Dealing with Depression Naturally

The doctor's name is Andrew Saul and the documentary is called "Food Matters". His books are a "must-read" and the documentary is priceless!

Hello Lilac,

Depression issues ...

You're a wealth of information. I've experienced a recent family death and have taken it worse than the loss of mother and father five years ago (one lost five years ago and the other 6 and a half).

I found "colloidal gold" seemed to even me out a lot. It is a calmer and kept the feelings of "desolation" from being too extreme. And I more easily emerged from those moments of "melt down" faster. I also found simple reading from Scripture is helpful...from the Book of John in the NT and the Psalms.

I wonder if you have read about Colloidal Gold's effect. Also have you tried valerian?

Based on your post I'll try to get off computer at night...ha...I'll try anyway...

dave

Dave, I'm sorry about your loss. Thank you for the tip to read Psalms and John. I will try that. Those books are elevating.

It also helps me to feel in touch with God when I contemplate the immensity of the cosmos. When your blues come knocking, contemplate the famous photo called "Pale Blue Dot." You can find it online. It puts your issues in perspective.

I'm not familiar with using gold. I never ran across any information on it. I do have much experience with Valerian. It works excellently for sleep. However if used regularly, Valerian can bring on depression. So I use it only as needed.

If you want to use your computer at night, just block the blue light waves that emanate from the screen. You can do that by wearing amber-lens glasses or covering your screen with an amber lens. (I got cheap amber goggles on Amazon, but pricier glasses are also sold for this purpose.) If you google "blue light waves and sleep, " you should find out much about this topic. I read an excellent book on the topic that you can get on Amazon: GREAT SLEEP! REDUCED CANCER! By Richard L. Hansler, Ph.D. The new energy-saver light bulbs that are everywhere now have more of these blue waves than the older incandescent bulbs, so they too are a problem, as is the light from cell phones. If you look up "Insomnia" here on the earthclinic site, there is an entry called "Block Blue Light, " that will tell you what you need to know.

Recently I came across information that Vitamin C is needed for the body to make neurotransmitters that are important for overcoming depression. Consequently I am now also trying a high dose of Vitamin C. Here is the quote which I found for Vitamin C made from tapioca:

"Vitamin C inhibits candida and promotes wound and gut healing. This vitamin is also important in the biosynthesis of carnitine, serotonin, and certain neurotransmitters, including norephinephrine."

I regret those feelings of desolation you have, and I will think about you. I hope that, day by day, your desolation will fade and joy and wellbeing will visit. Your new beginning may be just around the corner, and something of great value may replace your loss.

Dear Dave,

I, too, am so sorry for your loss.

I and many here at EC so appreciate your love and friendship and hate to see you hurting.

I love John and the Psalms, too.

You are in my prayers.

~Mama to Many~

Hello again Lilac and Mama to Many:

First, again Lilac you have great information which comes from your ample research. Please continue informing the EC community about your insights and progress. There's nothing like living through an issue that makes suggestions have real meaning.

One of the most memorable persons we all know who had depression issues was President Lincoln. So severe were his manic depressions, that he would not carry a pocket knife with him for fear he would use it on himself. At least that is in one of the biographies on Abraham. I have four or five.

And to both you and Mama to Many, thank you for your condolences.

I am such an impatient person, and I expect instant recovery after a short time but find that grief is more persistent and perplexing in this case (loss of a mate) than I'd anticipated, even though I knew for years the prognosis of her cancer.

One would think the mind and soul would be ready when the end finally came. Oh not so. Very rarely in my life have I experienced mental confusion. Quite frustrating. So many cross currents seem to be at work with a spousal loss.

I can now better sympathize with those who suffer the death of a husband/wife. It's only been a month so really what should I expect? The "rawness" is still there, and the strange quietness of the house when I'm here alone...always nearly expecting her voice. But knowing that is an impossibility and then the intellectual refusal to talk to her; she is not here. Not here. The thought seems so self contradictory..."she"...not here...in her own home. You see? An impossible demand; a command by the emotion to expect the "normal" but the "normal" is a "goneness" that is mystifying. Then the "brain" says, "no quit that...she is gone." Not just left me...even for another man...that would be easier I think. She is just gone.

The only consolation in a way, is I am convinced that "absence from the body is presence with the Lord" and that can console me when the extremes are working me over...overloading both sensation and reality. The reality. That insatiable reality will not leave me alone. I'm told again and again by wiser than me that time will take the edge off. OK. It's just been a month.

The "reality" is an "un-reality"....and that is so frustrating to deal with. Why can't the mind just control the emotions? It is what it is...now let's move on...would be the mind's command.

