The good news is there are natural alternatives to antidepressants

Depression and anxiety are becoming more and more common.

Last year, 64.7 million antidepressant items were prescribed in England. This is an all time high and an increase of 6% on the previous year and up 400% from 20 years ago.

Why Is This?

Is it because people are more under stress than before?

While we all live in a hectic world, let’s not forget that many of our grandparents lived through two world wars.

So many people I see in consultation definitely have more than their fair share of stress, but there is more going on than stress to cause so many to end up on antidepressants.

Just correcting nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and using natural remedies for many has helped them to recover from their depression and live drug free.

Getting sufficient nutrition is a problem today, not because of a lack of food, but a more a lack of nutrition. One could argue that alot of the stuff people eat these days is not really food at all. I can be nosey when waiting at the supermarket checkout and have a look at what people are buying. It is rare to see a trolley full of fresh veges, wholesome proteins and good fats. Usually I see a variety of high carb foods like bread, pasta, biscuits, TV dinners, crumpets, muffins, and pre-prepared foods and drinks, etc.

Food can be our medicine or our undoing. Getting nutritious food today is not easy, and only has about 40% of the nutrional content of the food our grandparents ate.

Relevance to Mental Health

So how can one expect to keep a healthy body and mind while being exposed to food with such depleted nutrition and an increase in toxicity from not only pesticides, drugs and plastics, but also increasingly high exposures to electronics, wifi, and moblie phones, etc.

Its hard to avoid these in a busy working life, so giving youself the nutrional tools and natural non toxic remedies to support yourself is essential.

Depression and other mental health issues can of course be triggered by excess stress, post traumatic stress,  loss and upheaval. But if we have the foundations and buttresses to get us through and support us in life, mental health conditions like depression and anxiety can be kept at bay in the majority of cases. I see this regularly.

Diet

You might know now I’m a big fan of the Ketogenic diet.  This diet with good fats, healthy protein and lots of fresh seasonal veges is great to help reduce inflammation,  help with weight loss and to deliver essential fats to the nervous system and brain.

Remedies

Minerals, such as Magnesium, Potassium (contraindicated with certain pharmaceutical medications), and Calcium are very important. These are essential for a strong nervous system. Discuss with me first, as these need to be given carefully in balance and taking into account medications a person may be on.

B vitamins. Nearly all the B vitamins play a role with how we feel mentally, particularly  B1, B5, B6, B12 and Folic acid.

Vitamin D3, this can help with depression.  I find that the dose usually recommended by Doctors is insufficient. Taking D3 with vitamin K2 is also important.

Fish oil/omega 3. I see mixed results with this for depression. Some people definitely notice improvement with sufficient doses of this.

Other good fats: Cold pressed virgin coconut oil used in cooking helps the nervous system

Homeopathic remedies: I’ve witnessed amazing results with depression and anxiety with homeopathy.  The key thing is to get the right remedy at the right potency. Homeopathy not only works on physical health, but also mental health. Email me and I’ll give you call (no consultation fee) to discuss the best remedy for you.

Other aspects to take into account are ones thyroid, adrenal and hormonal function.

Taking exercise and getting fresh air is also important, as well as reducing stress as much as you can.