Depression is a serious condition, that requires ongoing medical care by a trained therapist. When a person is depressed there are many options for treatment, including medication and therapy. The drawback of these treatments are that they take time to work, and a person that is depressed would prefer immediate relief. While there are no magic cure-all's for depression, there are some ways to help lessen feelings of depression right away, including exercise, sunlight, and amino acids.
Exercise
Exercise is a great way to lift yourself out of depression. Exercise releases norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain, elevating your mood. This is an immediate reaction to exercise, and often why people compare the great feeling of exercise to a drug, such as "runner's high." It has also been shown that regular exercise can help improve long-term depression.
Sunlight
For some people with depression, particularly those with a predisposition to seasonal affective disorder, a lack of sunlight can be a contributing factor to depression. By increasing ones exposure to sunlight, either naturally or through an artificial source such as a tanning bed or a light box, symptoms of depression can decrease rapidly.
Amino Acids
Recent studies and research of the brain show that often depression is the result of certain chemical deficiencies, primarily deficiencies of serotonin and norepinephrine. There are amino acids that can increase how the brain processes and absorbs these chemicals, and these often provide rapid and simple relief for depression. L-Tyrosine is the biological precursor to norepinephrine and is available in supplement form. Additionally, 5-HTP helps produce serotonin within the brain, and D,L-phenylalanine is a commonly used amino acid when the goal is to rapidly decrease depression symptoms.
