Can Depression be Cured?

I suffered from severe, treatment resistant depression and anxiety for over 20 years. I spent ten years on antidepressants (I lost count of how many different ones I tried), did 2 years of therapy, saw many doctors and psychiatrists and tried just about every kind of natural therapy you can think of. Eventually I started looking into the underlying causes of depression, and that was when I finally found a cure for my depression.

So speaking from experience, the answer to the question “can depression be cured” is a definite Yes. Even if you have long term, serious, treatment resistant depression, it can be cured.

The real question you should be asking is not “can depression be cured” but “how can I find the cure that will work for me”. And to answer this question, you need to find out what’s causing your depression.

The cure for your depression may involve:

• finding and treating a physical illness or genetic problem that is causing your depression
• finding out which of the brain’s “happiness chemicals” you are low in and taking natural supplements to boost those happiness chemicals
• identifying lifestyle factors that may contribute to your depression
• some type of therapy
• a combination of the above

This is not a simple process and does take a bit of time, but please follow it through to the end – for the sake of curing your depression, it’s worth it.

Step 1 – Find out what neurotransmitters you are low in

Neurotransmitters are the chemicals in our brain that allow the brain cells to communicate with each other. They are responsible for happiness, joy, motivation, relaxation and our ability to think clearly. The symptoms of depression are caused by a deficiency of one or more of these neurotransmitters, and the first step to finding the cure for your depression is to find out what neurotransmitters you are low in. The tests below will give you a good idea.

• Serotonin Deficiency Test
• GABA Deficiency Test
• Dopamine Deficiency Test
• Acetylcholine Deficiency Test
• Endorphin Deficiency (unfortunately I couldn’t find a test for this one but the list of symptoms should give you a good idea if you are low in endorphins)

Once you know what neurotransmitters you are low in, you can take natural supplements that increase the levels of those neurotransmitters (see the information at the end of each test for more information). These supplements are very effective and usually start to lift the black clouds within hours. But you do still need to look further to find out why you are low in neurotransmitters.

Step 2 – Find out if you have an underlying physical illness

Not everyone with depression has an underlying physical illness, but if you are one of the people who do, the only way to cure your depression is to identify and treat the underlying condition. Unfortunately most doctors know very little about the causes of depression and tend to overlook them completely. You will probably need to do some reading yourself, get an idea of which condition/s you might have and then find a doctor or health care practitioner who specializes in those conditions.

Take the tests below to find out if your depression could be caused by an underlying physical illness. If you get high scores for any of these tests, read the information that follows the test to find out more about the condition.

• Pyroluria Test
• Histadelia Test
• Histapenia Test
• Hypothyroidism Test
• Fatty Acid Imbalance Test
• Sugar Addiction Test
• Food Intolerance Test
• Adrenal Fatigue Test
• Candida Test

There are some excellent doctors and health care practitioners who work with the underlying causes of depression on a daily basis and get outstanding results. If you think you may have any of these conditions, the best thing you can do is find a doctor or health care practitioner works with that condition a lot. The information at the end of some of the tests gives suggestions for finding a good health care professional.

If you scored highly in several tests, don’t worry – it’s quite common for people to have more than one of these conditions, especially if they have chronic depression. For example, if you have pyroluria that goes untreated for many years, this will almost always lead to adrenal fatigue. Pyroluria also causes low levels of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and this can contribute to food intolerances and candida. A good health care practitioner can help you work out what you need to focus on treating.

Step 3 – Look at lifestyle factors that may contribute to your depression

Depression has increased dramatically in recent decades because of the lifestyles we lead. Take a look at the following lifestyle factors and see if any of them may be contributing to your depression. If they are, you need to get serious about changing your lifestyle.

1. Not enough sunlight. If you are low in serotonin, your depression is worse in the winter or you spend most of the day stuck inside in artificial lighting, there is a good chance you aren’t getting bright light. We need exposure to bright light to stimulate the production of Vitamin D, serotonin and melatonin, all of which can be involved in depression. 15 to 30 minutes of exposure to bright sunshine in the morning is enough for most people, but if you live in an area where the sun isn’t very bright in the winter or you can’t get outside in the mornings, a light box can work wonders.

   The Uplift Technologies DL930 Daylight Lamp is a reasonable priced light box that uses the same kind of light used in most of the successful studies on light therapy for depression. If you need a more portable light box, the NatureBright SunTouch Lamp is a good choice.

   Start by using the lamp for 30 minutes a day and increase to 60 minutes if you don’t notice any difference in a week. If you have trouble getting to sleep and find it difficult to get up in the mornings, use the light box in the morning, within about an hour of getting up. If you get to sleep OK but wake up too early in the morning, use the light box in the early evening, about 5 hours before you usually go to bed. If you wake up frequently through the night, use the light box in the morning, at least half an hour after getting up. If you don’t have trouble sleeping, use the light box in the morning, anywhere from half an hour to 2 hours after waking up.

2. Poor diet. Our brains need a good supply of protein, vitamins and minerals to work at their peak. The brain’s happiness chemicals are produced from protein using vitamins and minerals and many of us just aren’t supplying our brains with the building blocks they need for us to be happy. Read food for depression to find out how to help cure your depression with a healthy diet.
3. Too much stress. When we are under stress, our brains use up happiness chemicals at a much faster rate than usual and we can become deficient in these chemicals. There are two main types of stress that can contribute to depression. The first is a major life event such as the death of a loved one or losing your job. If a stressful event like this is the main cause of your depression, then taking supplements to boost the neurotransmitters you are low in and improving your diet may be all you need to cure your depression. You will probably only need to take the supplements for a short time, until you are fully recovered. However if you suffer from chronic stress, you will need to look at changing your life to reduce your stress levels.
4. Not enough exercise. Studies have shown that exercise is one of most effective antidepressants; and lack of exercise is often a contributing factor in depression. If you don’t do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 times a week, take a look at our post on exercise and depression.
5. Not enough sleep. Depression can cause insomnia and lack of sleep contributes to depression – it’s a vicious cycle. If you suffer from insomnia, there is a good chance that following step 2 and boosting your neurotransmitter levels will solve your sleep problems, but if it doesn’t, try one of these natural remedies for insomnia.

Step 4 – Consider therapy.

I have left this step till last because there if you follow the first 3 steps, there is a good chance you won’t need therapy. Some people do still need a few sessions of therapy to sort out bad mental habits they have fallen into. If you do need therapy, it will usually be much more effective if you follow the first 3 steps and balance your brain chemistry first.

If you do decide on therapy, the best type of therapy for depression is called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. There are plenty of research studies showing that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is as effective as antidepressants in the short term and more effective in the long term. Ask around for recommendations for a good Cognitive Behavioral Therapist. A full course of therapy should take 3 to 4 months to complete and will focus on changing the way you think and behave, not on talking about all of the terrible things that have happened to you in the past.

Depression is a complex illness and usually has more than one cause. But if you follow this process, get medical help from someone who understands the underlying causes of depression and change the lifestyle factors that contribute to your depression, your depression can be cured.

If you have cured your depression, please let us know about your experience and let us know what you think of the question “Can depression be cured?”

Image from cbenjasuwan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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