How A Superhealing Approach Can Help Reverse Symptoms of Depression: International Bestselling author Elaine R. Ferguson

Terezia Farkas. International Bestselling Author. Columnist. Writes about dealing with depression.

One in 10 Americans is affected by depression. It occurs more often in women between 46 and 64 years of age, but is experienced in all age groups. It costs over $200 billion per year, and anti-depressants are usually not more effective than placebos. Today more than ever before a wide variety of complementary and alternative therapies have been found to be helpful in reversing the brain dysfunction that is the foundation of the symptoms. What is Super healing?

Super healing is a comprehensive, holistic approach to health and well-being to stimulate your innate ability to enhance and accelerate your body’s powerful natural health capacities through active participation in their expression.

That means involving your mind, your body and your spirit to restore the balance that is necessary to open the floodgates of healing that are not under your conscious control. This approach may require that you draw upon a broad range of clinically proven techniques, tools, and processes that speak to your needs and personal preferences. The super healing approach affirms that your essential nature is derived from your spirit, the foundation of all health and well-being.

                                                                                                                                 CONTINUE READING......

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We now know that working on improving our health through the body alone is like sailing a sailboat with three masts with only one open. Healing becomes super healing when all three sails are unfurled and catching the wind. And that holds true for a more comprehensive approach to depression.
For example, for several centuries gardens have been found to be very helpful. We also know that there are several nutritional supplements that work just as good as anti-depressant medications. In fact the anti-depressants are rarely more therapeutic than a placebo.

Several studies have determined that the omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial when used as an antidepressant supplement. However, there are limited and conflicting results regarding their use as a singular therapy for major depression, and doses are not included.

Several trials have indicated that supplements of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe)—the major donor of methyl groups in human metabolism—are as effective as antidepressants in treating major depression.
Exercise has been studied both as single therapy and as a supplement to antidepressant. Typical results have been positive in both men and women across a wide age range and irrespective of setting or mode. Also, patients who continued to exercise following study participation had a lower risk of relapse over several months to years.

In one study, for example, exercise’s effectiveness as a single therapy for mild to moderate major depressive disorder was tested in men and women aged 20 to 45. Some participants exercised from 1.5 to 3 hours a week, others 80 minutes a week and still others served as controls. After 12 weeks, the high-exercise group showed a 47 percent reduction in symptoms, while the low-exercise and control groups showed a 30 percent reduction in symptoms. The differences were statistically significant.
Although there is strong evidence that light therapy can counter seasonal depression, the effectiveness of light therapy as a treatment for major depression is not as well established. Also, it appears that light therapy might be even more effective against major depression if it is combined with an antidepressant than if used alone.

In one randomized, controlled trial, for instance, 102 subjects were treated with the drug Zoloft. The participants also received either supplemental treatment with 30 minutes of either bright morning or dim red light for five weeks. All clinician and self-report measures significantly favoured active light augmentation.

Reviews of St. John’s Wort, trials suggest that it is more effective for mild to moderate depression than for the severe form of the illness.

Studies have failed to demonstrate the therapeutic effectiveness of acupuncture compared with a control condition for the treatment of major depression.
Folates’s effectiveness as a single therapy for major depressive disorder has yet to be adequately tested. A few trials have found folate to be efficacious and well tolerated, although the best dose and form of folate remain unclear.

A review of the side effects and costs of these therapies found, for example, that the omega-3 fatty acids have a low risk of side effects and are inexpensive. SAMe has a relatively low risk of side effects and is expensive, and St. John’s wort carries a risk of interactions with drugs such as antiretrovirals, immunosuppressants, antineoplastic agents, anti-coagulants, and oral contraceptives.
We know that optimism, and other positive emotions are like emotional antibodies and can help to reduce the episodes of and the frequency of episodes of depression.

Thanks to Guest blogger Elaine R. Ferguson, International Bestselling author of 'Super Healing' 

Terezia Farkas. International Bestselling Author, Huffington Post/ CNN contributor, columnist of Depression Help. Focus is mental health. Her bestseller Heart of Love Evolution – Surviving Depression is available on Amazon. Website:  www.tereziafarkas.com Follow on  Twitter