Depression is a mood disorder where you feel extremely low, lack energy, and feel a sense of hopelessness, and apathy where you simply ‘don’t care anymore. Signs Of Depression You may lose interest in your hobbies, and activities that usually make you happy, You may feel guilty for how you feel, and think that there is something wrong with you that you don’t know how to fix And some people stop taking care of their bodies and eating too much or too little which causes rapid weight gain/loss. Originally doctors believed that depression was caused by a simple chemical imbalance in the brain and therefore treated it with anti-depressant medications.
However, modern research shows us that depression is multi-faceted and is usually caused by a combination of different problems. Lack of Sleep Such as not getting enough deep sleep, which causes certain hormones to become out of balance, Nutrient Deficiencies Nutritional deficiencies from not eating the right foods, which can make your blood sugars unstable Medications/Substance Abuse Taking certain medications, substance abuse or alcohol can affect how the brain works, Other factors in depression may include Grief The loss of a loved one or perhaps a painful break-up which triggers grief, a type of depression
Microbiome Imbalance An imbalance in your microbiome, and not having enough friendly microbes in your gut can make you depressed, Burn-out And perhaps the most common cause of depression is burn-out from a prolonged state of anxiety and stress No matter the cause of your depression, there are some simple methods that you can use to overcome depression permanently. Because your brain and your nervous system can reset, adapt and heal themselves as long as you make some simple changes in your life.
In this article, we will be exploring the 8 most effective ways to overcome depression and bring you back to a state of balance and peace. Just a quick reminder this article is for educational purposes only, so do speak to your doctor or therapist if you have any medical or mental health concerns.
1. Improve Sleep (8+ Hours)
Studies show us that people with depression usually have low levels of BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) in their brains. This is one of the most important molecules in the brain which helps your brain cells (neurons) to send messages to each other so that you can think clearly, have better memory and recall, and be more mentally alert and happy.
BDNF actually helps improves brain plasticity, Basically helps your brain to adapt to stress, emotions, and chemical changes to keep it working normally. You can boost your BDNF by getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Make it a habit to go to bed an hour earlier, turn off your phone and devices, and make the room as dark as possible. This will help tell your brain it’s time to rest and reset.
2. L-Tryptophan
If you wish you can take 250mg of Tryptophan for about 45 minutes before going to bed. This will help you to get a deeper night’s sleep, and also improve your mood during the day. Tryptophan is an amino acid that we often get from our foods like turkey, pumpkin seeds, collard greens, salmon, etc… Tryptophan crosses the blood-brain barrier and is converted to “the happy hormone” called serotonin. This acts as a natural anti-depressant, improves your mood, and reduces stress and feelings of anxiety. Your brain also converts this serotonin into melatonin, the neurotransmitter that regulates your sleep cycles in order to restore your body and mind during the night.
If you decide to take L-Tryptophan make sure that it’s on an empty stomach, as eating other proteins can prevent it from being absorbed properly. If you’re finding this information helpful please hit the like button, subscribe, and turn all notifications for my latest health and nutrition tips.
3. Sunlight Many people who have
depression is often burnt-out from experiencing too much stress, anxiety, or emotional baggage. Prolonged mental stress causes physical and chemical changes in the brain and nervous system, which leads to low mood and depression. To start ‘re-wiring’ the brain and bringing everything back to normal it’s absolutely essential that you get outside and get more sunshine.
When sunlight enters your eyes, it stimulates parts of your retina that tell your brain to make and store more serotonin (the happy hormone.) This is why people feel much better, calmer, and happier when they are sunbathing on a beautiful beach. When the UVB rays from the sunlight touch your skin, it reacts with a protein (7-DHC )and turns into Vitamin D, the most important nutrient of all. Vitamin D helps to boost BDNF to renew your brain structure, (that we discussed earlier) And it also supports your immune system making your body more resistant to diseases and infections. So get outside and start taking walks for at least 45 minutes each day, exposing your arms and lower legs if possible to the sunlight.
If you can walk in areas where there are a lot of trees and plant life. Trees release essential oils into the air ( phytoncides), which we breathe in. These have a very relaxing and uplifting effect on the central nervous system and help us to reconnect with nature as it is a part of us that we often neglect. If you can’t get enough sunlight in the winter, you can use a “light therapy” device. These are relatively inexpensive light boxes that emit 10,000 lux/lumens of light. You simply sit in front of this for 20-30 minutes each morning and it’s very effective in reducing depression, especially (SAD).
4. Probiotic Foods
To overcome depression or anxiety, you should start to eat a serving of probiotic foods at least 3x per week. Fermented foods are rich in live, friendly microbes called probiotics that colonize and live inside your gut. (microbiome). These bacteria and friendly yeasts actually make B vitamins like Vitamin B1, B3, etc… which help your brain cells (neurons) to send messages to each other, so that you can think clearly, have better memory and recall, and be more mentally alert and happy.BDNF actually helps improves brain plasticity, Basically helps your brain to adapt to stress, emotions, and chemical changes to keep it working normally.
You can boost your BDNF by getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Make it a habit to go to bed an hour earlier, turn off your phone and devices, and make the room as dark as possible. This will help tell your brain it’s time to rest and reset.
5. Journalling
When you are depressed it can be very difficult to lift up your thoughts, and you may feel a thick cloud over your mind, blocking all of your good. An excellent therapy technique is to take a new fresh notebook and start writing down your thoughts and feelings. Write down how you feel today, without being too judgemental. Give yourself some slack, we are all human so don’t be too hard on yourself. Write down whatever you feel you need to.
After offloading your thoughts, start writing down 6 things that you are grateful for and positive things to help shift your energy onto something helpful. For example, you may appreciate the rays of the sunshine coming through the window, or the smell of a good meal. This will help to shift your focus onto positive things, building new connections in your brain of happiness and joy.
You may also want to write down a few of your new goals, such as getting more sleep, walking outside, or eating some sauerkraut. The key is to start visualizing your happiness and emotionally bonding with that image. That’s how real change is made.
6. Boost Minerals
People with clinical depression usually do not consume enough essential minerals in their food, specifically zinc, chromium, or magnesium. Zinc is needed to help build dopamine, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel pleasure and happiness. You can get more zinc by eating red meat, shellfish, watermelon seeds, and dark chocolate (stevia).
Magnesium is another key mineral and natural anti-depressant which comes from all leafy green vegetables, avocados, and pumpkin seeds. And finally, Chromium is a trace mineral found in nutritional yeast, green beans, broccoli, and lettuce which helps to keep your blood sugars stable, preventing mood swings and symptoms of depression. Be sure to cut out sugary foods and refined grains like bread, cereal, soda, fruit juice, doughnuts, etc… As these all deplete your minerals and can make depression symptoms worse.
As you can see there are many different actions that you can take to start improving and coming out of a depressive state. You may want to watch this a few times and take notes. Try implementing one or two of these steps each week. That is important to spend time with people who you love and who make you feel happy and connected. Humans are sociable creatures and we need to feel ‘connected’ even if we are quite introverted. So please make time to see friends, and family or even make new friends by going to social clubs and events.
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