Natural Remedies for Depression and Bipolar Disorder

If you are considering taking a natural or vitamin supplement to treat Bipolar Disorder or Depression or to reduce the symptoms these common uses and side effects may be useful.

Many studies are being done with natural remedies for Depression and Bipolar disorder.  Some of these show promising results and when used either in combination with traditional medications there may be an improvement of the symptoms of these disorders.  

The role of natural supplements in the treatment of Bipolar disorder and Depression is being investigated presently and although there the treatment is just being discovered the outlook looks promosing. People with Bipolar disorder and depression, with the use of herbs, vitamins and supplements, may find some help and relief. Natural therapy using nutritional supplements are being researched to find whether or not these treatments are effective in the reduction of symptoms and/or recovery from these serious mental disorders.

Always consult your doctor before using any of these treatments.  In addition to these facts there is research being done on the relationship of smoking with people with Bipolar disorder.  People who smoke and have Bipolar disorder seem to have a higher risk of suicide attempts and suicidal behavior. 

People with Bipolar disorder and depression, with the use of herbs, vitamins and supplements, may find some help and relief. Natural therapy using nutritional supplements are being researched to find whether or not these treatments are effective in the reduction of symptoms and/or recovery from these serious mental disorders.

Omega-3 fatty acids  The symptoms of Bipolar disorder the cycling from depression and mania have been linked possible to the higher ammounts of omega-3 fatty acids and the shortages.  Suppliments may help decrease the symptoms.  Each person differs so that it is know how much is required or what doses  are required to be proven beneficial

Exercise has been proven to be one of the best natural remedies for depression and can improve mood.Aerobic exercise can release mood elavating chemical in the brain while decreasing stress. A quick walk in the morning is a great way of beating the blues.

Light Therapy is very effective in relieving the symptoms of SAD disorder which occurs during the changes of the seasons. Exposure to light helps the sleep wake cycle and enables it to work properly. Serotin a chemical which influences the mood is released during morning hours with the coming of light. Serotin levels can drop during the winter months when there is less sunlight. Waling in the morning can raise the serotin levels. There are special lights which can be found to simulate natural sunlight studies have found that they can be effective in alieviating the symptoms of depression.When used for 20-30 minutes a day positive results can be found.

St. John's Wort has been used as natural medicine as a remidy for sadness nervousnessm and poor sleep. The results of 20 studies has found that St. John's wort is as effective as antidepressants with patients with mild depression with fewer side effects. Although it has been useful in mild depression it does not seem to be of use with major clinical depression. St. John's Wort should not be used in conjunction with other prescription or over the counter medications. It is not recommended for women who are pregnant or nursing with children people with Bipolar disorder, kicney, liver disease.

SAM-e is a chemical found in the human body naturally and is believed to increase the level of seritin and dopamine in the brain. SAM-e is available as a supplement in health stores and drug stores. It is more expensive than other supplements and does have some side effects such as nausea and constipation. It is still believed to have positive effects on depression.

5HTP is naturally produced in the body and \helps make serotonin, however, the evidence that shows that it theorectically should increase the serotionin levels it has not been proven to do so. It should not be combined with antidepressants also the safety of 5-HTP has not been determined.

Diet plays a large part in maintaining balace of mood. The reduction of sugar and avoiding caffine and alchohol can be beneficial. Although sweets and caffine boots energy and alchohol may relax us the effects are not long lasting and can worsen mood swings, anxiety and insomnia. When these drugs are avoided the stability of mood are enhanced.

Vitamin B6 produces mood enhancer of the transmitters serotonin and dopamine. B6 vitamin deficiency is not common taking oral contraceptives and certain drugs may occur.

Magnesium incorporated into the diet also aids in the production of serotonin. Sources of magnesium are beans, nuts, whole grains and green vegetables. Stress depletes magnesium in the body and is needed for the production of serotonin.

St John's Wort and Depression

St John's Wort is an herb which is commonly know to treat some forms of depression. The mild forms of depression are thought to be alleviated by supplementing your diet with the herb which is distributed in the form of pills, liquid or ground form as a tea.

In different parts of the world it is used as a herbal treatment for depression usually in the case of mild depression in children and teenagers.

St John's Wort has at times been shown to be as effective as antidepressants and has fewer side effects. St John's Wort dies not appear to be useful in certain chronic forms of depression.

Conflicting reports on the use in patients with major depression have been found and it is not seen to be as effective as a traditional antidepressants.

There have been reports of some side effects, stomach irritation, dizziness, confusion, fatigue and excess sedation. There have been no overdoses. In schizophrenic patients it it does cause a worsening to psychosis.

