Natural Treatment for Depression

If you have been diagnosed with depression, holistic treatment can help. Dr. Hanson offers safe and effective holistic treatment, using non-toxic and non-invasive therapies such as herbs and nutritional supplements, which will reduce your depression symptoms and help you to live a normal life.

What is Depression? Symptoms and Diagnosis of Depression

We all feel sad or unhappy sometimes, but depression is different. Everyday sadness or unhappiness generally occurs as a direct response to something unpleasant that has occurred. It is temporary and the unhappy person can be consoled or distracted by something enjoyable, such as a movie or spending time with friends.

With depression, friends and family may try to cheer the person up, but their efforts fail and they become frustrated. There may be an unpleasant experience that initiates the depression, but a depressed person does not recover normally and views the situation as hopeless. They may actually view their situation as much worse than it really is and feel helpless to improve their life.

Depression is characterized by a consistent feeling of sadness or emptiness or by a marked loss of interest or pleasure in all or most activities. These feelings are experienced most of the time and interfere with a person's ability to live their life, to do their job, interact socially or take care of themselves and their responsibilities.

People with depression often experience a loss in their ability to concentrate or make decisions. They may feel worthless or inappropriately guilty and are often preoccupied with death. Though it is a psychological disease, symptoms of depression are not just mental, the feelings of sadness may be accompanied by weight loss or gain, insomnia or excessive sleeping and fatigue or lack of energy

Depression: Holistic Treatment and Natural Remedies

Conventional medicine treats depression with pharmaceutical medications and psychotherapy. In some cases, more invasive treatment such as electroconvulsive therapy is used. Conventional depression medications, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac, etc.), tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors, are all associated with significant side effects.

These drugs work by interfering with brain chemistry in a way that increases certain chemicals called neurotransmitters, most notably the neurotransmitter serotonin, that are associated with an improved mood. Many natural medicines can achieve the same goal, but without interfering with your body's natural functioning. By supplementing with nutrients that help create serotonin and other neurotransmitters, we can alleviate depression symptoms without creating unpleasant side effects.

In addition, holistic medicine looks at the whole person. Are there other, unexplored health issues that are contributing to your depression? Hormonal imbalances, such as poor thyroid or adrenal function, can contribute to depression, as can unrecognized food sensitivities and environmental toxicities.

Holistic medicine is individualized. Depression is a very personal condition. Every patient has a different history and a different experience of their symptoms. Due to the personal nature of depression, treatment should always be individualized to each patient. An herb or nutritional supplement that completely relieves one patient may not help another at all. That is why Dr. Hanson takes an extensive history of each patient focusing on their individual experience and health history. This individualized approach requires only a small amount of very specific herbs or minerals, reducing the possibility of side effects.

Natural help for depression is available. If you are suffering from depression and would like to get better, make an appointment today. If you do not live in the New York City tri-state area, but are still interested in overcoming depression, phone consultations are available. Please call 917-267-WELL or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .