Are you struggling with depression? Are you taking drugs for depression? If so, today’s article in mercola.com is a MUST read: “Depression is NOT a Chemical Imbalance in Your Brain – Here’s Proof.”

Stress is our #1 risk factor today. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) estimates that 1 in 20 Americans are depressed. “Every year, 230 million prescriptions for antidepressants are filled, making them one of the most-prescribed drugs in the United States.” 

DRUGS do NOT fix the root cause. I love what Dr. Mercola said:

“Where does the normal grieving process fit into our modern lives—is it something that should be drugged, or is it a normal phase of life that everyone on the planet has to move through? And when does an emotional phase go from being a natural part of the changing emotional landscape that is life to a problem that needs to be “fixed”?

The article gives clear evidence that drugs are destroying lives rather than saving them.

Dr. Mercola offers these suggestions for bringing your life back into balance:

Exercise — Increases the level of endorphins, the “feel good” hormones, in your brain.

Address your stress — Depression is a very serious condition, however it is not a “disease.” Rather, it’s a sign that your body and your life are out of balance.

Meditation or yoga can help. Sometimes all you need to do is get outside for a walk. But in addition to that, I also recommend using a system that can help you address emotional issues that you may not even be consciously aware of. For this, my favorite is EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique.

Eat a healthy diet — Foods have an immense impact on your mood and ability to cope and be happy. Eating whole foods, avoiding sugar and grains will best support your mental health.

Support optimal brain functioning with essential fats — I also strongly recommend supplementing your diet with a high quality omega-3 fat.

Get plenty of sunshine — Making sure you’re getting enough sunlight exposure to have healthy vitamin D levels is also a crucial factor in treating depression or keeping it at bay.

A gem I recently discovered is Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s CD, The Power of Positive Thinking. He has so many wonderful points in his message. Here are a few:

When you wake up in the morning you have 2 choices concerning happiness. You can choose to be happy.

Practice happy thinking.

Say affirmations out loud, such as:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I believe that this is going to be a wonderful day.

I am grateful for all that I now have and shall have.

God will see me through.

Practice love. Love is a unique way to create happiness.

Tolstoy said, “Where there is love, there is God.” I might add, where there is love and God, there is happiness.

Treatment for insomnia: a relaxed trust in God.

Practice emptying the mind. Have a daily practice of silence. Listen to the beauty in silence.

Say beautiful words out loud through the day, such as “tranquility.”  Your mind will go there.

Throw your heart over the bar, and your body will follow.

The rough is only mental.

I will end this article with some words my son gave to me. He was driving and heard a song on the radio. He immediately called saying, “I think you will like these words.”

Everybody dies. Not everybody lives.

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Maybe today is the day to start living?

“Pessimistic, grouchy, bored, blue? Chronic low-grade depression can feel so familiar you don’t even know you’ve got it. But it’s rampant among women and underdiagnosed. The good news is that with treatment you can be better than ever.”

Since depression is often a symptom of hormone imbalance, these words caught my eye this morning in an article found on http://www.oprah.com/health/Diagnosing-Low-Grade-Depression-Dysthymia-and-Women

The article explains:

“Low-grade depression (dysthymia) is one of the most common ailments on the planet and one of the least likely to be diagnosed. Like its cousin, clinical depression, low-grade depression hits women roughly twice as often as men (though some researchers believe mood disorders in men are underreported because of social stigmas). Clinical depression is a kind of mental hurricane: Symptoms include debilitating insomnia, weight loss, anxiety or a mental fog so dense that people forget what they’ve read as soon as they’ve read it. The pain is so awful that suicide can seem an acceptable solution.

Low-grade depression is more like a year of drizzly weather. It is, by definition, chronic. A diagnosis requires the presence of symptoms on more days than not for a period of at least two years, which is what makes it so hard to pin down. Any given day might be okay, even happy. Yet in the general run of days, there are more gray ones than not, more unhappiness than joy. Most people afflicted with this kind of chronic malaise instinctively blame themselves: They would rather believe they can solve the problem—if they could just find the right job or the right man or lose weight—than admit they have a psychiatric disorder.”

The article explains that a healthy person might take action, or simply look around for a fun distraction. “A person with low-grade depression broods and gets stuck. Caught in that drizzly mental weather, she doesn’t seek shelter or buy an umbrella; she goes on slogging through puddles.”

Certain types of depression have a strong hereditary or hormonal component.

A family history of depression is a strong indicator of risk. Is the root cause genetic or environmental? Who knows for sure without an in-depth look into the individual’s life circumstances. We also know that many women who suffer from hormonal imbalance also have a family history of hormone imbalance.

