Major depression is the most common single mental disorder in this country. According to Keith Johnsgard, author of "Conquering Depression and Anxiety through Exercise," 21.3 percent of women and 12.7 percent of men report that they had experienced at least one major depressive episode during their lives. Unlike normal emotional experiences of sadness, loss or passing mood swings, major depression is defined by the National Alliance by Mental Health as persistent and can impact a person's thoughts, behavior, mood and physical health.
St. John's Wort
St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a long-living plant with yellow flowers that contain chemical compounds, hyperician and hyperforin, that are used for mild to moderate depression. St. John's wort has been used for centuries; it was first recorded in ancient Greece for mental health conditions.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and two other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)--the National Institute of Mental Health and the Office of Dietary Supplements--co-funded an analysis of the result of 37 clinical trials in a preliminary report on depression. Those findings concluded that St. John's wort benefits people with minor depression. Similar to standard antidepressants, St. John's wort works by preventing nerve cells in the brain from reabsorbing the chemical messenger serotonin or by reducing levels of a protein involved in the body's immune system functioning.
St. John's wort comes in the form of capsules or tablets and can be taken orally.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The Chiari & Syringomyelia Patient Education Foundation's website published an article, "Fish Oil and Natural Food Substance Fight Depression," in 2003 discussing how fish oil acts as an antidepressant. "Fish contain high concentrations of omega-3 fatty acid, which is believed to make brain cell membranes more fluid," Rick Labuda wrote. "In addition, studies have shown an association between depression symptoms and low levels of omega-3 fatty acids in people's blood."
Given this recent evidence, Dr. William Carlezon, at the Department of Psychiatry of Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, and several of his colleagues examined whether omega-3 fatty acids had antidepressant effects in rats. They published their results in the February 15, 2005 issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry and found that omega-3 fatty acids affected the brain cells in a positive way, enabling the rats to produce more energy.
Exercise
Exercise has proven to have a strong effect in reducing depression by boosting mood, which benefits both mental and overall health. Perhaps the most striking finding concerned the effect of exercise program length. "Exercise programs as brief as four weeks yielded significant antidepressant effects," Johnsgard wrote. "Programs of five to sixteen weeks in duration had a greater effect on symptom reduction, but programs of five to six months in duration showed enormous gains." According to Johnsgard, a study of 1,497 men and women revealed that women who had, at the time of the initial survey, reported that they engaged in little or no physical exercise were twice as likely to develop depression eight years later than those who said that they were physically active.
Psychotheraphy
Talking to a therapist can alleviate depressive symptoms as well as help cope with the stressors that trigger or make depression worse. "It is important for a depressed person to feel understood by someone who has seen other depressed people and has helped them through their illness to recovery," writes Norman E. Rosenthal, M.D. in "Seasons of the Mind."
References
- "Conquering Depression and Anxiety through Exercise"; Keith Johnsgard; 2004
- The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: St. John's Wort
- Conquer Chiari: Fish Oil and Natural Food Substance Fight Depression
- "Seasons of the Mind Why You Get the Winter Blues & What You Do About It"; Norman E. Rosenthal, M.D.; 1989
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