NATURAL SOLUTIONS FOR
Depression can negatively impact how you feel, think, and act. If you struggle with depression but are looking for a medication-free approach, it can be hard to know where to turn. If you're seeking holistic solutions that improve your mood for good, you've come to the right place. While depression is commonly regarded as an "incurable" disease in the medical profession, I view depression as a symptom of other underlying issues.
In order to resolve depression, we need to identify the cause. This can include digestive issues, hormone imbalance, nutritional deficiencies, toxins, cognitive dysfunction, trauma, and more. In most people, there are multiple contributing factors, which is why feeling better can take time or feel impossible! Depression rarely has a "quick fix" but for those willing to put in the effort and invest in themselves, it is possible to feel much better. We just need to figure out what's in your way. Below are some of the common factors that can contribute to depression.
In order to resolve depression, we need to identify the cause. This can include digestive issues, hormone imbalance, nutritional deficiencies, toxins, cognitive dysfunction, trauma, and more. In most people, there are multiple contributing factors, which is why feeling better can take time or feel impossible! Depression rarely has a "quick fix" but for those willing to put in the effort and invest in themselves, it is possible to feel much better. We just need to figure out what's in your way. Below are some of the common factors that can contribute to depression.
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Hormones
Hormones like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-s), thyroid hormone, and vitamin D can all affect mood. I always ensure hormones are balanced and optimized when addressing depression.
Digestion
Have you heard of the "gut-brain connection"? It turns out that the microbiome (bacteria and organisms living in our gut) greatly affect our mood! If I have a patient who is struggling with depression and they also have digestive symptoms like loose stools, gas, bloating, abdominal pain, constipation, nausea, vomiting, or heartburn, optimizing the digestive system is a great place to start and has a significant impact on overall health.
Nutrition
Nutrition impacts mood in several ways:
- Depression can be linked to deficiencies in vitamin B12, vitamin D, zinc, folate, iron, and more. I always assess for nutritional deficiencies and use nutritional supplementation if necessary.
- A diet low in nutrition and high in alcohol, empty calories, chemicals, additives, dyes, refined carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats can negatively impact mood.
- Inflammatory food triggers can contribute to low mood.
- Blood sugar imbalance caused by irregular meal time and excessive foods high in simple carbohydrates and low in protein and healthy fats can contribute to low mood.
Developing a personalized approach to nutrition that minimizes inflammatory triggers and optimizes nutrition and blood sugar is always a top priority.
Toxins
There are numerous toxins that can affect our brains. These include (but are not limited to):
- chemicals in our food: dyes, chemicals, additives, processed foods, pesticides
- toxins in our environment: mold, heavy metals, air pollutants, plastics, artificial fragrances, chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products, building materials
- toxins in our water (e.g. tetrachloroethylene, fluoride, medications, microplastics)
- medications
- drugs and alcohol
There are several strategies to assess our toxic load. I often recommend strategies that decrease exposure to toxins and improve detoxification of toxins.
Cognitive dysfunction aka "Wrong" thinking
Many (most) of us have self-sabotaging and dysfunctional thoughts on loop that make us feel horrible about ourselves. Thoughts like "I suck," "no one likes me," "there's no point," "I'm so stupid" play over and over in our own heads. Sound familiar? Why does this happen? Most of us have early experiences that lead us to believe we are defective or unloveable and our mind runs with it!
To make matters worse, once our mind has been introduced to these negative core beliefs, it seeks further evidence that they are true. Very often, the negative core beliefs and self-sabotaging thoughts we accept as normal are distortions and lies we developed as a result of a primary caregiver making a mistake or having a bad day when we were too young to know better! The dysfunctional thinking pattern we develop causes depression and anxiety for many of us. How could it not?
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is all about tuning into our internal monologue to identify any errors in our thinking. We first identify our negative beliefs and dysfunctional thinking and then learn to challenge our distorted thoughts by evaluating the evidence for and against our beliefs and thoughts being true. Doing this work feels awkward at first. After all, we are working to re-wire years of dysfunctional thinking patterns. But the process can be very liberating. Practicing CBT shines light on our "broken record" thoughts and gives us the freedom and power to choose compassionate thoughts that actually lift ourselves up. Yes, you can learn to choose your thoughts––it just takes practice.
For mild to moderate depression, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is considered the Gold Standard in therapy, meaning it is considered more effective than any other therapy, including drug therapy! CBT should always be recommended for individuals with depression. I love guiding patients through CBT. For self-motivated individuals, CBT can be self-taught. Those needing extra support can work with a counsellor trained in CBT.
Sleep
Sleep is so important for our brains and bodies. During sleep our brains literally clean out chemicals and toxins that can affect our mood, memory, and focus.
Poor quality sleep can be both a symptom of depression as well as a cause of depression.
For those who struggle with low mood and also experience sleep problems like difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or poor quality sleep, sleep optimization is often an important aspect of holistic treatment for depression. It's almost impossible to be healthy in body and mind if sleep is poor.