So is this depression...or still a bit of shock? The last two months were very hard. She died at home. In my arms. And I'm oddly proud of that. Interesting that I observe my most emotional moments come in recollecting what "we" went through during those final weeks. Is much of grief about "me" and not "her"... ? My mind wants to put it all into an analysis.

I was her "nurse" for about 15 hours a day and her sister the rest. So I saw it all. At the end she could not speak except to blink a "yes" at my questions..."do you want water?" "blink"...then I bring water. She could only walk with help and a walker for her to lean on. And she died taking a tour of the upstairs...she wanted her normal clothes on...and then we "walked" her holding the walker and I holding under her arms. She inspected upstairs bedrooms and then she had to sit down on the walker so I could push her back to her bed. While standing...ready to sit...she made dramatic eye contact ... eyes became like saucers...huge....I'd never seen that before ... in 29 years of marriage. I though somehow I'd hurt her, even though the eyes were not "grimacing" as if in pain ... no facial expression of pain and then, she fell into my arms. She was dead. Instantly.

She left over a period of two weeks, in dramatic downturn. And then died while standing. Just like her. She was a tiger. A very alive person.

So the unreality permeates..."she"... a most alive mate for all these years is not here any longer.

Many who write here to EC are facing dire situations and potential loss of a loved one ... we see that often on posts. And I sometimes have just glossed over the intensity between the lines; the desperation for help.

I will never be so glib; so quick to fire off some "answer" without sensing the hurt...the dawning of loss written in those lines.

So many who write to EC are in pain and are suffering. Those are emotions. So many have suffered for years; for decades.

I cannot fail to consider that suffering when I read their stories. Never again will I just focus on the "answer" without "feeling" their suffering....to some degree to empathize. At the tomb of Lazarus ..."Jesus wept.

Thank you for this post. It was so very touching. You also gave some very good advice for compassionate thoughts for others.

Dear Dave, I would like to add myself to those here who have expressed their feelings over your loss. It is a heart ache only time can lessen.

it is one of the experiences here on this planet that has hidden wisdom and it is a journey for all.

Perhaps if your mind sometime can dwell on the fact that in the not to near future, wisdom will dawn to take the pain and sorrow away for good. May your heart be soothed with the knowledge that wisdom will dawn to an understanding of the purpose of life transcending the mind.

Much Love, Om

Dear Dave,

I, too, weep for your loss....

Death is not natural, so, no, even though you knew the expected outcome, NOTHING can prepare you for that moment.

Continue to find comfort in the scriptures, my friend.....That alone can ease any shock or depression.

Grieving has its own time-line & is different for all. It can not be analyzed. Just endured and even embraced. The more you fight it, the more difficult, I believe......(Beware anyone who suggests you should 'medicate' your grief, even though herbs / supps / therapies may be needed to help with the side-effects of the grieving---you know, like lack of sleep & such)

So glad you found some comfort here from EC friends.......

Dave from Fountain Inn SC. Thank you Dave for sharing those sweet last minutes spent with your beloved wife. You have a kind, gentle way about you in your writings and are much appreciated. The deepest hurt, no doubt, is losing the one we have spent a lifetime loving. My heart goes out to you. I thank God that grief comes in spurts as we would not survive otherwise. On losing my father I came across a line from CS Lewis that helped me a bit to understand my brokenness, "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear" . This was true for me as I had lost direction and hope. God bless you and hold you close.

Dave,

I am so sorry to read your posting about the loss of your wife. How could anyone ever be prepared for that? When you mentioned her eyes, I couldn't help but think of Steve Jobs last words, "Boy, of boy! " and I wondered if that was her reaction to her first glimpse of heaven? I hope you can draw strength from happy memories you have from your many years together, and if you have children, you will see she still is with you in them. All of us in your Earth family are here to support you in any way we can. Trust in God and lean on your friends until one day when the weight of this loss becomes bearable. Take care.

Dear Dave - I am so sorry for the loss of your wife. You were truly blessed to have each other for 29 years. Your strength and love must have been such a comfort to her during her illness. Both my husband and I were moved to tears when we read your post. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Dealing with the death of your wife, along with the stress of being a caregiver, has taken its toll on your physical, mental and emotional health. Take as much time as necessary for your healing. Be kind to yourself - there is no schedule to follow because grieving is such an individual process. I hope you find peace in the days ahead.

I just want you to know that I always found your posts on Earth Clinic to be generous, enlightening and uplifting. You write with warmth, sincerity and empathy. It's obvious that you put a lot of thought behind those words before you hit the “Submit” button.

Take care, Dave, my thoughts are prayers are with you. Bess

“Within our hearts and memories, those we love remain with us always.”

Dear Dave, thank you for sharing so openly. I am truly sorry for your loss. It sucks to be left behind, doesn't it?

