Naturopathic Medicine for  Depression

What is Depression?

Depression is a mood disorder that can be described as persistent feelings of sadness, anger, or loss of interest or motivation that interferes with a person’s everyday life. People who suffer from depression often experience difficulty completing normal daily activities, even down to basic hygienic practices, and sometimes may feel as if life isn't worth living. Depression is more than just feeling sad, low, helpless or unmotivated - it’s a chemical imbalance in your brain that affects your frame of mind, physical health and overall demeanor, despite what’s going on around you, that you simply cannot "snap out" of. Though everybody experiences depression in different ways, depression can lead to a variety of emotional, behavioral, and physical problems. It may interfere with work performance and athletic motivation, influence personal relationships, and can exacerbate some chronic health conditions.

Symptoms of Depression

Major depression can cause a variety of symptoms that can impact your mood, body, or affect your health in other ways. Symptoms can also be ongoing, or come and go. The symptoms of depression are often experienced differently among men, women, and children, but the most common symptoms include:

  • Feeling sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness

  • Anger, irritability or frustration, even over small things

  • Loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities such as hobbies, sports, or sex

  • Sleep changes, including insomnia or sleeping too much

  • Tiredness and lack of energy

  • Fluctuations in weight due to increased or decreased appetite

  • Anxiety, agitation or restlessness

  • Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements

  • Feelings of worthlessness, guilt, or self-blame

  • Trouble focusing, thinking, remembering, and making decisions

  • Frequent or recurrent suicidal thoughts, thoughts of death or even suicide attempts

  • Unexplained musculoskeletal pain, such as headaches or back pain

Children and teens may experience symptoms affecting:

  • mood swings, such as irritability, anger, crying

  • emotional well-being, such as clinginess, feelings of incompetence or despair, crying, intense sadness

  • behavior, such as getting into trouble, refusing to go to school or participate in family activities, or ignoring friends or siblings

  • cognitive abilities, such as difficulty paying attention, suddenly poor school performance, or dropping grades

  • sleep patterns, such as difficulty falling asleep or waking up 

  • physical health, such as low energy, digestive issues, changes in appetite, weight loss or gain