It is hard to ignore the heavy cloud that hangs over the province during these challenging economic times. I find myself trying all kinds of tricks to maintain a positive viewpoint and I'd like to share some of these and experiences that I have with my patients.

DEPRESSION, A LACK OF EXPRESSION
There are varying levels of depression. To evaluate the levels of depression that they are experiencing I have patients fill out a BECK depression questionaire. If the score is greater than 20 I recommend some type of treatment program. The suggestions that I recommend in this article are more appropriate for mild to moderate depression. If you have a history of hospitalizations and long term usage of antidepressants, these suggestions may be helpful, but they will not replace your medication. You may use these suggestions in conjunction with your medication if you are under the supervision of your naturopathic doctor. You may contact my office for a copy of the questionaire.

Depression is the opposite of expression. In fact when people are coming out of a depression, one of the first signs is an increase in the expression of anger. I feel that a major cause of depression is a lack of expression of one's own inner being. In other words, people who are not doing what they want to be doing with their lives have a tendency to become depressed over time. I suggest that people try to do some self help or counselling to help to determine what is missing from their lives: dreams never realized and why not?

RECOMMENDED READING

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. She has a workbook that goes along with the book, and if you are very good, you can get through the book in 3 months. Take your time however. Cameron recommends that journalling 3 pages a day each morning is the best way. However I encourage people to do whatever they can begin to do, 15 minutes in the morning or whenever you can take a break from your busy schedule. This book is mandatory for many prominent acting schools for both men and women.

Another popular book along this same idea is Sarah Ban Breathnach's book Simple Abundance. The daily exercises in her book help to unravel the beauty in your life. You can use her workbook to record your "gratitude list". This is an exercise that you do at the end of your day and lists only positive things that happened to you that day. Sometimes it is hard to think of one positive thing, however I believe it is a matter of awareness. For instance have you been aware of the spring song birds returning to your area. Isn't it a joy to hear them again and isn't Mother Nature wonderful? The crocuses alway bloom and the days always get longer. So go through your day and see what little things made your day a bit easier: the teller at the bank who was in a good mood, the parking spot you needed just in time, the strange dog who came up to you for a friendly hello almost knowing that you needed some cheering up. Once you begin to write these little experiences down you begin to look for them in your life. "What can I say about my day tonight" and during the day you will be anticipating what you will write. Better yet, when you need some cheering up you can reread your entries. They also end up being a very good diary of your life and years later, on rereading your entries, the experience will come back to your memory very vividly.

Louise Hay in her book, "You Can Heal Your life" gives some positive affirmations that if repeated every day many times during the day can reprogram your negative mind. Jack Canfield in his tape series "How to Build High Self Esteem" suggests to repeat "IALAC - I Am Lovable And Capable" and "No matter what you do or say to me I am still a worthwhile person". Another affirmation is "I am loved, loving and lovable." Most of the books that I recommend are also available on audio cassette or on video cassette. Check out your local library or book store.

MORE IDEAS

You may want to start a support group to study some of these books and tapes together. There are some basic rules for starting a group and they are:

1) leave your bitching at the door. The group is meant for positive sharing and upliftment;

2) meet nor more than once a month for a maximum of 2 hours;

3) always bring something to share with the group rather than always taking;

4) have a plan and a purpose and stick to it. Develop a mission statement, have a check in session, and make the rest of it nurturing and fun.

Keep a dream journal. Write down your dreams every morning and if you don't remember them at first, just write down the feeling with which you awake. This exercise awakens your subconscious and you will begin to remember your dreams. In "How to Master Change" Mary Caroll Moore suggests charting your dream patterns. In reviewing your dreams you may see a pattern developing that can guide you to a new direction in your life. Often times we are getting answers to our questions but we are not listening.

One way to develop our listening skills is an awareness of the waking dream. This is an experience that happens to us during the day that is symbolically giving us a message if we are aware enough to see it. An example: you are having difficulty making a decision and in one day you see several different signs, advertisements that have the words "Go For It" or "Just Do It". These messages may be a confirmation that you are on the right track and they may come from people, animals and even advertisements! Not everything needs to have a hidden message, but when you are really questioning something, you may find this technique very useful.

Once a week create your own personal spa day, or spa afternoon. Take the time to pamper yourself and do things for and by yourself. For women this could be luxurating in a bath for a couple of hours, shaving legs, conditioning hair, doing toe- and fingernails, facials or even total body care. For men it could be spending longer at the gym or working on a favourite project. Just be mindful to satisfy your own creative needs. Once we have filled ourselves with this self love then we are better able to share love with others. If you are having difficulty in your relationship, remember that you must love yourself before you can fully accept the love of another. Learning to love ourselves is a life long project and with these suggestions, hopefully, you may begin bit by bit to fill your well of self love and begin to realize your full potential in this life.

