What are some natural treatments for depression?
Some natural treatments for depression include good sleep hygiene, exercise, social support, breathing/meditation and some herbal supplements. In this video, psychiatrist Sudeepta Varma, MD, shares her favorite natural solutions for depression.
Transcript
Some natural treatments for depression that I often utilize as part of the psychotherapy is looking at sleep hygiene.
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So this is really important because a lot of people say that when they're depressed, they're either sleeping too much or sleeping too little. And I want to make sure that people
are able to get at least seven to eight hours of sleep per night. So sleep hygiene and, specifically, having people
turn their cell phones off; no screen time while they're in bed; using the bed just for sleep or sex; you know, keeping the blinds down, the shades down;
and trying to keep-- eliminate any distractions; no heavy meals before bed, these are all things that can help regulate one's sleep cycle.
Exercise is also a very important part of the natural remedy, three to five times a week, 30 minutes.
Social support is another important part of treatment for depression, going out with friends and family, scheduling things
on a regular basis. And also, some of the natural supplements. So fish oil, omega-3, has been shown
to perhaps be somewhat effective in mild anxiety and mild depression. Of course, there are more studies
that need to be looked at. We also know that vitamin B12 deficiencies, folate deficiencies, anemia insulin resistance, these
are all things that can contribute to depression. So having a really thorough medical evaluation and supplementing if there are any deficiencies
can be helpful as part of the natural treatment of depression. Some of the other suggestions for the treatment of depression that I often recommend to patients
is yoga, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and what I call the one-minute meditation.
So any of these things can be done in the privacy of your home, perhaps in your office if you can take one minute.
The deep breathing, you know, where you're inhaling, perhaps, and then exhaling to the count of five, that can be very relaxing.
Progressive muscle relaxation, you could easily find this on the internet, a quick video. But where a person tenses and relaxes muscle group
by muscle group in sequence and doing that for about 5 to 10 minutes a day.
Taking walks while they might be mindfully experiencing nature.
Connecting with nature is also important. But again, yoga, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation,
mindfulness in walking, mindfulness in daily activities, really trying to allow yourself to be present.
So when you find your mind wandering and going on to different tasks, mindfulness allows you, basically, to come back to the task at hand.
And these are some of the natural treatments of depression that I often recommend to my patients. [AUDIO LOGO]
mental health behavior
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