Anyone have experience with natural mood altering remedies?

Question

Within the past year, my dad passed away, my husband underwent surgery for prostate cancer, I had lung cancer surgery this past May and my mom passed away last month. I called my family doctor requesting something to help me get along and they said I would have to come in. I don't like to cry in front of family and I couldn't even hold it together long enough on the phone to explain why I was calling. My sister gave me some of her Ativan but I don't think it is helping me. I really don't want to go to the doctor's office and break down when he asks me, "what's going on". I've decided to look into natural remedies for depression, anxiety, the blues and whatever else you want to call it. Any advice/information would be greatly appreciated.
kathy

Answer 1

Grief counseling, staying active and social, and doing volunteer work may be helpful right now. You can try these remedies along with the things above and talk therapy to help you to feel your best.

Check these naturals out:

5HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan or 5-hydroxy-l-tryptophan)
5HTP is a supplement that converts in the brain to serotonin. Serotonin is synthesized in a two-step process where L-tryptophan is converted to 5-HTP, which is then converted to serotonin. 5-HTP works by supporting healthy levels of serotonin in the brain. By enhancing the supply of serotonin, 5-HTP helps to nutritionally support healthy central nervous system function such as sleep, appetite and mood patterns.

5-HTP has been helpful for some people, but effects are not consistent in everyone. Some people are deficient in serotonin and 5-HTP may help them whereas other people may have depression, anxiety, and other symptoms that may appear to be due to serotonin deficiency, but may actually be from other causes. There's really no easy way -- for instance blood studies in a doctor's office -- to tell whether someone is deficient in serotonin, and if they are, whether 5-HTP would help them.


SAM-e (S-adenosylmethionine)
SAM-e is a naturally occurring compound that has been used in Europe for over 20 years as a joint, mood, and liver supporter. SAM-e can have positive effects on mood because it promotes balanced levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine and serotonin are two chemicals in the brain that send electrical messages through and across the brain. It has been provensafe when taken at recommended dosages. The most common side effect is mild digestive distress. Contact your doctor before you take other RX antidepressants because SAM-e should not be combined with any other standard antidepressants without the supervision of a physician. SAM-e should not be taken if you have bi-polar disorder (manic depression), or if you take Levadopa for Parkinsons disease; it may interfere with the drugs absorption.


GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID (GABA)
GABA is the main inhibitory (calming) neurotransmitter in the brain. Its function is to decrease neuron activity and inhibit nerve cells from overfiring. With niacinamide and inositol, GABA supports the brain against stress related messages from reaching the motor centers of the brain by occupying their receptor sites.


BACH FLOWER ESSENCES
Bach Rescue Remedy - http://www.bachflower.com/index.html
Rescue Remedy contains a combination of five flower essences including impatiens, star of Bethlehem, cherry plum, rock rose, and clematis to help balance the emotions, relieve stress, and reduce fear and nervousness in stressful, traumatic or emergency situations such as receiving sudden bad news, family upset, bereavement, etc. It can help produce positive, calming, stabilizing effects in a wide range of stressful situations

Bach Mixture #1 - http://www.bachflower.com/emotions.htm


OTHER NUTRIENTS + HERBS for stress + anxiety
passion flower, tryptophan, kava, and valerian.


ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS
Omega-3,6,9, Flaxseed and Borage oil play a part in mood regulation


ESSENTIAL OILS
Diffusing essential oils can help to uplift your mood and be quite calming. My favorites are Rose, Geranium, Lemon, Bergamont, and Ylang Ylang. Make sure that you purchase pure essential oils, not perfumed oils or cheap synthetics. Here are some good blends you can blend with water and heat in a diffuser:

--Blend 1
6 drops Lemon + 6 drops Rose

--Blend 2
5 drops Lavender + 5 drops Orange +5 drops Petitgrain

--Blend 3
5 drops Orange +5 drops Mandarin +5 drops Grapefruit

Answer 2

You've been through so many difficult things in such a short period of time.

I also lost my dad last year and have been dealing with depression. I'd recommend:

1) finding a good marriage and family therapist. Connecting with someone else in a deep and trusting relationship has been the most healing thing for me. Some things I learned in there are: to separate between which things I can and can't control, that all of my feelings are ok, and are important information about what's going on with me, and to trust in my own resilience. Another thing to remember is that one aspect of depression is feeling profoundly alone in the universe. It really helps to have someone you trust that you can talk to (like a therapist), but sometimes it has also helped me to read books or poetry by people who have struggled with depression . . . that helps me realize that actually, I'm not alone--other people have been through this too. Robert Frost's poems Stopping in the Woods on a Snowy Evening and the one that begins "Snow falling fast o fast" are examples.