NATUROPATHIC TREATMENTS FOR DEPRESSION

Depression may be triggered by tension, stress, a traumatic life event, chemical imbalances in the brain, thyroid disorders, digestive disorders, chronic fatigue and pain, diabetes, nutritional deficiencies, the consumption of sugar, fats, alcohol, cigarette smoking, chocolate, coffee and tea, white flour, mononucleosis, lack of exercise, hypoglycemia, heredity, or allergies. In addition to self help there are medicines and lifestyle changes that can have a very profound affect on the psyche.

Diet:

Dr. Alexander Schauss studied inmates in prisons and found that when dairy and sugar were eliminated from their diets and their prison cells painted pink, that there was much less violent behavior. Food does affect behavior. Food allergies must be ruled out and these are determined most accurately through the vega test method, muscle testing, (the latter two if performed by a skilled practitioner) and the Elisa Blood allergy test.

Limit sugar, alcohol, coffee, tea, additives, chocolate, white flour and fats. This may be the hardest to change, however if you make one change a week or even a month, think how well you will be this time next year! Just Do It! To best control your blood sugar eat legumes or beans every day and concentrate on oats, rye, barley, corn, brown rice, starchy vegetables rather than wheat based products.

Vitamin Supplements:

B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6, B12, folic acid, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, chromium, zinc and selenium are often found to be deficient in the depressed individual. A good multivitamin containing all the B complexes in 50-100 mg dosage and all the minerals will provide you with these basic components. Look for a good quality multivitamin such as the brands of Eclectic, Sisu, Natural Factors, Bioforce and Flora in the health food store. Remember that you pay for what you get. The better quality supplements are going to work better. I suggest getting capsules whenever you can. They are more easily absorbed.

Essential Fatty Acids:

The omega 3 family of essential fats are crucial for proper functioning of the brain and you can read more about their extreme importance in Udo Erasmus's book " Fats That Heal and Fats That Kill". I suggest the equivalent of 1 tablespoon of fresh organic flaxseed oil per day. This also supports the thyroid and many folks see an increase in energy when they regularly take flaxoil.

Amino Acids:

In Canada it is difficult to purchase the individual amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine that promote the production of serotonin which is the main action of the prozac family of antidepressants. It is important to maintain adequate levels of protein in your diet and if you think you are lacking you may take an amino acid supplement which contains all the amino acids. To determine your protein requirements I suggest you determine your blood type and read the book " Eat Right For Your Type" by Dr. D'Adamo. I find that many folks who are type O blood do not take adequate protein and they do much better once they increase their intake.

Herbal Remedies:

Common herbs which help with depression are St. John's Wort and ginseng. It important to be sure of the quality of the herbs you are taking. The Prairie Doctor brand and Phytopharmica are of exceptional quality. These are helpful in mild-to-moderate cases and you must be monitored if you want to try these along with your antidepressant as they can potentiate the levels of serotonin and you can end up with levels that are too high resulting in hyperserotonism.

Homeopathy:

Homeopathy is a method of treatment that should be administered by an experienced homeopath. This is a type of medicine that uses energy substances to stimulate the healing power of the body and can be very effective once the correct remedy is administered.

Light Therapy:

Full spectrum lighting is very beneficial for those experiencing depression during the dark months of winter. Using full spectrum lighting at your desk for several hours a day during the winter has been studied extensively and found to be effective. St. John's Wort is very helpful for this type of depression. Walking outside for 30 minutes a day will also provide you with brighter light than indoor light, along with the added benefit of exercise!

Exercise:

Many studies confirm the positive effect of exercise on the mood. Just 30 minutes a day is all you need! Pick what you like to do and find a buddy to help you keep to a schedule. If you can get a walk in the sunshine, even better. I call this a sun bath!

Stress Reduction:

In addition to exercise I recommend 20 minutes of some kind of meditation practice. This is easily obtained by listening to a relaxation tape on your walkman at any time of day that suits you. You can think of this as a spiritual spa using the visualization techniques Moore talks about in her book "How To Master Change".

Water:

Drink lots of it. If nothing else it may prevent you from eating as much! All the cells in your body will love you for the water they so desperately need.

Over 50:

Consider B12 injections, extra folic acid and gingko biloba to increase the funtioning of the brain.

Organic Imbalances:

Have yourself evaluated for the presence of allergies, nutritional deficiencies, anemia, hypothyroidism, sytemic candidiasis, diabetes, chronic fatigue, any chronic health disorder, and digestive imbalances.

Professional Advice:

The above suggestions may be individualized to your needs so seek out a counsellor or naturopathic doctor if you want to avoid antidepressants or work towards getting off of them.

Depression may be the gateway for a major positive change in your life. Make room for it. The cycles of nature reflect in our human bodies as well. The sooner we realize that change is a reality of living on this earth the sooner we might be like ducks with water running off their backs. If we go with a fall rather than bracing against it we generally fair much better. It is difficult to live in a world of such strife and not be affected by it. The trick is to create our own heaven on earth from which we can operate as much as possible.

Good luck in creating your own healing sanctuary!

Dr. Pincott has been practicing naturopathic medicine since 1985 and is currently practicing in Campbell River. She can be contacted at 250-286-3655, 1-800-898-6699 or www.DrPincott.com

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