all answers welcomed, except mean ones?

Question

how does one overcome depression, mood disorders or chemical imbalance without taking medicine? this is what happened to me. i know in my heart it was God, but will be more then happy to hear others explanation.

i have not thumbs anyone down.

Answer 1

Depression is time limited. In many people it simply gets better with the passage of time. I don't believe in God and have suffered very seriously with bouts of depression and I've recovered without medicine.

Answer 2

Sometimes Medicine is as important to help with these illnesses. So it is important that you don't discount the meds as viable options. The only way to treat a Chemical Imbalance is with Meds- Sometimes St. Johns Wort is good ( but that is Medicine too), but you really should see a doctor.

That being said, many times these conditions are mis diagnosed or aren't really serious. I think if Depression is your problem and it is just really mild, Service can be a huge help. There is nothing that makes you feel better about yourself than getting out and serving others.

There are many Chemical Imbalances that people take medication for everyday- they don't think twice. But since those seem to have physical symptoms that is ok. Diabetes is a Chemical Imbalance, most people just take the medicine. without a problem.

There is nothing unChristian or wrong about taking medicine.

Answer 3

If you have fully recovered I am very glad for you. I know of no one who has ever completely overcome the hideous hell that it is. I know of people not on meds and people who are. Neither one does any better than the other. Meds such as antidepressants do nothing. The most effective meds I have seen are anti anxiety meds or mood stabilizers They are effective in calming you down or making you feel like a zombie or they assure you sleep a lot. That is no way to live. It is the person themselves that learn to overcome what they can. They are proactive about wanting to get better. Not just popping a pill and hoping it will all go away. Exercise by far is the best I know to help. When you exercise you feel better overall. And believe it or not that one thing that you can control motivates you to keep going. As for professional help if that is the thing for you then it is. Some prefer not to. I am one of those. I have done that a few times. Did it help? No. I had another human being to talk to that really didn't know any more than what I did.

Answer 4

Not all depression is caused by chemical imbalance. But if it -is- that kind of depression, there's nothing wrong with taking medicine to help with it. If you lost a tooth you wouldn't have a moral problem with getting a dentist to replace it, would you? Or if you needed glasses or a hearing aid or orthopedic shoes. If you believe in God, then you have to think medical science comes from God too, right?

But last week on 'Real Time', Bill Maher spoke of a study that showed that exercise helps to relieve depression. I get depressed now and then (like everyone does, I'm sure) and I find going for a long walk really helps. In fact I've always suspected that our bodies were designed to work harder than we do these days, and one reason depresion is so prevalent is that we don't get as much exercise as we did a few generations ago. Anyway, it's something to try.

Answer 5

Depression can have many causes: diet, lack of exercise, emotional distress, spiritual confusion, among others. And so, I suggest attacking it on all these fronts.
1) Pray, asking God to help you find and do what you need, and discussing your situation can be the most important step you can take. But be prepared to DO your part.
2) Clean up your diet -- God is a strong advocate of good, wholesome eating, and gave his people strict dietary laws for their good health. The health benefits of not eating 'unclean' meats is know to medical science.
Cut way, way back on sugary foods, and you should probably only eat red meat no more than twice a week.
3) Get some regular exercise -- it has been shown that this can make a great difference in mood.
4) If you are bothered by some problems, you need to talk to others about them -- a shared burden is half the load, "And a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:{7-}12).

Answer 6

In our modern society, our bodies have degraded extensively from God's original design, and as such, sometimes we need to give our bodies that little extra "push" for it to function the way it ought to.

Sometimes this results in depression and mood disorders or chemical imbalance, as you pointed out.

If you have a chemical imbalance, I don't see anything wrong with inducing the proper chemicals to bring your body back into balance. I would say that you should be careful of addictive drugs, but if you need to take them for the rest of your life in order to maintain balance in your body (which IS physical, after all), then you are addicted any way.

But, I see another problem here.

You said that you know it was God - are you saying that it was God that is causing the depression, mood disorders, et cetera? I don't agree with this at all. But if YOU believe it, then you are fighting God by trying to over come the problem.

Personally, I believe that a good physician who understands this kind of health problem, along with a good counselor who understands Biblical concepts (such as the kind of counselor you might find at a Teen Challenge program) could do wonders for you.

God bless you as you face some really tough decisions.

Answer 7

Look God made us "man and women" with more than a few brain cells in our heads.........He gave us the capability to learn. To do things for ourselves. Wonderous things. One of them was medicine.
If you look back not very long ago Doctors would have to amputate limbs because there was nothing else they could do. They didn't have the knowledge back then. Now like everything times have changed (drastically) and doctors now a days have the ability to do some amazing things. Medicine has also come along long way from 100 or less years ago.

I would urge you to get the help you need for whatever your problem (s) are. There's alot of us that aren't made perfectly and need help..........God gave us the ability, there's nothing wrong with taking medication. The only time I believe there is something wrong with it is when its abused, such as pain killers and other medications that are addictive.

Answer 8

It's a lot of hard work and I don't recommend it unless you either just cannot absolutely take the medication due to other medical reasons or you are a mild case and/or willing to commit yourself to a very strict regimen. It is possible to treat them with things like vitamins, herbs, exercise (especially Yoga and Tai Chi), keep logs of your moods and experiences, changing your diet drasitically (cutting out sugar, trans fats, certain proteins, gluten, etc), and of course getting involved in activities that distract from dwelling on your moods, like spirituality, but it's hard. It's not an easy thing to do.

In my case I was able to overcome it but then I learned that what I had was not actually bipolar disorder, but Asperger's syndrome. Aspies tend to get misdiagnosed as bipolar a lot. It's very common. And people on the Aspie/autistic spectrum don't do good on medication at all.

If I were actually bipolar, would I be doing as well? I don't know.

I don't think people who are seriously bad should go off meds or stop going to counseling (and even people off meds should still go to counseling and support groups IMO), but mild cases...well, it might work.

Answer 9

You need to exercise regularly as this helps with the symptoms of depression and all the other things you mentioned. Vitamin B complex Extended release, Vitamin C,
Vitamin E, you could also try 5-HTP or Sam-e but 5-HTP works well and is better documented. Rescue Remedy. Lavender essential oil, YOGA really does help and meditation just to quiet the mind. Journaling helps sort your feelings.
God didn't do this to you. It's usually hereditary or it could be from a stressful experience either current or past.
Best to you. I know how difficult it can be sometimes and these things have worked well for my anxiety and depression periods.

Answer 10

Find a couple of hobbies try out new things not just what you like doing, volunteer work. :) Take care thinking about you and hope for the best for you!
Speaking on personal terms no offense to any of the other answers therapy and medicine did not cure I had to realize I had the ability to overcome the task at hand.

Answer 11

I think in some instances a belief in God could actually help you to re-evaluate your responses to certain trigger situations, the result being something like CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) BUT if the depression comes back despite your belief in God, seek the help of a professional. You will not necessiry need drugs - in fact, given the success you seem to have had it's probable that CBT will achieve the desired result, but sometimes you need a more active participant to help you establish more healthy response mechanisms.