First of all, this question of trying to naturally cure depression without drugs seems to be futile, especially these days when most people have gotten used to the idea of being treated with prescriptions drugs. But many people are successfully turning away from prescription drugs and finding alternative methods of treatment – without drugs. Those suffering from depression, too, are taking recourse to drugless therapies, which generally do not cause any side-effects and are typically much more economical.
Low light blues
Depending upon the cause of your depression, you will need to choose an appropriate type of therapy. If your depressive disorder manifests itself in winter, when days are short and daylight is sparse, you may effectively make use of phototherapy. Bright light therapy, or blue light therapy, given with the help of a light box, is believed to reduce or remove the cause of this type of depression.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy will be helpful in cases in which psychological factors like skewed thought patterns are identified to have caused depression. In such cases, psychotherapy or counseling will work better if there is good understanding and a solid rapport between the counselor and the patient. Depending on the severity of the disorder, long and frequent counseling sessions may be necessary due to the patient’s distorted thought patterns. Thought patterns, personal relationships, and low self-esteem must be corrected. Self-loathing has to be converted onto self-love and stress has to be lowered or eliminated and so on. By and large, the most important thing is the approach the counselor brings to the table as well as the counselor-patient relationship.
Exercise
Physical exercise is also considered to be very good as a cure for depression, particularly when it is combined with psychotherapy. It is an effective method to get rid of excessive stress, which may cause depression. Although it may be rather difficult to make severely depressed people physically active, persistent efforts aimed at motivating them to get involved in regular physical activities are likely to be successful. In practice, group physical activities are known to alleviate depression by cutting at its root causes like traumatic breakdown in personal relationships and stress-related factors.
Food and Diet
In certain cases of depression, dietary supplements like those which are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids (particularly those found naturally in oily fish) work as a cure. Products containing chocolate and Vitamin B-12 are proven to work as antidepressants. Some herbal substances are also found to be effective. When depression occurs due to misuse of alcohol and other intoxicants, caffeine, sleep-inducing drugs and sedatives, the obvious cure lies in teaching the patient not to use these depression triggers.
Meditation and prayer
Meditation and deep breathing exercises are being increasingly used as a means of treating depression without drugs. These have produced results proven to be very effective especially when practiced regularly over a considerable period of time. The calming effect of meditation on the mind has a positive impact for depression sufferers. Prayer and spirituality may also be useful in this regard.
Rehabilitation of depressed people is a family and social responsibility. Often times a depressed person is just looking for the attention of loved ones. Attempts to treat depression by drugs alone will not be successful. For this reason, the stigma that is associated with mental illnesses like depression has to be discarded. Loved ones must not discriminate against depressed people because this can make the problem worse. Love and support is the best way to start looking for a cure for depression.