The article states that not everyone who suffers from low-grade depression looks back on an unhappy childhood; for some, the problem begins in adolescence or early adulthood—the result, perhaps, of the inevitable stresses that accompany such rites of passage as moving into a first apartment, graduating from college or losing a first love. Someone who is vulnerable might slip into low-grade illness without even realizing it.

Some additional points of interest contained in the article:

• Low-grade depression and poor eating habits frequently go hand in hand. Scientists aren’t sure of the exact biological mechanism, but there is evidence that eating carbohydrates temporarily boosts a person’s mood by altering the brain’s level and use of serotonin. People with low-grade depression quite often binge on high-carbohydrate foods—pasta, crackers, popcorn—in what some doctors see as an unconscious effort to self-medicate.
• Depression is a whole-self illness. It’s hard to separate the biological from the situational factors. Regaining health often requires attacking the problem on all fronts: spiritual, physical, social and intellectual.
• Signs of low-grade depression

1. You feel sad, dissatisfied or pessimistic most of the time, although you still have days when you feel normal.
2. Your appetite changes.
3. You’re tired most of the time.
4. You have insomnia or you’re sleeping too much.
5. You’re harder on yourself than you should be.
6. You’re not working at your peak, and you’re having trouble concentrating.
7. Simple decisions somehow take forever.
8. You feel that every day is more or less a struggle.

• If you have at least two symptoms—especially the first one—see your doctor for a checkup, and if you’re physically healthy, ask for a referral to a mental-health professional. If you have five or more symptoms and are also experiencing anxiety, feelings of helplessness and loss of interest in sex, your depression may be more serious. Seek medical help immediately.

The important factor to keep in mind is that to remedy the situation, one must peel down to the root cause. An important factor to not overlook is hormone imbalance. Go back and look at your family history. Has anyone else in your family suffered from depression? Likewise, could there be some residual unhealed emotional trauma that you are unknowingly carrying around with you?

Notice if you have any of the above symptoms. Peel down to the root cause and take the appropriate action. Know that you too CAN feel happy, alive, and rejuvenated.

A friend gave me a copy of Happy for No Reason by Marci Shimoff yesterday. I picked it up last night and read the cover and the first 15 pages. I was startled at some of the statistics she shared in the Introduction:

        One out of every five women in America is on antidepressants, and 6 million men start taking antidepressants   every year.

        Less than 30 percent of people report being deeply happy.

         Twenty-five percent of Americans and 27 percent of Europeans claim they are depressed.

        The World Health Organization predicts that by 2020, depression will be second only to heart disease in terms of the global burden of illness.

Wow, that’s a lot of depression! I don’t know all the reasons for depression, but I know there is one kind that can be fixed…that associated with hormone imbalance. Here is a section out of my upcoming book, The Awakened Body, A Woman’s Guide to Feeling Biologically Vibrant…Naturally:

Hormone Imbalance: a Psychiatric Disorder?

I conducted a series of classes at a company that employs a large number of women. I was advised, “You cannot believe the number of women here who are on anti-depressants.” I didn’t want to believe that statement and couldn’t help but think surely this is not true. I was soon to learn by the sheer number of female employees confiding in me that it was absolutely true. It seemed that in that community, common medical protocol consisted of synthetic hormones and anti-depressants.

These women expressed the same overriding feeling: “I am ashamed that in the peak of my life, after having lived a very productive, happy life, I am now taking anti-depressants.” Not only do these women have to deal with the hormone imbalance causing their depression-like sensations, now they also have to cope with the effects of the antidepressants, which can often cause even more problems. It breaks my heart to see what is happening to women at a time which can and should be the invigorating prime of their lives. It is time to lift this veil of shame.

I personally escaped being given an anti-depressant because I was too ashamed to express my feelings to my doctor. I thought something was wrong with me, that I was “weak.” I always prided myself in being strong…and now this. I thought it was just another cross to bear of growing older. I didn’t realize I was experiencing symptoms of being out of balance. One of the greatest blessings I received was to get my old energetic self back once my hormones were balanced.

It can happen for you too. You have nurtured and cared for everyone else your entire life. You have earned the right at this point in your life to experience the confidence and the magnificent, effervescent life that you so deserve.

However, one word of caution: please work with an experienced health care provider to balance your hormones, and never ever quit taking your anti-depressants “cold turkey.” Doing so can cause devastating effects. Work with your health care provider to know how and when to start weaning off the anti-depressants, should that be the decision the two of you make.