Trauma
Traumatic events can cause the nervous system to get stuck in a state of "shut down" or "dissociation" ––states that look very much like depression. Believe it or not, this shutdown response is a protective mechanism. You know how animals might play dead if being hunted by a predator? Shutting down is actually one of the ways we protect ourselves from overwhelming threats. This even applies to humans! Unfortunately, when a traumatic event is over, our nervous system doesn't always get the memo and we can stay stuck in "shutdown" for a long time––until we finally process the trauma effectively.
Trauma processing is usually an active process. Trauma doesn't just go away and you can't "mindset" your way out of trauma either. Trauma processing often requires the support of a therapist trained in trauma and/or the use of key modalities to help regulate the nervous system. .
When trauma hasn't been processed or released from the body, it can hijack our nervous system and lead to chronic symptoms we might wrongly blame on our genetics. Trauma processing can be done in a variety of ways. Some of my favourite therapies that I often refer out for are eye movement desensitization and remodelling (EMDR), somatic experiencing therapy, craniosacral therapy, and more. There are several strategies I often recommend to help regulate a "hijacked" nervous system. Talk therapy is generally not recommended for those with trauma.**
**Research shows that talking about traumatic events can actually re-traumatize us and make symptoms worse.
Gratitude
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Research studies have found that practicing gratitude is as effective as medications for treatment of depression. I often incorporate gratitude practice into my treatment plans when supporting depressed patients. Gratitude can help shift our perspective, which is often greatly needed to get us out of the rut of depression.
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Lifestyle
Our lifestyle plays a huge role in our mood. Our mood is vulnerable to multiple lifestyle factors including:
- Drug and alcohol use
- Smoking
- Excessive screen time
- Social media consumption
- Lack of exercise
- Social isolation + loneliness
- Home environment
- Toxic relationships
- Issues around personal/professional boundaries
... and so many more.
Many individuals who work with me are already aware of their self-sabotaging lifestyle habits. Other times, we need to work together to identify them. Working to establish a healthy lifestyle that promotes mental health is often a critical part of a comprehensive treatment approach for depression.
Stress
Stress can wreak havoc on mood. An infinite number of stressors can impact our sense of well-being and lead to overwhelm and burnout. High or chronic stress can cause many symptoms that mimic depression.
Stress from grief, finances, workload, guilt, shame, toxic relationships, family or societal pressures, or abuse can all contribute to low mood. In fact, the list of potential stressors is endless!
When stress is a factor, our goal is to reduce or eliminate the stressor (if possible) and improve resilience to stress. When stressors are here to stay, there are still many ways to improve our capacity to handle the stress.
As you can see, depression can be caused by about a million things! Treatment involves correcting and supporting whatever needs correction and support, be it nutrition, sleep, blood sugar, trauma, toxins, lifestyle, hormones, and more. Each individual is treated according to their unique health situation using personalized treatment tools that address their cause(s) of low mood.
Your comprehensive treatment strategy can include any combination of my wide variety of treatment tools. In addition to nutrition & supplementation, counselling, lifestyle coaching, detoxification support, and prescription medications like hormone replacement therapy, I frequently use and see wonderful results from herbal medicine and homeopathy, which are highlighted below.
Herbal Medicine
Herbal medicine can be fantastic mood medicine as we can achieve amazing benefits without the harsh side effects of medications. Herbal medicine can help uplift mood in so many ways. Some of the ways herbs can be used in treatment of depression are:
... and more. I offer custom herbal formulas to my patients through herbal tinctures. Herbs are also available in the form of capsules, teas, and tablets.
- supporting hormone balance
- improving sleep (quality and duration)
- relaxing or stimulating the nervous system
- supporting the adrenal glands (improving our stress response)
- regulating/supporting neurotransmitters
- improving detoxification of chemicals and toxins
... and more. I offer custom herbal formulas to my patients through herbal tinctures. Herbs are also available in the form of capsules, teas, and tablets.
Homeopathy
While energy medicine is generally hard for our science-wired brains to comprehend, an appropriately-prescribed homeopathic remedy can be truly life-changing. I have seen cases of depression completely resolve from homeopathy alone when no other interventions were helpful. I use classical homeopathy in my practice, which is the practice of using personalized single remedies selected based on the patient's unique symptom presentation. Homeopathic remedies are gentle and inexpensive and proper prescribing requires specialized training.
If you prefer a medication-free approach in treating your depression and want a doctor who takes a comprehensive and compassionate approach, then you've arrived at the right place. Treating depression at the source is not a quick fix but taking this root-cause approach can resolve the issue for good and dramatically change your life.
Please take a moment to learn more about working with me or schedule an appointment to get started right away. Questions? Please feel free to reach out.
**If you're looking for a primary care doctor in BC who is accepting new patients, I can help. Appointments are available in-person in Kelowna, BC, or virtually from anywhere in BC.