Success Managing Depression W/herbal Remedies/non-prescriptions?

I have a friend that has a girl 15 that has just gone through a bout of depression. She took her to see a psychiatrist and counselor and they put her on St.John's Wart...they said that they did not want to put her on a drug but try the herbal medication route.
They seem tothink that it is helping her.

Ialso take an anti-depressant and a mood stabilizer....what I have alwaysheard is that if it is just a situation causing the depression the herbs will help butif it is a chemical embalance with chronic depression there won't be much help.
I know someone that uses the Sam-E and really likes it. You can buy that in most pharmacies. I think that it is a pre-mixed combination of herbs and vitamins that is suppose to be good.
I alsoknow a person that lives in Alaska and uses an herbal tea that I have made and she swears by it for depression and anything else...it is an old Indian remedy. I still use it becauseit issuch a great de-tox tea...easy to make and a batch lasts you about three months. If you are interested in the recipe I can send it to you. L.

My best friend gets horrible depression in the winter that can sometimes almost consume him the whole season. This year he had no other option then to look it straight in the face because he is a full time student and works. He doesnt believe in antidepressants, his mom made him go on them as a kid and they just messed iwth him too much. So this year he looked into other ways to deal with it. He found that a Gluten free diet helped out his moods soo much. He cut out wheat altogether and also stopped eating anything with high fructose corn syrup. which was harder then he thought it would be because they both are in everything. It istn herbal but it worked for him it may be worth a shot depending on how bad the depression is. Good luck.

I suffer from a mild form of chronic depression called dystimia. I took zoloft and prozac for years and ultimately came to the decision that I didn't want to be dependent on a drug to be "normal". For me, largely the motivation to stay off medication alone helps, but I like to use sweet orange oil. Sweet orange is a natural anti-depressant. You can get lots of lotions and things with natural orange scent. They really brighten my day. I have also been told that St. John's Wart is very good for depression. If you are looking for an herbal remedy that you can "take" everyday like medication, I would try that. For pick me ups the smell of sweet orange does wonders! I switched my lotions to only that scent so I am always using it and smelling it. It is great!

If you are on long term, the St John's Wart is the stuff. Breif periods then Valarian works well. If it's just a one or two days thing then Kava is safe and gentil even for kids. St John's Wart has to build up in the system so it's not good for short bouts where as Valarian seems to loose it's effectivness over time. Kava is great but can be emotionaly addicting for some so only use it to treat bad days and nightmares. The mixed supliments will have one of these as a main ingredient and often some B-vitamins. All herbals have an effect on the body so find a Doc that approves their use. My doc loves it when I bring in some new tea or something and has even photo-copied the label so she can consult some one else. My hubby has used all of them at one point or another and some others. I do know some that have used St John's wart for years very sucessfully! As with any medicine it's trial and error.

I would suggest a visit to a naturopathic physician in order to figure out the cause of your depression. They can recommend supplements for you and monitor your progress. Five months ago, I was an anxiety-ridden, depressed train wreck. Now that I am off allergy medication that was making me crazy and figured out my food intolerances, I no longer need "prescription medication". I was very skeptical about naturopathic care, but now that I understand it, it makes perfect sense.

I see Jennifer Means, ND at the Tigard Holistic Health Clinic. Here's a link to their web page, where they talk about depression: http://www.tigardholistic.com/psycoemotional.htm

Hope that helps!

I've been reading an old copy of "helping yourself with foot reflexology", and the author talked about a well-to-do man with a wonderful family and great health who came to her talking about how he just didn't know if he could go on... and after treating him he was bright and chipper and felt much better. The points that seemed to help him were the pineal gland and pituitary, both on the underside of the big toe. Some people (who haven't tried it) think reflexology is just hocus pocus, but I've seen it work before my eyes for different things (my sister was once very pregnant and limping around, so I offered to reflex her feet; she said she could feel the tension releasing in her hip as I did it - and she stopped waddling; it also helps my very-skeptical-sometimes-insomniac-husband go to sleep and sleep through the night). Anyway, it might be worth looking into, and there's a lot on the internet about it. Good luck!

I have had success with St. John's Wart and Rhodiola, separately. Try one or the other. St. John's Wart takes awhile to get into the system, so give it a couple of weeks before you decide it doesn't work.