There are numerous medications which different interactions including serious, life threatening interactions In animals there are reports of serious side effects with the ingestion of St Johns Wort including Foot and Mouth disease.

The benefits of St John's Wort needs further studies and at the present time such studies are being done.

If the beneficial effects of St John's Wort can be found St John's Wort will prove to be an affordable asset to medication which would make the prognosis for depressed patients who suffer from depression.  

Self Esteem and Depression

Everyone has one of the I never should have gotten out of bed days. When you find yourself at the far end of an emotional spectrum. When you lose your inner balance and find that you cannot return to it that is the time to take action. Most people feel bad about themselves from time to time. Low self esteem can be triggered by an incident in the recent past or by the judgment which you may have of yourself. You deserve to feel good about yourself. It is not easy when you are under the stress if having symptoms that are difficult or impossible to manage or when you have a disability. The episodes in life draw you into a downward spiral leading to lower and lower self esteem. The negative self thoughts make you feel so bad about yourself and you may do something that could only make you feel even worse.

Low self esteem is a symptom of depression.

Manic episodes produce irrational ideas which seem to be absolutely possible and will lead to great success and rewards and the contagious optimism where life is limitless and so along with it

your energy. Then a clearer picture of your symptoms and how they affect your daily life and those around you shows the devastating crash of depression which the maxed out credit cards can not fix.

Suddenly you find yourself at the point of the realization that life is not all that rosy and the nightmare will continue to pursue you until you fear your own self. he past seems to loam over your head and you reach the end of the infectious high and sink deeper and deeper into a depressive state. All seems lost and hopeless, bleak and dismal. You look at the past few days, weeks, months of the high and you see that it was filled with bad decisions and expectations. You wonder how you ever thought of yourself as anything other than a loser, a person who could never and would never do anything productive and if it was it would be mediocre and not even impress your own mother. Life was filled with half started attempts at things that you were never able to achieve or even worthy of achieving. You think of your High School prom and how you were never cheerleader material, never the valedictorian of your class, never an honor student. Incapable of anything worthwhile you wonder where life will lead you and why.

Before you go off the deep end losing all to the depression.

Think of the chocolate cakes that you consumed, all the cups of dark and sweet coffee that you deluged your body with craving quarts of ice cream and candy.

Processed sugar is addictive and contributes to depression

Junk food, foods containing a lot of sugar need to be avoided. Taking good care of yourself and working at taking good care of yourself will make you feel better about yourself. Eat healthy vegetables and fruit; whole grain foods and protein foods can lift your self esteem in time when added to a constructive exercise routine. Do things that make use of your talents and abilities it may be studying a language, playing an instrument creativity builds self confidence and thereby lifting a sagging self esteem. One way to boost your self esteem is learn something new or improve your skills at something you may already do.

Pay attention to your own needs and wants; get in tune with your body if you are tired of sitting stand for a while or take a short walk, a moving body helps to make you feel better and improves you opinion of yourself. Make a point of treating yourself well everyday.

There are probably a lot of negative messages passing through your mind about yourself. Many people have these thoughts, these are learned messages many come from prejudice and the stigma about mental disorders in our society. These negative thoughts make you feel bad about yourself and contribute to low self esteem. Become aware of the negative messages and develop positive statements to replace them.

Self esteem is like Bipolar disorder in that what goes down can go up and learning to balance your self esteem leads to a balance in your life overall. Lifting self esteem gives you the confidence to actively approach your mental disorder and face it in an objective and hopeful way. To those struggling with bipolar disorder or any other mental disorder the road to recovery need not be hopeless the chances that a medication treatment is positive and the prognosis is becoming better as the new medications are discovered. Life with a mental disorder need not be an end to life but can be the beginning of a new way of living.

Testing your self worth

I got in after a long day at the Library and I just sat at the computer to relax for a while. Of course I was thinking of a new topic to write about and decided to randomly put some questions on Google to see what I could learn about.  I idly put the question of testing your self worth into the browser and came across this article.  It is a test of your own self worth and proves to be interesting I decided to put it into this blog and hope to hear what you think of this test.  Accurate, enlightening or just something to think about incorporating into your assessment of your disorder or someone you may know.  I hope to receive comments on this site or just to see the traffic it brings I think that it does have some value.

Self-Esteem Test - Self Tests by Psychology Today

psychologytoday.tests.psychtests.com/take_test.php?idRegTest=3207

Cycles of Insanity by wena: From the Reality of Unreality

Cycles of Insanity by wena: From the Reality of Unreality