors
preparation is necessary, like studying for an exam or budgeting for expenses.
Relax. With preparation for known events you develop the resource to cope,
which reduces anxiety.
Anxiety and depression both aggravated by alcohol as both alcohol and stress
deplete our reserves of coping nutrients, such as magnesium and Vitamin B, so
supplementation and nutrient correction may be good options to consider. There
are some herbs, called adaptogens, such as Gotu Kola and Ginseng which help
people to cope with difficult times of life.
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Author: Stephen Tamplin, RN, ND, DAc
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