May 27, 2010
I can’t believe how often I treat depression, anxiety and other mood disorders in my practice. Just two days ago, I wrote a blog on the concurrent use of EFT and “Constitutional Homeopathy” in treating emotional conditions. (“SEARCH” our website to learn more about these two therapies.)
Today, I saw a patient (for her first follow up visit) whose mood had improved from a 0/10 (i.e. suicidal depression) to 7/10 (10 being perfect mood) with one dose of her “constitutional homeopathic remedy” (refer to an article by this name on our website) and a little bit of EFT during her first visit. Her mood had gone down to 5/10 since this AM, and I decided to wait on redosing her homeopathic remedy until later since the remedy might still be working in her system. Instead, I offered her Bach flower essences and 5-HTP, two of my other most favorite natural medicines for treatment of depression. (Flower essences help with just about any kind of mood disorder or negative emotional tendencies, not just depression.)
I would like to say a few words about flower essences here: I use Bach Flower Essences of which there are 37. I ask my patients to go over a short summary of each one (either on their own or with my help) to pick 7-8 that match their emotional state/tendencies the best. For example, there is one flower essence for having too many fears, one for being too critical, one for being hopeless, etc. Then, I make a customized tincture that contains all of the selected remedies. The patient takes 5 drops of this tincture, 2-3 times daily. Flower essences help a person on a very deep emotional level, perhaps deeper than any other medicine known to humankind, including homeopathy. The effect is very sweet and gentle on the soul, and most people love how they feel with them. Since my specialty is homeopathy, I focus mainly on finding my patients constitutional homeopathic remedy, and do not focus as much on flower essences. If you are a patient of mine and are not feeling as wonderful on an emotional level as you would like, please ask me about flower essences. Flower essences are so gentle that you can take them along with your constitutional homeopathic remedy or with any other natural medicines that are prescribed for treatment of mood disorders of any kind.
5-HTP (5-hydroxy tryptophan) is a wonderful nutrient, an amino acid, that acts as an anti-depressant by providing the body with what it needs to make more serotonin, the “hormone of happiness” in the body. Notice that SSRIs (such as Paxil or Prozac) inhibit the uptake of serotonin in the brain, thereby causing more serotonin to hang out in the areas between the nerve cells in the brain, resulting in the anti-depression effect. However, 5-HTP simply gives the body the building blocks for making more serotonin if it (i.e. the body) so chooses, and it is not an anti-depressant, per se- it is actually a mood enhancer. I have heard many of my patients report feeling “joy” in their heart once they take this supplement; you won’t hear this from many patients who take SSRIs- these patients simply feel too numb to experience their depression which will continue to exist under the “surface of their mind” as long as they are taking these drugs. 5-HTP has been shown in some studies to be as effective at treating depression as SSRIs.
If you are taking SSRIs, you should not start taking 5-HTP without consulting with your naturopathic doctor. The reason is that the combination may cause serotonin syndrome, a dangerous complication of having too much serotonin in the brain. Note, however, that it is entirely safe to utilize almost all other natural therapies and approaches for treating depression while the person is on SSRIs. Specifically, there are no conflicts in using SSRIs along with homeopathic remedies, flower essences, or EFT.
Unfortunately, 5-HTP does not help everyone with depression, however. You should consult with your naturopathic doctor on which of the above therapies would be best for you.
Note that I dont recommend over-the-counter 5-HTP due to the serious complications of depression (such as suicidal ideation, etc.) You should make certain the quality of your 5-HTP is professional grade to assure effectiveness.
Dont forget that a proper life-style and diet are, of course, extremely important in helping with your mood. Regular, aerobic exercise is probably the best mood-enhancer there is. Therefore, please dont only rely on medicines/supplements to help your mood- get off the couch and exercise at least 30 minutes a day! Drink at least half of your bodys weight in ounces of water as I have seen water consumption literally stop suicidal depression in a matter of a few days in some of my patients. Stop eating junk food, GMOs, and try to eat as much organic vegetables as possible to feed your brain the right type of nutrients. Of course, you also need sufficient proteins and healthy carbohydrates, and good oils for proper brain function.
In addition to the above supplements, there are many other supplements that can also help with mood disorders. In some studies, it has been shown that fish oil supplementation may be one of the most effective natural therapies for treatment of depression. Unlike my favorite therapies for mood disorders (i.e. homeopathy, flower essences, and EFT), fish oil supplementation is not going to provide a rapid response in the treatment of depression. (Make sure your fish oil is mercury-free. Nowadays, most manufacturers of fish oil test for mercury.) A persons constitutional homeopathic remedy can help with depression in a matter of minutes to days; whereas, fish oil may take weeks to months. Of course, homeopathic remedies are also far more effective in the treatment of depression than fish oil.
To summarize, even though a variety of natural medicines can be helpful in the treatment of mood disorders of various kinds, my top therapeutic tools are as follows, listed in an approximate order of most to least favorite: Exercise, proper diet, constitutional homeopathy, EFT, flower essences, and 5-HTP. Of course, you must be under the supervision of a naturopathic doctor who is familiar with all these therapies to assure success with the above protocol. Unfortunately, due to various reasons, the great majority of practitioners of natural medicine do not utilize homeopathy, EFT or flower essences.
May you all be happy!
In health,
Dr. Sharif
P.S. You can watch some of the homeopathy testimonials on our website to see how people’s lives are changed for the better with a few tiny pills!