It’s not unusual to experience feelings of sadness, emptiness, and frustration every once in a while. However, these feelings gradually dissipate as the situation improves or as time passes. In fact, the longest these feelings last is two to three days.
For people diagnosed with clinical depression though, these emotions can last for up to two weeks or longer! In addition to these feelings, you may also lose interest in several things; from self-care to nutrition and hobbies.
Left untreated, depression can escalate to severe problems, such as weight gain and physical health issues. One of the best ways to treat depression symptoms and keep them in check is to use a holistic approach.
Put simply, this means using an approach that covers all angles of the person’s life. Rather than relying solely on medications, the treatment addresses the individual’s emotional, spiritual and social well-being as well. Here are 5 strategies that work perfectly for a holistic treatment of depression.
Holistic Options for Depression Treatment
Diet
One way to manage depression is by switching to a healthy diet. Such a diet is made up primarily of whole foods, including whole grains, fruits, veggies, lean meats, beans and fish.
Following such a diet keeps your blood sugar levels low or stable. This, in turn, helps you maintain a good mood throughout the day.
Experts also recommend supplementing your diet with crucial vitamins and minerals. Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12 and folate have been found to be particularly effective in managing symptoms of depression.
In the spirit of adopting a healthy diet, you should also familiarize yourself with the unhealthy foods that aren’t good for depression. More specifically, you’ll want to avoid highly-processed foods, sugary snacks, and soft drinks. These can cause your blood sugar levels to fluctuate dramatically and subsequently, affect your mood.
Supplementing with high quality supplements are also key when dealing with depression. Supplements such as Lithium Orotate, multivitamins, magnesium, 5HTP, fish oil are all beneficial. People who struggle with chronic stress or depression are usually deficient in one or more of very improtant nutritients/vitamins. I recommened to start by taking a great multivitamin such as Pure Encapsulations: Pure Genomics Ultramultivitamin, and thank me later 😉
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Exercise
Another way to tackle depression symptoms is by exercising. Working out triggers a series of events, which leads to multiple health perks.
For instance, it’s well known that exercising helps to improve your sleeping patterns, regulates blood pressure while minimizing the risk of life-threatening conditions like heart disease and diabetes.
If you’d like to use exercises to manage depression symptoms, you have the option of doing low-intensity or high-intensity workouts. The high-intensity exercises spark the production of the feel-good hormones that improve your mood.
On the other hand, low-intensity exercises trigger the release of growth factors – also known as neurotrophins. These proteins are responsible for the growth of nerve cells in the brain, which then improves brain functioning and helps to relieve depression symptoms.
Mindfulness Practices
This entails participating in activities that help your mind and body to relax. Examples of these practices include:
Meditation
When you’re depressed, you struggle to overcome negative thoughts. Meditation makes you aware of these negative thinking patterns, and helps you to let go. It forces you to pay utmost attention to the problem. In doing so, you’re able to find alternative solutions to your situation; hence, overcome the negative thoughts.
Acupuncture
This century-old practice- which involves pricking the skin with tiny needles at specific points – has also been found to offer benefits for people living with depression.
There are a couple of reasons that explain this concept. For starters, acupuncture triggers the production of chemicals into the brain and other body parts, which then kick starts the natural healing process. Another reasoning is that acupuncture acts as a pain-reliever, which can itself exacerbate depression symptoms or stem from depression.
Adopting Spiritual Practices
For believers, turning to spirituality can make it easier to manage symptoms of depression. As stated earlier, one thing that people living with depression struggle with is negative thinking.
When you start relying on a higher power, your mindset changes. You begin to understand that whatever bad situation you’re going through isn’t meant to last. “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10)
