Did anyone reduce their depression naturally?

[Suziee37]

Tried medication, tried councelling many times and types of treatments. I’m now interested in natural methods. I’ve heard nutrition might play a part. Not gone well today as having a bad day so eaten a lot of junk! Any one experienced in healing themselves from depression

I am on antidepressants and they do help and I need them. But I also find eating right, exercise, sunshine, nature, mindfulness and connecting meaningfully to myself, other people, and the world, help alleviate what the anti depressants don't.

I agree with Juniper. It also really helped me to take Vitamin D supplements, cut out alcohol and caffeine and practice meditation. Best wishes OP.

My partner did this by changing his diet completely.
I'm a vegetarian so he took on my diet but does eat fish .

He stopped all coffee for good.

He stopped drinking any alcohol for 3 months,now only drinks of an occasion.

He started doing 10 minutes per day exercise.

Simple small things.
Within 3-4 months he was a new person. He felt great,he looked great (abs we never knew he had!) it's really made a difference to him . He tried anti depressants for a few months and it did awful things to him.
He swears by diet an exercise now.

Not me, but there was a program on last year about alternatives to drugs to curing some illnesses. There was a woman with depression who tried outdoor swimming, which apparently has a lot of health benefits, and she said it was life changing.

I did. Have never taken any medication (would be happy to but no GP ever suggested / agreed to it). My things were: Vitamin D and healthy diet with treats, long long long term therapy plus short CBT. Walking, swimming, yoga, strict bedtime and getting up time. I went from a very severe depression to having it largely under control. Scared of it coming back though.

No booze
Walks
Vitex for pmdd, multi vit, passion flower for anxiety, vit d, b12 sprays
Early nights

Exercise can help. Mindfulness too. And CBT.
Don’t know what meds you took of for how long but it can take ages to get the right dose and meds.

Therapy worked for me, it made more of a difference than any pharmaceuticals I'd taken. It wasn't so much the sessions that 'fixed' it, but it just helped me to understand things a bit better and change my perspective.

I spent many years hating myself, thinking I was a useless failure, a hideous person and generally bad. But, spending an hour a week with someone whos only job is to work out why you feel like that really helped!

I stopped hormonal contraception that I'd been on since I was a teenager. Made a huge difference.

I think it’s a very individual thing. There are absolutely people out there who find it’s more manageable when they are eating well, exercising, not indulging in too much booze/caffeine and keeping to a routine. But then there are also people who do all the ‘right’ things but still struggle. And it’s a bit of a catch 22, because your depression might mean you’re unable to do all of those things!

So I think if those factors help - that’s only positive, and absolutely worth a try. But equally if they don’t, don’t beat yourself up or feel like you’ve failed. It’s a very personal illness which can affect people differently, and so things which ease it will be different to. Best of luck OP.

I take antidepressants which definatly help. However over lockdown I started swimming in the sea every morning and it's been brilliant for lifting my mood. Luckily I live near several beaches and I intend to swim or dip every day through winter too. The cold water is invigorating and I feel close to nature somehow, watching seabirds and even a seal. I had a guillemot swimming and diving around me it was amazing.
I would say give outdoor dipping/swimming a go, there are groups who dip regularly too like the bluetits in Wales.

I absolutely agree with sparklesocks in that it's very individual and different things work for different people. Sometimes when I'm really sick with it, the most healthy thing I can do is accept that.

I also had an excellent therapist but I know how hard it is to get one of those. (I also have CPTSD so that may effect how my depression plays out also)

Sort of. For me exercise is the only 'treatment' that really works long term. I treat it like physiotherapy -it's not something I can skip or do without because if I do I'll suffer. It is very effective; as long as I have three good sessions of exercise a week, plus a couple of other walks, I can manage a bad bout of depression quite well. It's a slog though and requires commitment. I've also been on meds and I would go back on them if I felt the exercise wasn't doing the job anymore.

Yes with running every morning, Pilates in the evening, a berocca style vitamin, strong vitamin D and St John’s Wort (don’t use if you’re on hormonal contraceptives) and a weighted blanket for sleeping at night. I have to make sure I do this all every day though or I feel rubbish all day.

Agree with everyone who says it’s individual but some things I did to help me through a tough time in my life were/are

Finding a sustainable exercise routine, a mix of cardio, strength and yoga
Meditation (group and solo)
Taking vitamins
Walking outdoors and deliberately taking time to appreciate my surroundings
Cooking from scratch most of the time and trying to make nutritious and tasty meals with lots of vegetables
Having a daily routine and sticking to it
Early nights, especially on work nights. This has made a huge, huge difference to my life. Getting enough sleep has made my days easier, I’m more productive and I feel better. Cannot recommend this enough.

This is just what helped and continues to help me. Whether I was actually depressed or just very low because of events in my life, I’m not sure. I think it’s important to remember that antidepressants are not a failure, quite the opposite. Good luck, OP xx

Yes I got rid of sbxh.

I'm bipolar and have been off anti psychotics fur a few years. I managed it by going low carb and totally removing processed food from my diet. I excercised for 30 minutes every morning and worked mega hard at maintaining healthy boundaries, keeping a mindfulness journal and meditating. Exercise was the biggest help and after forcing it for 2 wood I found my body was looking forward to it and it set my mood for the day. The endorphins are really wonderful but it's a hard slog to force it .

Low carb diet massively improved my mental health. Exercise and other things such as ensuring I didn't withdraw from people also help.

But still there are times when all of that isn't enough, like now, and I need the medication in order to have enough capacity to do the other things that help.

My depression is definitely better when I'm eating right. Exercise doesn't seem to make a difference but I do force myself to do 15mins daily beginners routine for health etc. Anti d's just take the edge off. Counselling really helped me understand what was causing it which helped hugely . A recent US study found it wasn't exercise that really helped (the locum at my Dr's is very hung up on exercise is the answer), its having a structured routine ,with things you enjoy daily in it. I now make sure my day follows a schedule that works for me. I like a routine, it's not set in stone , & it definitely helps.

Exercise and taking charge of my diet helped me loads, far more than antidepressants. I needed to lose weight so by doing this in a healthy way have me a focus. There were a few other things in my life that I needed to change as well, the things that were contributing towards how I felt. Rather than "I can't" I changed to "how can I".

Exercise, getting enough (lots of) sleep, my surroundings, my situation all play a part, but trial and error for me has shown that if I’m suddenly feeling more depressed I can improve dramatically within 24 hours by upping my iron intake e.g steak/burger and liquid iron supplement. The difference is huge and has led me to believe that a substantial part of my ability to cope with the world is tied up to nutrition. I’ve suffered a lot with anaemia and low ferritin levels and now think that’s linked to my ‘black dog’.

5HTP supplements, magnesium to help my sleep, drinking a bit less, running, plenty of fresh air and exercise.

Not sure if I have been depressed as such but the above helps when I am in a funk.

Sleep!
Excercise.
Fresh air.
Nature.
Having good social connections.
Not drinking alcohol.
Not using phone so much.
Eating healthily.

I worked endlessly to give me no time left over to think
Support of very good friends
Animal pets that I loved, I put time and effort into that were dependent upon me keeping it together
Time

All the above combined together worked for me and gave myself time to mend

Sounds ridiculous but mine got better through changing my diet (I'm a vegan) and taking up crocheting and knitting as hobbies.