ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

3 DIY Depression Fighters

Updated on April 3, 2014

A Crash Course in Depression

Before offering up the five most effective remedies, we want to help you understand exactly what depression is - and what it's not. Depression is not just a bad mood, a sad feeling, or a temporary lack of energy. Everyone has the occasional bad day. Depression is most commonly defined as feelings of sadness, loss, anger, frustration, and low self-esteem which interfere with one's everyday life, and last for weeks at a time. Many people who suffer from clinical depression or major depressive disorder will go through cycles of depression for their entire lives. While medication can often alleviate the worst symptoms of depression, there is no cure, and medication does not work for everyone, nor does it work all the time. If you suffer from depression, it is highly recommended that you consult with professionals before beginning any treatment regimen.

This plate is full of happy!
This plate is full of happy!

1. Serotonin Enhancing Foods

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, and is believed to greatly influence one's emotions. Many anti-depressants work by increasing serotonin levels, but there are other, more natural ways to get a similar effect. Several foods, particularly those containing good proteins and omega-3 fatty acids, will increase your serotonin levels. Among the best are:

  • Wild salmon, anchovies, sardines, herring, and mackerel.
  • Coconut oil and flax seed oil
  • Nuts, seeds, and legumes
  • Complex carbs, such as whole grain bread, brown rice, and sweet potatoes

2. Sunlight

There is a reason that SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is a better understood form of depression than others. While all forms of depression are still being studied and are not fully understood, even by professionals, there are a few things that are widely known or believed about it - one being that less sunlight disturbs sleep patterns and lowers our levels of both serotonin and vitamin D, all of which can cause major changes in our emotional state. While it's not always possible (especially in colder climates) to get out in the sun everyday, it's vital to take advantage of even the tiniest sliver of sun whenever you can. And, if you live somewhere that has months of sunless days, consider investing in a light therapy box, and taking a vitamin D supplement.

Kevin Breel: Confessions of a Depressed Comic

3. Community

I know, that word itself probably sounds terrible to the currently depressed. The last thing most of us want to do is socialize with other people and talk about our feelings of hopelessness. The internet brings with it a, if you'll pardon the pun, happy medium, however. We now have the invaluable option of finding like minds, information, resources, and communication from the comfort of our living rooms. Better still, the general anonymity of online forums tends to make people more willing to speak openly about their struggles. People who would never look you in the face and admit they are depressed will often gladly type about it at length. Talks and lectures you would not ordinarily be able to attend are a mere Google search away. Support groups that your depression would talk you out of showing up to can now be enjoyed with the simple click of a button. We now have the opportunity to join the largest, most honest and open community of fellow sufferers (or copers, as I prefer to deem us) in the world - and sometimes, just knowing you are not alone is all it takes to get you through one more day.

How have natural treatments worked for your depression?

See results

Don't Give Up

Many people with depression will go through countless prescriptions, diets, lifestyle changes, and support groups before finding something that really makes a difference. Don't give up. While we may not have a cure for depression yet, there is some comfort to be taken in the fact that dozens of professional fields are constantly working to better understand, and better treat, depression and mental illness in general. With every experiment and every breakthrough, we get a little closer to truly understanding depression - and the more we know, the more we can do.

© 2014 Robyn J Williams

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)