Hi Lilac - In your reply to Dave about depression, I read your comment about the book Great Sleep - Reduced Cancer by Hansler. I checked our library (they didn't have it) but I was able to get a Kindle version for less than $1 on Amazon. I haven't read it yet but I did check the customer comments on Amazon. I'm ready to get amber lights and glasses to see if it helps with insomnia. Thanks again Lilac - I love learning something new! Cheers, Bess

Dave, beautifully expressed and a memorable tribute to your beloved. Mourning the death of a friend, I was once extremely comforted by reading accounts of near-death experiences. So I recommend that to you. You can find such accounts at www.nderf.org, or look at a book on this topic on Amazon, and see other books that are recommended there. One I found good is PROOF OF HEAVEN: A NEUROSURGEON'S JOURNEY INTO THE AFTERLIFE by Dr. Eben Alexander. Obviously you enjoy reading, so another thought I have for you is to read things written by men mourning a great loss. John Keats wrote "Ode to a Nightingale" (my favorite poem) soon after nursing his young brother, who died in his care. In this poem you can see Keats' reference to that experience. ("Where youth grows pale...") Wordsworth wrote his poem "Surprised by Joy, " while still in mourning for the death of his daughter. Goethe wrote his novel, THE SORROWS OF YOUNG WERTHER, while mourning over the unrequited love of a woman named Lotte. The process of writing this biographical novel was therapeutic to Goethe, and relieved him of his grief; this same situation and therapeutic outcome applied to Algernon Swinburne writing his poem "The Triumph of Time, " which I find so beautiful. Yes, Bibliotherapy...losing oneself in a book...visiting another person's life and for a while stepping out of our own. That is the best thing--being able to step out of our lives, slough off the pained ego, escape. I'm thinking of you, as are others here. Lilac

Lilac: Thanks for the wonderful literary references. One line in particular that's always stuck on me is "heart for any fate" by Longfellow. More recently the prog rock Yes's "children of light - don't be afraid".

As for the NDE's, I bought & read one of the first publications on the subject authored by Gallop editors back in the late 70's as these reports kept coming in and validation was mounting for empirical after-life legitimacy. Then another from a Christian publisher in the 90's, and recently after loosing my mother, my kitty family, and what little health I had left, began reading all NDE accounts on the web. Some of mom's last words, as she glimpsed into the heavenly realms, were "It's beautiful - so beautiful".

Not to fall victim of liberal or romantic idealism, there is certainly cause for caution & alarm for people who live lawless and corrupt lives. Move on to all the horror stories of Alien abduction, livestock mutilation, and reptilian overlord mind and planet control. I have always been rather conservative and careful in assessing such nonconventional subjects but a long-standing disability has put me in the cross-hairs of what's really going on. It's where living w/ your back against the wall gets truly educational as suspicious after suspicious events are unambiguously validated.

To conclude, it is most imperative to do one's best at living an honest and sincere life, as there are spiritual beings that will absolutely deceive the blind into yet another slave world existence. I think they call it "energy harvesting" where these (trans-dimensional and thousands yrs old) overlords continue sucking the awareness directly from sentient beings consciousness, leaving the subjects not knowing the difference between what is and what is not. What's the Biblical New Testament record from St John "Little children, let no one deceive you".

I don't like making such long post of extraordinary subject but the importance cannot be overstated.

I particularly loved Andy's NDE account were millions of little lights grew closer and stronger until they were felt as wonderful spiritual beings that proclaimed they had known & loved him from all eternity. Then as the folks back on earth were reviving him from drowning an angel told him he was going back home, but Andy declared this place was his home and he didn't want to go back to earth.

Dave,

I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you. She was a lucky woman to have had such a good and thoughtful husband for so many years. Bless you both.

Hello Bess, I'm pleased that you found the information on blue light waves and sleep helpful. Thank you for letting me know. Because the blue--and to a lesser extent green--waves are small, they more easily penetrate our eyes and disrupt the melatonin that is crucial to good sleep. People are generally not aware that the energy-saver light bulbs we now use have more of these blue waves than the older-style bulbs ("incandescent"), and thus are not good to be around near bedtime. Even stronger are the blue waves from TV screens, computer screens, cell- phone screens. An amber or red lens will block these waves, either by putting such a lens on the screen or wearing the glasses or goggles for an hour or a few hours before bed. (I got inexpensive red and amber goggles on Amazon.)

One can spend thousands of dollars on supplements, but health still comes down to these basics: good sleep, the right food, and exercise. That is the golden trinity of good health.

Here are a few more things I have found helpful for depression: Vitamin D, either from the sun on one's skin or from taking D3. (Avoid synthetic D2) Vitamn C--as I said before, it is needed by the brain. Eating lots of raw vegetables, alone or in a salad. Raw vegetables rarely fail to give me a boost.