2) getting exercise every day, even low-impact like walking around your neighborhood. exercise stimulates endorphin release, which makes you feel better

3) journaling. keeping a mood chart--all of the strong feelings that i have during the day, and the thoughts and events that preceded them--increased my self-awareness. also drawing my depression--the images i have of my depression--has helped me work through it

4) letting yourself feel anger. you may be really angry about all of the stuff that has happened to you, and if you don't let yourself release that outrage it may eat you up instead in the form of depression.

5) reading the book Undoing Depression by Richard O'Connor

6) along with the suggestions above, i can recommend Sam-E, which is sold over the counter at Wal-green's and Whole Foods (and probably other places too). You do not need a prescription. It has been shown in numerous controlled studies in well-respected journals (just google it on the internet) to be as effective as SSRIs like Zoloft and not to have side effects. You should take between 800 and 1600 mg a day on an empty stomach and it will take a few days to start working. I started taking 1000 mg a day and it really got me out of the hole that I was in--I have been taking it for over 3 months and have now cut down to 800 mg a day. It costs about $40 for a box of 60 200-mg pills, so at the dosage I'm taking lasts me for 15 days. So that's $80 a month at the dosage that I'm taking.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

First of all, I am so sorry you have gone through so much. I hope you are healthy and that you know everything always has a way of working out. Natural remedies: eating a good diet, focusing on avocados: because they have natural fats that your body craves especially when you are down. It will help alter your mood. Almonds and olive oil also help alter your mood. Try really hard to stay away from sugar because this will only bring you down. On another note, you posses the power to SWITCH how you feel when you feel down, how? Do something you love or focus on helping someone in need. When you take the focus off you grief and focus on something else (positive) you can accomplish so much and hopefully in the process help others. I wish you a lot of luck and pray you find the principles to take back the power you posses to have a positive state of mind. Good Luck.

Answer 4

When I have anxiety, I use Rescue Remedy. It made by Bach's and you can get it at Health Food stores. It is a blend of differnet all natural ingretients in a little glass bottle with a dropper. You can carry it with you and when you feel some anxiety coming on, just squirt it in your mouth. The taste is really strong, I chase it with a gulp of water. Not too much or it will water down the medicine. You should try it.

Answer 5

My best friend took Hyland's brand Ignatia (for grief and emotional upset) after her husband died in a car wreck. She said it really helped her a lot. You can buy it online at numerous sites or go to a healthfood store such as Wild Oats if you have one nearby. Also, there's a really cool website I've discovered with herbal remedies that can be custom made based on your individual need or you can pick a blend that popular. They don't make it until you place the order and it's cheap! Best of luck to you, I'm glad you're seeking something out rather than just dealing with it. There's nothing wrong with using homeopathic therapy vs "pills" if you find something that will work for you.

Answer 6

You already took the first step by asking someone basically to listen. Your next step is to ask yourself is the things you just talked about the real problem. If this is then youmusttalk or write down all of your emotions and how you feel about the ones you have lost. If this isn't the main problem then you need to sit think maybe write down everything you think about all the time. Find the right person (even fi it has to be someone on here) that will listen. I mean listen!!! There are others out there that feel the same way you do and ask the same question! You can maybe listen to them too! Anyway, when you you find this person let it ALL out! I love to listen and talk you can email me anytime " [e-mail]" or even talk on messenger. We all have problems, but only a few of us will admit it.

Answer 7

This is NOT a prescription, merely recommendation. All tested and proven to work on myself (but not necessarily for everyone). Lighting incense of various scents such as vanilla, lavender, cranberry or musk. Drinking herbal teas especially camomile, mint and rosehip. Playing light music that will allow you to detach your mind for a few moments (world music works for me). Walking outside when it's drizzling or when it's cold to evoke more sensation, but don't do it too long or you might catch a cold.

I am sorry to hear about your family, and I believe you will emerge a stronger person.

Answer 8

with all that sadness if you don't express it now, you will later, explosively. go to a doctor. that's what they are there for. if you don't consider alcohol or narcotics as natural remedies then try using st. john's wort. it has helped me in the past, but it takes several weeks of steady use before being effective. even then the effects are mild. hell, even exercise is effective in that regard.

Answer 9

Valerian. Cannabis. Melatonin.

Answer 10

go to the doctor. there are natural remedies such as st. johns wort but more importantly he will send you to a councilor who you can just unload on about once a month it will do more good than any drug ever could.