Depression
Everyone may experience feeling ‘down’ on occasion but if you’ve been sad, moody, angry or unable to sleep or concentrate for more than a couple of weeks it could be because you suffer from clinical depression.
Symptoms or signs of depression to look out for include:
- not going out any more,
- not getting things done at work/school
- withdrawing from close family and friends
- Feeling overwhelmed, irritable, frustrated, miserable or sad.
- Physically tired all the time
- Sick and run down
- Sleep problems
- Loss or change of appetite or significant weight loss or gain.
Several risk factors which can contribute towards developing depression include: health problems, relationship problems, employment problems, social isolation and alcohol/drug abuse to name but a few.
Physically depression can be the result of low serotonin and/or norepinephrine levels in the brain and has been linked to a variety of conditions such as metabolic syndrome, low thyroid function, low progesterone in women, low testosterone in men, high cortisol levels present in stage 1 adrenal exhaustion which depletes dopamine levels causing depression. It can also be the result of excessive copper or heavy metal overload,pyroluria, methylation issues, food allergies, histadelia and gastrointestinal problems such as leaky gut syndrome, to name a few. Therefore it a good idea to have a series of laboratory tests to eliminate the possibility of these conditions being present and if found to be present treat it accordingly which will then eliminate the depression. This approach will treat any physiological cause of the depression and not just the symptoms which is all antidepressants will do.
Tests for Depression
(1) Pyrrole Test – Measure KPU/HPU and/or HPL in urine.
(2) Methylation – There is no simple direct test to sell how well the methylation process is working. Histamine levels greater than 70 ng/ml (0.629umol/L) and high homocysteine are reliable diagnostic markers for diagnosing under methylation.
(3) Adrenal Hormones – DHEA and cortisol are two major adrenal hormones implicated in depression.
(4) Thyroid Hormones – T3, T4 and reverse T3 are required for a complete assessment of your thyroid function
(5) Sex Hormones – Low progesterone in women and low testosterone in men should also be tested for as these can also cause depression.
(6) MTFHR Gene Mutation – a defective MTHFR gene is known to contribute towards various mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety.
Treating Depression
If any of the above test results indicate a problem or imbalance refer to the appropriate page (links are located above) for information on how to treat each one correctly.
If these tests show there are no imbalances then you are left with treating the symptoms. We offer a range of natural supplements that may be beneficial. We supply a natural over the counter Depression Formula which contains 5-Hydroxytryptophan and Lithium Orotate in combination. Contact us to determine if it may be suitable for you.
When seeking treatment for depression it would also be wise to consider the whole of the being and not just the physical aspect. When doing so, consider that depression may be the result of a lack of kidney energy and/or life force. Every time you give your power away to others, situations and or your ideals and beliefs in life, you energetically drain your kidney energy and life force which contributes towards developing depression.
From an energetic understanding in the body, the type of behavior in a person most susceptible to suffering from low kidney energy is the ‘people pleaser’ — the YES person — the type of person who wants to please everyone else.
Almost everyone does this to some degree, with some more so than others. Whenever you say yes to please another, when in fact you truly do not feel to do it, you are giving your power away and draining your kidney energy.
Not only can you give your power away to others, but also to ideals and beliefs that society imposes on us from birth. Much could be written here about this, but to serve as an example the following is offered:
Men give their power away by trying to be what they think society expects them to be, rather than being who they naturally are. Men are not being allowed to display any signs of vulnerability or fragility because that is “not how men are supposed to be”, when in fact men are naturally tender, gentle and sensitive beings. However we put on a tough mask to hide behind because that is what is expected of us.
There are many other ideals and beliefs that rule everyone’s lives which we give our power away to and thus create our own depression. It would be wise to look at all areas in your own life where you may be giving your power away to a belief or ideal which does not truly feel right for you. Self-honesty is very important in this process as we all are very good at avoiding honesty in order to remain in the comfort of our patterns that are so familiar to us.
If we are prepared to go deeper, we need to understand why we actually give our power away to begin with.We give our power away to seek acceptance and recognition from others. Put simply, we are looking for others to like us and accept us (love us) from our own inner need. We are looking for someone else to “fill us” with the love we do not give to ourselves, that is to fill our own inner emptiness.
If we were to become more self-loving and reconnect to the love that is naturally within all of us, we would find that we no longer need to seek it from another and thus stop pandering to these ideals and beliefs which rule our lives. To become more self-loving we need to break old patterns of self-abuse, disregard, indulgence and lovelessness in order to reconnect to our own inner love.
Want more Information?
We recommend you discuss your treatment options with your doctor.
