5 Natural Therapies For Depression

Depression can have a major impact on your life. It can affect your ability to work and interact with others. Fortunately, there are many natural treatments that you can use to alleviate your symptoms and improve your mental well-being. Here are five natural treatments you should discuss with your mental health provider.

Light Therapy

If you suffer from seasonal affective disorder, light therapy could be helpful. Seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression that occurs as a result in changes in the season. Shorter days and longer nights can lead to feelings of melancholy.

Light therapy can ease your symptoms by providing you with additional exposure to light. Therapy can last up to two hours each day. Your doctor can evaluate you and decide how much therapy is needed.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy

Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, or PEMF, involves the use of electromagnetic fields. The treatment is usually recommended if antidepressants have failed to help alleviate the symptoms of depression. During therapy, electromagnetic waves are pulsed through your head.

The therapy sessions do not last long. Your doctor might only recommend using a PEMF device only for a couple of weeks before trying another therapy.

Mood Enhancing Supplements

Supplements, such as St. John's Wort and SAMe can help to elevate your mood naturally. There are potential side effects to using mood enhancing supplements. For instance, St. John's Wort can cause upset stomach, dizziness, and diarrhea.

Before taking any supplement, you should talk to your doctor. The doctor can help evaluate the safety of using a supplement while taking other prescription medications.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavior therapy focuses on recognizing the triggers for your depressive moods. Once you are able to recognize those, you are encouraged to take steps to avoid the triggers. For instance, if your depressive mood is triggered by interactions with a certain person, during therapy, you could possibly be encouraged to stop interacting with the person.

This form of therapy is considered to be short-term. The number of sessions you will attend depends on how well you progress in recognizing and managing your triggers.

Fish Oil

A deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids might account for some of your depressive moods. Increasing your intake of these fatty acids could help with your moods. You could take fish oil supplements or increase the amount of fish you eat. Fish such as albacore tuna and salmon are high in fatty acids.

Depression does not have to take over your life. You might have to try several therapies before you find success, but it is worth it to keep trying.