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Natural Antidepressants
I’ve been feeling down lately. Things that ought
to be so nice are just blah, I’m really irritable,
it's easy to get teary, and I feel SO worn out.
Because of the stresses and physical depletion
that come – amidst all the wonderful parts! – with
raising a family, about half of all mothers have
significant feelings of sadness or depressed mood,
and one in eight will go through a clinical
depression. So if you are feeling blue, you are
not alone.
Number one: Consider if you are clinically
depressed, defined as experiencing five or more of
these symptoms for two weeks or longer: depressed
mood; loss of pleasure in things that used to be
enjoyable; weight loss; insomnia or hypersomnia;
intense restlessness or sluggishness; fatigue;
strong feelings of worthlessness or guilt; hard to
concentrate or make decisions; recurrent thoughts
of death or suicide.
If you fulfill these criteria or even come close,
please contact a therapist immediately. Counseling
is the fundamental treatment for depression, with
the most penetrating and enduring results.
Now, if your mood hasn't fallen so far into the
pit, but it nonetheless robs you of joy at a time
that should be so wonderful, still think about
counseling for support and developing
psychological skills for handling stress and
painful feelings. And of course, there are many
methods for self-help without a counselor that are
terrifically effective, such as those we've
discussed in many columns (easily accessed on
www.NurtureMom.com). Further, our book, Mother
Nurture, is truly a comprehensive resource for a
mother's health, well-being, and teamwork and
intimacy with her partner.
On this foundation of growing mental health, add
sensible physical interventions, ranging from just
eating protein with every meal (especially
breakfast!) to perhaps talking with a physician
about antidepressants. Medicines such as Prozac,
Zoloft, etc. can be real lifesavers, but they are
also a very serious intervention, often with
significant side effects.
So a smart first step is often to try some or all
of these research-proven natural antidepressants:
• A good multivitamin/multimineral supplement that
entails four to six pills a day - Deficiencies in
many nutrients will lower your mood, and bearing
and rearing children is inherently depleting, so
you have to keep refilling your tank.
• B-vitamin complex - One a day. Make sure it
contains 800 micrograms of folic acid.
• B-12 - Take one a day sublingually (under the
tongue)
• Omega-3 essential fatty acids (the “good fats”
in fish oil) - Make sure they are "molecularly
distilled" and take enough to get 500 mg/day of
DHA (see the label)
• Calcium and Magnesium – Each day, take 1000 to
1500 milligrams of calcium and 400 milligrams of
magnesium.
• Taurine – This amino acid helps soothe frazzled
nerves (among other good things), but it is
drained out of your body during both pregnancy and
breastfeeding. Take 500 milligrams a day.
Basically, every mother should take the nutrients
above each day. Additionally, you could try:
• 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) - The body builds
serotonin - a key neurotransmitter regulating mood
- from the amino acid, tryptophan, and the
next-to-last step is 5-HTP. You can get this
supplement in any health food store, and it has
good research support for mild depression in
adults. Different people benefit from different
dosages and timing. Experiment with 25 - 150
mg./day, taken in the morning or evening or spread
throughout the day. Start with a low dose, don't
go past 200 mg./day unless you're working with a
licensed health professional familiar with 5-HTP,
and cut back if you start feeling drowsy or get
nightmares.
You should also consider three, simple, standard
medical lab tests:
• Iron - Probably at least one in ten mothers has
a mood-related anemia
• Thyroid - This "master hormone" is frequently
disturbed during pregnancy, a major source of
postpartum depression and anxiety.
• Homocysteine - Besides being a risk factor for
cardiovascular disease, high levels of this
substance indicate a need for more B-vitamins,
particularly B-12 and folic acid.
Honestly, this package of foundational mental
health combined with serious nutritional support
will lift most mothers' mood within a few weeks.
And if it's just not enough, definitely talk with
your physician about what else you might do. With
everything that's known these days, there's just
no reason for your baseline mood to be bad. Stick
with it, don't let anyone talk you out of being
good to yourself (including your own thoughts!),
and YOU WILL FEEL BETTER.
*******
(Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a
clinical psychologist, Jan Hanson, M.S., L.Ac., is
an acupuncturist/nutritionist, and they are
raising a daughter and son, ages 15 and 18. With
Ricki Pollycove, M.D., they are the first and
second authors of Mother Nurture: A Mother’s Guide
to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate
Relationships, published by Penguin. You can see
their website at www.nurturemom.com or email them
with questions or comments at info@nurturemom.com;
unfortunately, a personal reply may not always be
possible.)
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