Various Natural Treatments in Treating Mental Disorders
““I know a lot of psychologists don't like medicine being their first option. I don't think they do work in moderation. It's tricky because when people use medicine they feel better and don’t think they need it anymore. It is effective when used appropriately but that's my opinion some people don’t like it.”
Natural Ways to Treat Depression/Anxiety
Depression and anxiety are similar to both sides of a coin. Both factor into each other but are different. Antidepressants are given to people who suffer from both of these disorders but there can be alternatives to these pills as well. It's worth considering some natural treatments and remedies that can help aid in both of these mental disorders.
Anxiety affects over 40 million adults in the United States. At least 10% of teenagers and 40% of adults suffer from an anxiety disorder of some kind, according to, Anxiety and Depression Association Of America. Depression, on the other hand, affects 14.8 million American adults. In other words, about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population that is of the age of 18 or older suffer from this disorder yearly.
Depression is on the rise in America and Americans are more depressed than they have been during the past decades. In fact, a person's sanity is comparable to a mental patient during the ‘50s. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US and there are 25 attempts per death. Up to 6.9 million adults all over the country show symptoms of depression said psychologist, Jean M. Twenge. Anxiety is one of the main causes of depression. According to Robert Leahy, who is the director of American Institute of Cognitive therapy located in New York City. In other words, the average high school student today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950’s.
There are various ways to treat depression and anxiety instead of taking prescription drugs that are sometimes abused such as antidepressants. Doctors often prescribe antidepressants such as Prozac, Paroxetine, Sertraline, Zoloft and Xanax. According to the Journal of Psychiatry, about 40 percent of people that take antidepressants are affected greatly by the side effects, and about 25 percent of those side effects are considered to have negative effects to the patients. Some of the many symptoms are nausea, increased appetite, insomnia, dizziness, anxiety and fatigue as reported by Arthur Allen who is Physician Directory of WebMD.
The various ways and treatments that you can do and use without taking antidepressants are activities such as meditating, doing yoga, joining a support group, breathing exercises, exercising at the gym, making sure you get enough sleep, and even going out more and getting sunlight.
The numerous antidepressants that are available to people that suffer from anxiety and depression are Fluoxetine, Paroxetine, Sertraline, and Xanax, all of which have side effects that can alter the mind in which many don’t feel in control over. There are ways people can treat anxiety and depression without using such medication. Ways such as meditation, joining a support group, breathing exercises and doing tasks such as yoga and exercising. There are different ways that people don’t know about on treating this disease, in which was just recently considered taboo to talk about.
Depression symptoms can go from mild to the extreme within days. Some of the symptoms that are caused by depression are feeling sad or having loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, changes in appetite, trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, loss of energy, feeling worthless or guilty, difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions, thoughts of death or suicide.
A lot of people from my family suffer from anxiety and depression and unfortunately it is a disorder that can be passed down through genetics, which is according to Timothy J. Legg who is a medical reviewer for Healthline. I Myself have suffered with depression but also have overcome it multiple times. The natural treatments that I have used to cope with my disorder are things such as meditation. By meditating it has helped me calm my nerves and become much more relaxed simply by centering my breathing.
Symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders often occur together. New research is showing that antidepressants don’t work for most patients. There are multiple ways that you can go about treating depression without using such medication and even using an alternative such as marijuana as an organic treatment to cure anxiety and depression, in many studies show that it has in many cases treated it.
Marijuana can be used as an alternative to depression and anxiety but because it’s classified as a schedule 1 drug, it makes it nearly impossible to do thorough research on the matter. Published in the journal Clinical Psychology Review, researchers have found evidence cannabis is a trustworthy and efficient treatment that can be used in order to treat disorders such as depression and anxiety.
Jeremy Dickinson, a student from Texas University who suffers from both depression and anxiety, says that he deals with his depression in a very obscure way. By putting all his emotions into working out at Crossfit. “Before working out it felt like everything, every small little thing that had upset me, inconvenienced me or made me angry throughout the day had built up inside of me. Before working out, my body feels filled with stress and self-consciousness. My depression is not only a product of external stress, like schoolwork and work in general, but internal sadness and poor self-esteem. However, after working out, it all goes away. It's a way for me to cleanse my mind and body of all the bad feelings, the stress, etc. Fitness is a way for me to release all of the pent up stress and anxiety that have built up throughout the day, and improve my physical health simultaneously. Working out has changed my life”. Working out has become a popular alternative to helping aid in anxiety. Research from Psychology Today shows “Exercise not only increases blood flow to the brain, it releases endorphins, the body's very own natural antidepressant. It also releases other neurotransmitters, like serotonin, which lift mood”.
A Nassau Community College student, Tyra Brame, has suffered from depression for many years now and she strongly suggests taking up yoga as an alternative in order to treat depression. Brame says, “It's a really calming and relaxing practice that can help sort of let her mind escape for a bit, especially when you meditate in yoga or after, you really focus on your own breathing and stretch and to me that helps a lot with my depression. It makes me center all my sadness and meditate it away while focusing on myself”. It can be extremely useful to use yoga as a technique to reduce stress and anxiety. Yoga appears to reduce stress in your mind and body. According to Harvard Health Publishing Medical school, yoga can be helpful in reducing the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and easing respiration. There is evidence that yoga can help increase heart rate variability which helps the body's ability to respond to stress more flexibly.
Some of the drugs that doctors prescribe can be lethal if taking an excessive amount and also be extremely addictive as well. Doctors are trained to prescribe medication that is given in pill forms such as Lexapro, Xanax and Prozac. In many cases, antidepressants are not needed and at least two-thirds of patients with depression and prescribed unnecessary antidepressants. These pills alter the patient's mind, some for good other bad. All of these medications have side effects. There is a trend in rappers currently that are taking these pills such as Xanax and using it for other purposes. For Example, a recent rapper who goes by the name of Lil Peep who suffered from depression and made it known in his music. Lil Peep recently died from his Xanax being laced with Fentanyl which is extremely deadly with just a little amount needed for it to kill you. Not all of these medications have side effects that can be deadly. Many could be harmless.
Many psychologist would rather use natural treatments than antidepressants such as Xanax. Brianna Pelletteri, a psychology major who attends The Post Campus of Long Island University which is located in Brookville, said, “I know a lot of psychologists don't like medicine being their first option. I don't think they do work in moderation. It's tricky because when people use medicine they feel better and don’t think they need it anymore. It is effective when used appropriately but that's my opinion some people don’t like it”. More and more psychologist are experimenting with other remedies and treatments as well instead of prescribing antidepressants.
Breakdowns and episodes are very common for people who suffer from anxiety and depression. There are many natural ways to help you get through an episode without having to take medication prescribed by a doctor. Breathing slowly and deeply can soothe your mind and body since anxiety can cause you to breathe very rapidly, this can also play into effect with meditating. By relaxing your diaphragm it causes the body to release a natural tranquilizing effect. By meditating and focusing on your breathing you can get through an anxiety attack.
Treatments such as Meditating, exercising, yoga and using cannabis are all way to treat depression. These lifestyle decisions may not be for everyone who suffers from depression or anxiety. Many if not all of these natural treatments can be used alongside antidepressants and are worth trying. All, if not one of these treatments can be helpful in building a stronger and healthy mentality. If one needs help or mental assistance then the best possible treatment you can get is by talking to someone and seeking out help. There are numerous outlets that offer services for free such as the National Suicide Prevention hotline (1-800-273-8255) or even just seeking a psychologist and talking to them can go a long way.
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