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Natural Remedies for Depression and Anxiety

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Depression and anxiety disorders are becoming common experiences in today’s society. The good news is that these conditions can be treated without medication. The key is in finding the root of the problem. Several factors can contribute; the most common one I see in my practice is adrenal fatigue.

Nutritional deficiency and dietary factors also contribute substantially to our mental health. Hormonal factors such as sub-clinically low thyroid function and estrogen and progesterone imbalance and birth control pill side effects also set the set the stage for depression and anxiety. Addressing these factors can go a long way in re-balancing our brain chemisty.

Our adrenal glands sit on top of our kidneys and are responsible to secreting several hormones, including cortisol. Cortisol allows us to deal with stress.

The demands of our modern lifestyle and our social mindset have created an unprecedented level of chronic, constant stress.

Over time our adrenal glands get tired and our ability to handle our daily stresses wanes.
Symptoms of “tired” adrenals are:
• jumpiness
• anxiety
• depression
• getting easily stressed
• irritability
• feeling muddled
• spacey or irritable if you miss a meal and having unrestful sleep or disturbed sleep.
Other symptoms are:
• abdominal weight gain, and difficulty losing weight
• low libido
• mental fogginess
• dizziness when you stand up quickly
• light sensitivity
• panic attacks
• and tiring easily.
In many people a period of anxiety precedes the depression, a state of further adrenal collapse. This isn’t always the case however; depression can also happen occur without anxiety.

Traditional Chinese Medicine tells us that anxiety can be caused by “spleen qi (pronounced chi) deficiency.” This can be translated to hypo-functioning of adrenal and thyroid glands. Depression is caused by “liver qi stagnation” which can be translated as liver sluggishness. This make sense in relation to the unprecedented amount of chemicals we are exposed to and the lack of quality nutrients we in our diets to help our liver detoxify these foreign chemicals.