Natural remedies for depression are only important to us when we’re feeling pretty darned low or when a loved one or good friend is depressed. And that is everybody, at some time or other in their lives. But the sane and sensible way to handle the blues is to be pre-emptive and live a lifestyle that minimizes your chances of staying high so that we rarely ever get depressed and there’s nothing to ‘cure’.
There are various kinds of depression, of course. Depression ranges from the infrequent kind and the extreme kind that causes people to think about suicide, with everything in between. These latter kinds call for medical and psychological intervention. But the kind that we all get from time to time can definitely be prevented, eliminated or shortened by a natural remedy for depression or two or three … take your pick from the list below.
Natural Treatment For Depression #1: Diet
Obviously, a powerful natural treatment for depression is a healthy diet. Never believe that sickness is natural! Our bodies constantly seek to be healthy, to be in balance, and generally if we assist it to do just that, radiant health will be our reward. An ample supply of organic fruits and veggies, as well as good water, is the best possible diet.
A word about animal products and depression: sorry, but depression is more likely with these kinds of foods. Animals are loaded with hormones, steroids and other chemicals that depress the human nervous system and thus make a gloomy psychological outlook more possible. Eat them if you wish, but expect consequences.
Natural Treatment For Depression #2: Apples
Want to know how to cure depression? Then remember the old adage that says, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". Potassium is a depression fighter and apples are loaded with it. You can’t buy potassium pills and get the same results.
Another substance that transforms depressive tendencies is vitamin B (see below) and apples are loaded with this necessary vitamin.
In honesty, though, there is a problem with apples – that is, that most of the apples in the average grocery store taste terrible! They’re "mealy", tasteless and don’t have any juice. Your best chance of getting a decent apple is in the fall, or you can buy organic ones which are usually much better, although more expensive. The store-bought ones are usually picked before they’re fully ripe and then ripen by having gas pumped through the fruit. No wonder they taste terrible! Yuck!
Natural Treatment For Depression #3: Roses … Roses?
I grow roses – especially the Knock Out roses which bloom for months – and I don’t do this because I need natural cures for depression. Nevertheless, they’re a powerful remedy for those who are suffering from this horrid ailment. Simply boil some water then take your pan off the water, pour some in a cup and drop in a few rose petals. You can use a bit of sugar if you want although I prefer stevia. When the mixture is cool, drink it down. (Take out the rose petals, of course.)
NOTE: don’t do this if you use chemicals on your roses!
Natural Treatment For Depression #4: B-Complex Vitamins
B vitamins have a profound effects on depression. Many of the B-complex vitamins convert glucose (our blood sugar) into fuel, especially for the brain. It’s obvious that if our brain isn’t getting the nutrients it needs, it’s not gonna’ be happy. We can’t store these vitamins so we need to get them daily for maximum emotional well being – which is what we all want. We daily destroy our B vitamin supply with refined food, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and refined sugars.
As we mentioned, apples are a good source of B vitamins, but the best of all is grains. Whole grains, not refined ones – like brown rice over white or whole-grained pasta over the while stuff.
Natural Treatment For Depression #5: A Warm Bath
Relaxation is THE most effective natural remedy for depression. Depression and tense, tight mental and physical muscles are kissing cousins, so any way we can relax will help with depression. The best way to help the miseries is to take your bath in a quiet room where you will not be disturbed. Lowering the lights will help, too. And you can add relaxing herbs or flowers, like the rose petals we mentioned earlier. A warm bath is a temporary adjustment for the blues, but if done on a constant basis, you will relax more and more, making it hard for Old Devil Depression to grab you in his claws.
Natural Treatment For Depression #6: Meditation
In keeping with the notion of relaxation mentioned above, meditation is an awesome antidote. There’s a misconception that we have to adhere to some religious discipline or be Buddhist monks to meditate, but that’s simply not so. Meditation is at least 5,000 years old and it’s simple to do, although it’s certainly not easy.
Simple: sit in a comfortable position and bring your attention back to your breathing.
Not easy: your restless mind will resist this kind of quiet by constantly dashing away to different subjects, ideas and thoughts. All you need to do is firmly, but gently, return your attention to your breath. Sit in meditation for about 15 minutes and then go about your business.
IMPORTANT: never use meditation as an excuse to beat yourself up! Yeah, your mind is like a rebellious teenager. So what? Mediation is a process, not a goal, and the longer you meditate, the less depressed you will be.
Natural Treatment For Depression #7: Asparagus Root Power
I love asparagus. There’s almost nothing anyone can do to an asparagus that will make me not like it! (Chocolate covered asparagus, anyone? :-) But there is a remedy I’ve never tried that is supposed to be a powerful tool for curing depression and that is using the asparagus root. Supposedly, if we crush or squeeze the root, a powder will appear and if we consume one-two grams per day, depression will be close to impossible. This seems both impractical and expensive to me (asparagus is NOT cheap) but it’s supposedly dramatically effective, so I am including the notion here.
These natural remedies for depression have all worked for some folks. Will they work for you? There’s no way to know unless you try but one thing is for sure: curing depression with heavy-duty drugs isn’t a good option for anyone. Trying natural remedies first is always best unless your depression is so deep as to be dangerous. In that case, get professional help immediately.
Leave a Reply