If you are like me and prefer not to put any chemicals in your body in the form of drugs and medication, you need to find a natural alternative. But what if you suffer from depression that requires you to constantly take medication just so that you can function normally in life? Are there natural alternatives that can suffice as a replacement for prescribed anti-depressants?

Finding natural alternatives for any type of illness is harder than you may think but they are available. This is because people are under the impression that these natural alternatives just don’t work. The problem is that they take time to work and often don’t give instant relief to symptoms as their chemical counterparts do.

We live in a society where instant gratification is key and we will take anything prescribed by a doctor without taking into consideration the side effects or the long term damage the drugs can do to our bodies.

The most well known natural treatment for depression is St. Johns Wort. The active ingredients in the plant are hypericin and hyperforin. These two ingredients inhibit the uptake of serotonin in the brain in much the same way as chemical antidepressants work.

There are different ways in which you can take St. Johns Wort. Consuming the actual plant or drinking it as a tea has been found to relatively ineffective in treating depression. This is because you would need to consume a large amount of the plant to inter enough of the active ingredients to take effect.

It is therefore recommended that it be taken in pill or tablet form where the active ingredients have been extracted from the plant and can be consumed in a more concentrated manner. Taking these tablets does not however guarantee a result as some formulations don’t work.

Read the label of any St. Johns Wort supplement that you are thinking of purchasing and using. Make sure that hypericin is mentioned on the label. In some cases hyperforin may also be mentioned but in most cases just the mention of hypericin if enough.

If the label states that the product contains Hyericum, do not think that this is a variation on hypericin or a spelling error. Hypericum is simply the Latin name for the genus of the plant species and may not contain the active ingredient in high enough dosages.

The active ingredient hypericin should be contained in a dosage of 0.2% or more and can constitute up to 0.28% of the formulation. hyperforin should constitute between 3 and 6 percent of the capsule or tablet.

It is important to follow the dosage instructions carefully for St. Johns Wort to be effective. Take the amount of recommended pills over a recommended period of time.

The effectiveness of St. Johns Wort as a replacement medication for antidepressants can vary when considering the severity and type of depression. It is important to consult with your health care professional when discontinuing or changing your current medication for a natural alternative.

Main Depression Types And Their Symptoms

There are persons who use to say they are depressed without actually realizing what it really means. Being sad or disappointed by some unpleasant situation in your life, doesn’t mean you are depressed. Depression is a severe mental illness and it should be diagnosed and treated by a doctor.

If you are concerned with your symptoms and you’d like to know whether or not they are alarm signals that should make you go see a specialist, this article may be for you.

First of all, you should know there are several types of depression. Major or clinical depression is one of the most severe ones. If you experience a loss of interest in any of your former normal activities, if you aren’t interested in your relationships anymore or if you have a constant sense of hopelessness, you might suffer from major depression. Secondary symptoms which may or may not occur in all sufferers include insomnia, lack of appetite, impaired concentration, thoughts of suicide or a significant variation in your body weight (be it loss or gain). An NIMH research shows that 20%-25% of the adult population suffer at least one episode of clinical depression during their lifetime.

Chronic depression or dysthymia is milder. Its symptoms are the same as the ones described above, but their intensity is much more diminished. Sufferers can live and function with the disease, but their quality of life won’t be the best. If diagnosed, dysthymia is treatable via psychotherapy or medication.

Manic depression or bipolar disorder, as it is known today, is characterized by dramatic mood changes. In the depression phase, the disorder has the same symptoms as clinical depression. In the manic phase, the sufferer will have racing thoughts, grandiose notions, increased talking volume and speed, risk-taking behaviors, extremely high levels of energy and severe insomnia. The standard treatment may include mood stabilizer drugs such as lithium. Early diagnose and treatment are important in stabilizing the disease and reducing its symptoms.

Psychotic depression is a type of severe depression characterized by special psychosis symptoms. Patients might experience hallucinations either visual or auditive. They might have strange thoughts. For instance, they might believe they are watched and controlled by an extraterrestrial power. Psychotic depression is usually treated in the hospital. Patients may need to be under constant supervision, because they have a very high risk of committing suicide. With proper treatment and care, the disease is treatable, however one can expect at least one year from diagnosis to cure.

Postpartum depression occurs in women after giving birth. The cause is a rapid change in hormones after delivery, combined with all physical and emotional changes associated with having a newborn baby in her life. Although serious, this affection will heal completely in most women. They shouldn’t neglect the symptoms. Speaking to a specialist will help them overcome this tough period of their life without any sequels.

Diagnosing depression can be challenging. Sufferers may refuse to go to the doctor. It will be a delicate task for family members to actually make them understand they need help.

The brain is the most powerful organ in a human body, yet depression (like many other forms of mental illness) is still a largely stigmatized disorder. Unfortunately, it also happens to be a widespread problem, as an estimated 19 million adults in the United States alone live with it. Symptoms typically manifest in patients between the ages of 20 and 30, and the disorder is often diagnosed through patients self-reporting of symptoms such as changes in self-esteem, appetite, sleep patterns, or enjoyment in everyday activities. Science has yet to fully understand what causes depression, but it is thought to be a mixture of hereditary, sociological, and psychological triggers.

The most common scientific explanation for depression is an imbalance in the levels of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain, all of which are chemicals that are naturally present to regulate brain function. When these chemicals become imbalanced, there may be a high level of one and a low level of another, thereby causing an imbalance. Depression also often comes with other issues, typically in the form of anxiety or general pain. Both of these problems have high instances of occurrence in depressed adults. However, they make diagnoses of the problem much easier for medical professionals, as patients can self-report these symptoms.

Currently modern medicine offers several approaches to treating depression. The most common school of thought surrounding the disorder claims that there is a direct relation between levels of stress in an individual and their levels of depression. Treating depression often involves treating anxiety and helping patients cope with stressors in their lives in the form of therapy and counseling. The addition of anti-depressants is often made as well. These drugs help to regulate the levels of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain, which can offer immense relief to patients. There are also several theories concerning the brains of depressed people vs a healthy person, which state that there are differences in the shape of several important parts of the brain between the two. Poverty, child abuse, and social isolation are all thought to increase the risk for mental illness in general quite drastically. It is thought that when a highly stressful live event occurs without social support, the risk for depression in that person also tends to rise drastically.  Alcohol and drug use also are known to contribute heavily to depression.

Once diagnosed with depression, patients have several treatments to choose from. The most common is psychotherapy, in the form of group or individual therapy sessions. Antidepressants, while typically ineffective in patients with mild to moderate depression, are often given to those with severe depression. The success rate for antidepressants is thought to be more effective for severe depression because this is usually the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain. The final method for treating depression that has not responded to other therapies is called electroconvulsive therapy. This involves stimulating parts of the brain while the patient is sedated, and has shown great success for those suffering heavily.  No matter what level of depression you may be suffering from, there is help available.