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Not very long ago, depression
was considered to be 'all in your head' because it was
seen as an emotionally-generated problem that required
an emotional solution. That's why it was addressed
with counseling or therapy - often years of
it.
Next it was considered to be 'all
in your head' due to a chemical imbalance in your
brain such as a serotonin deficiency, or a disturbance
in serotonin metabolism. That's why it was addressed
with anti-depressant medications that affected
serotonin levels in your
brain.
Here are twelve
physical conditions that can give rise
to depression symptoms, whether it is post-partum
depression, neurotic depression, or any other
sub-type. If you or someone you know is suffering from
depression, be sure to check out
all of these conditions
in looking for a
solution.
What is depression?
Depression is an
emotional symptom, often seen in a negative
attitude, low mood and loss of interest in people and
things that are normally of interest. It may even involve
feelings of guilt, low self-worth, having low energy, poor
concentration, disturbances in ability to sleep, disordered
appetite. The feelings of sadness, despair and
discouragement can be
profound.
All these
emotional symptoms are the main reason depression is
usually approached as having emotional origins that
require emotional approaches - psychotherapy,
counseling and/ or treatment with anti-depressive
drugs.
But
here's the thing: contrary to what we usually assume,
depression, more often than not, has its origins in
physical problems. This means that these emotional symptoms
are resolved by addressing the physical issue(s).
Below is a summary of the prevalence of this symptom along
with a list of the most common sources of what can only
appears to be an emotional issue. If you or someone
you know gets depressed, be sure to get these physical
conditions checked out!
Who gets depressed?
Depression is common, affecting about 121 million people
worldwide. (Source:
http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/definition/en/).
In the
United States, it's estimated that in any given year
depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million
American adults, or about 9.5% of the U.S. population age
18 and older. (Source:
http://www.upliftprogram.com/depression_stats.html
)
In terms of gender, depression affects both sexes.
Unfortunately, depression has had a reputation of being a
women's condition, but this is incorrect. Actually
more than 6 million men in the U.S. have depression each
year. The symptoms of depression in men are similar
to the symptoms of depression in women. But men tend to
express those symptoms
differently.
How do men and women express depression
differently?
In women, depression may be more likely to cause feelings
of sadness and worthlessness. Depression in men, on the
other hand, may be more likely to cause them to be
irritable, aggressive, or hostile.
(Source:
http://www.webmd.com/depression/depression-men)
Either
way, the depressed person is suffering, and those around
them begin to suffer as well. Therefore, adopting an
immediate, problem-solving attitude is essential.
Everyone - the depressed person, family, friends,
co-workers - benefits by this 'let's get this resolved'
approach.
Below are
some top-of-the-list physical conditions to check out when
dealing with what appears as an emotional
symptom.
****************************************
The Dirty Dozen:
Twelve Key Physical Roots of
Depression
1. Low thyroid (T1 or
T4):
Revealed
by a blood test or muscle testing, this symptom can often
turn around by increasing dietary intake or even
supplementing with iodine along with removing all sources
of exposure to fluoride, including fluoridated drinking
water, toothpaste and dental sealants. Fluoride
knocks iodine out of the thyroid, causing low thyroid
functioning and thus leads directly to
depression.
2. Low adrenals.
In
the go-go modern world where people are stretched to
capacity and beyond, adrenal glands get overworked
constantly. Like anything else, they can only take so
much, and then they start to give out. The result is
low energy, low motivation and, guess what -
depression!
Various stress-reduction and
stress-management techniques in combination with direct support
of adrenal glands with herbs often reverse this. Two of
the herbs adrenal glands 'like' the most are Ashwaganda and
Licorice. (However, don't take Licorice long term if you
have high blood pressure.)
3. Sex hormone imbalances.
Whether in men or women, sex hormones that
are out of balance are major contributors to symptoms of
depression. Therefore it's always worth it to get the
levels of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone (for both men
and women) checked. If any are too high or too low, they
can cause depression.
4. Food intolerances.
Time and
time again, I've seen this as a top physical cause of
depression in my clients. And the biggest food intolerance
of them all is wheat, followed only by lactose and then
gluten. In fact, various experts estimate that 30-50%
of people are gluten intolerant, while the incidence of
lactose intolerance varies by race from about 5% of the
population in far Northern Europeans to 95% in native
African ones.
The
solution is to omit these from the diet and allow the body
to detox what remains - a process that takes some
time. Various authors have noted that the symptoms of
manic depression (bipolar disorder) and the symptoms of
gluten intolerance are exactly the same, making this a
crucial factor to check when depression symptoms
occur.
5. Toxic metals.
Modern
people are exposed to toxic metals from the dental
substances in their mouths, from drinking water, food, air
and more. A toxic metal body burden can produce very
deep-seated and profound depression - absolute hopelessness
and despair.
This is
also true during a metals detoxification process, which is
why it's always essential to undertake even the diagnosis
of toxic metals under the guidance of a skilled and
experienced professional. The good news is that the
depression flushes right out with the
metals.
(Continued, next
column)
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