11 Alternative Therapies For Depressive Disorder!

What is Depression?

Depression is a real illness that impacts the brain. Anyone suffering from depression will tell you, it’s not imaginary or all in your head. Depression is more than just feeling down. It is a serious illness caused by changes in brain chemistry. therapies

Research tells us that other factors contribute to the onset of depression, including genetics, changes in hormone levels, certain medical conditions, stress, grief or difficult life circumstances. Any of these factors alone or in combination can precipitate changes in brain chemistry that lead to depression’s many symptoms.

Depression Therapies:

Depression therapies aimed at reducing the symptoms of the disorder that affects the daily life of the patient and preventing recurrence at the same time.
Mode of treatment used depends greatly on the characteristics or severity of the disorder.
One treatment can be used alone or combined with other therapies in order to increase the chance of success.
Mild depressions are treated with the change in lifestyle (exercise, relaxation) and or psychotherapy.
For moderate to severe depressive disorders, different types of antidepressant agents are now available.
The drugs target serotonin neurons, norepinephrine or dopamine with, more recently, the emergence of a new concept.
Depression is increasingly seen as a cognitive disorder, whose symptoms, impaired concentration, memory, decision making, etc. need to be taken into consideration.
Negligence to proper treatment can lead to serious complication such as suicide.

But sometimes,

Even if the patient seeks medical help the treatments do not really work.

When the first line of treatment fails, other drugs such as ketamine, a glutamate inhibitor, an anesthetic, an analgesic, may be recommended.
A systematic review of the medical literature found that the results are “in favor of a rapid and powerful efficacy of ketamine used intravenously at sub-anesthetic doses.
The positive effects are observed on depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts without adverse effects.
However, the number of subjects (in the hospital setting) is still limited and few data are available on the addictive risk and medium- and longterm
effects.

Finally,

to treat the most resistant cases, deep brain stimulation, which involves implanting two electrodes in the brain – is being tested. Very few patients have been treated with this technique; its safety is still controversial. It would allow the 60% reduction of symptoms. Here are some other alternative depression treatments

Some Other Alternative Depression Therapies:

1. Healthy and Lifestyle:

Eat fruits, vegetables, fish, vegetable oils and whole grains are rich in essential fatty acids, vitamins, selenium, zinc, iron.
Deficiency in these nutrients may play a role in the development of depression symptoms.
The practice of “aerobic” activity (brisk walking, jogging, biking), at least five times a week, helps reduce the symptoms of mild depression.
Tobacco and alcohol, which have established a link with depression, should be avoided.

2. Psychological Support:

Sometimes counseling is essential.
The types of support, individual or group, must vary depending on the need of the depressed individual.
Psychotherapy can be of support, short or long term, or cognitive behavioral (CBT). It can also be a psychoanalytic treatment.
Recently, emerging therapies based on video games (serious games) where patients create characters for staging.
Adult Coloring books may also help.

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3. Relaxation:

This practice helps alleviates anxiety and can be practiced during or after a depression.
But sometimes negative thoughts are too invasive.
So it is better to appeal to a competent professional to help you in the meditating process.
You can also search Youtube for guided medication.
Beware of any form of meditation that will lead to the invocation of satanic spirits.

4. Meditation:

A meditation program has been specially adapted to depression, MBCT (mindfulness-based cognitive therapy).
At a rate of 8 sessions of two hours, it would help not only to reduce severe depression symptoms but also decrease the risk of the risk of relapse.
This practice is now integrated with patients in the hospital.
A different program, the MBSR (stress reduction based on mindfulness), can also be used to reduce stress and anxiety.

5. Light Therapy:

This therapy is mostly used to treat the Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression. It occurs most often in winter when sunlight is scarce. Recurrent and transient it is nonetheless difficult to cross.

To remedy this, the patient needs to be exposed for about 30 minutes in the morning to the white or blue light of a lamp approved (no UV or infrared) 10 000 lux. Or simply walk by the light of day for 30 minutes also.

6. Anxiolytics:

Also called tranquilizers, stream (Etifoxine), Valium (diazepam), Tamest (lorazepam), Xanax (Alprazolam),

They are used to fight against anxiety and stress.
They belong to various chemical families, the most famous being that of benzodiazepines.
Their action is very fast – a few hours – but associated with frequent side effects.
They are also associated with significant risk of dependency.
This is why they should not be used for more than 12 weeks or without medical supervision.

7. Antidepressants:

These are psychotropic drugs acting on mood.
Most common include Paxil, Citalopram, Seroplex, and Prozac.
Thirty molecules are available.
Some have a stimulating effect, other sedatives.

For optimal efficiency,

The treatment should last at least six months, sometimes longer, up to one to two years.
Their therapeutic effect is often done gradually.
They must be involved in psychological counseling.

8. Electroconvulsive:

Also called electroconvulsive therapy or ECT, it is a technique reserved for resistant and severe
depression.
An electric current is administered to the patient by electrodes placed on the skull, causing a generalized seizure.
Its mode of action remains unclear but its action, almost immediately, is recognized.
It is always performed in a hospital and under general anesthesia.

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9. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (STM):

This technique reserved for severe cases uses a magnetic coil which, by acting on certain brain
areas such as the cortex, stimulate the release of neurotransmitters.
Cures or ten sessions three times a week is practiced mostly in hospitals or in private practice.
This is an alternative to electroshock.

10. Hypnosis, EMDR:

These psychotherapeutic techniques can be practiced alone or in combination with another
treatment but must be performed by a trained specialist.
They are based on the suggestion, relaxation, release-taking.
The frequency and number of sessions vary widely.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, “desensitization and reprogramming by eye the movement”), or new hypnosis is a variant based on eye movements.

11. Behavioral Activation:

Depression is a topic of the day, every day, in western countries.
Depressed people are desperately looking for a therapy that can help them overcome the disorder without taking dangerous drugs, which most of the times do not really work and may cause lifetime side effects.
If you are one of them or are looking to help a friend with depression, this new therapy may help you.
Depressive disorders affect more than 350 million people worldwide.
Untreated depressed individuals will represent a cost of more than $ 5 billion by 2030.
In many countries, access to proper care is still limited to people who have the means to pay for it.
Some people, however, cannot afford to pay for treatments.
They need a less expensive therapeutic mean to fight the disorder.

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Discover How Behavioral Activation Can Help You Safely:

Behavioral activation therapy is based on action, not thought, or taking medications. New studies reveal it would be just as effective as the current psychotherapies for depression, but above all, cheaper.

It helps depressed people to change their behavior instead of just their negative thoughts.
However, that does not mean the patient will continue to nourish depressive thoughts.
A new study found that behavioral activation (BA) is one form of psychotherapy as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat depression.
Its main goal is to change the behavior of depressed people.

Changing The Behavior Equals To Treat The Depressive Disorder:

Behavioral activation therapy helps depressed individuals to change their behavior by establishing a link between mood and attitude.

In a recent study, this therapy, provided by a group of young undergraduate students in psychology, allows patients to find solutions to the problems they face in everyday life and to find alternatives to control debilitating behavior.

In other words, BA helps people identify and change negative thoughts through their own actions
The study involved 440 English adults suffering from clinical depression.
Of these, 221 received 20 sessions of behavioral activation therapy delivered by young workers without degrees in psychology, and 219 attended 20 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (delivered by
psychologists.
The results are amazing, considerably reduced depression symptoms are observed.

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Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment of any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”

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