Also, pay special attention to your digestion. A happy gut = a happy head. If you have digestive issues, look into cures, like the low FODMAP diet.

Hi Timh ---- well said. This is what counts. The Golden Age is not far off and there is enormous effort to deceive souls and keep them focused on media, etc.

These are tests. Practising keeping in the light and doing good works without expectations. That is for this age as well repeating the names of the Lord for protection.

Remember the story of Lot in the bible when they fled the city. She turned back and became petrified. This goes for all the evil effort today. Be in the light and be the light.

Namaste, Om

I am so very sorry for your loss, Dave.

My heart broke for you as I read your post. I am all too familiar with the emotions you are experiencing.

You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you so much for posting this, Ron. I ordered a small bottle after reading your post to test it out and found it is indeed a good mood enhancer. I have been applying it to the sides of my wrist once or twice a day. I don't have depression but can feel a happy shift about 15 minutes after application. That really surprised me! Doesn't smell great though, a bit like petroleum! I have read the same comment about other brands of this essential oil too.

i got a little carved box made from palo sainto, when in Mexico once and used to open it every day, just to smell it! I kept all my wishes written down in it. it really does have a healing smell!

I'm betting it is the dose of fish oil you are getting in the salmon along with the alkalinity and vitamin and mineral support of the veggies and berries....try fish oil at one gram with each meal...peace.

Such an inspiring comment, Tiberius!

Thank you for those wise words.

I agree wholeheartedly with you about it being taught in schools. It would help so many young people on their journey through life.

I have printed it out and have it next to my computer as a gentle reminder to keep things in perspective.

Thanks again.

Cheers from Canada

Dear Tiberius,

Thank you for this!

I have recounted your thoughts to several others today - especially the part about seeing the good.

Negativity is so easy. Your analogy of looking for the color blue was perfect. Being positive or negative is a habit.

Thanks again!

~Mama to Many~

Another substance that I love is LABS - I.e. the lactic acid bacteria cultivated for the serum used in KNF (Korean Natural Farming) - which is also O3! This just keeps getting more and more interesting...

You are truly our Mama. From you words I feel immense amount of love and caring that heal.

Well said, Mama, well said. You are a truly compassionate being.

What really bothers me is the fact that someone of almost unlimited resources could not find proper care and some working improvement. I realize that mainstream medicine seeks to maintain a certain level of a disorder so therapy can continue indefinitely thus improving profit margin, but w/ such resources this problem can be transcended. Also there is that "victim syndrome" thing going on in our culture as if one is "proud" to be ill. The recent Seymour Hoffman heroine overdose kinda fits in w/ Robin's tragedy. Now both these celebs are more the heroes despite the illness.

From a classical or common sense model, both these cases (as well as many other suicide) have what appears as a chronic sense of loneliness which is often accompanied by self-indulgence. It seems a crime against family & friends to check out and leave them to suffer. I worked for a man several yrs ago that confided in me the financial hardship of being an independent farmer operating on financial loans and pushed around by big bankers. I never sensed his anguish but a few yrs later committed suicide leaving his wife and children behind. It's something treasonous or immoral to have such disregard for others. Human freedom & happiness are well within reach for most folks, yet many live miserable lives.

The words from music from Neil Young seem appropriate here as the possibility of a cure ---"Change your mind, change your mind".

Dear Mama to Many - Those were the best "two cents" I have heard in a very, very long time!

While I always enjoy your posts, your heartfelt thoughts about Robin Williams were truly inspiring. Everyone can benefit from kindness and compassion - both giving and receiving. So thank you, once again, for sharing with us. Take care, Bess

Famous folks are often isolated for fear of so many who want a piece of them. I have all out remedies for Phil Mickelson, , , Tiger Woods etc but hard to get to them. Robin did not get the natural care because he was isolated and because his depression told him to use maladaptive substances such as cocaine and alcohol instead of something valid like St John's wort, fish oil, 5 HTP, cannabis and proper cleansing and nutrition. Peace, , J

Great recommends Jeff!! One more item --Transcendental Meditation. Ringo Starr has been and remains a great advocate of T.M. along w/ former Beatles Paul McCartney and the late great George Harrison.

T.M. provides a direct method of centering the mind into deeper levels of the subconscious thereby preventing the fragmentation that occurs in an hectic, stressful, modern lifestyle or workplace. Michael Jackson fell into the same trap taking increasing amounts of dangerous pharmaceuticals until he collapse altogether.

After doing T.M. daily and w/ half an education the light of the fact that one is, during this practice, in the center of the universe. John Lennon revealed some of this type awareness in "I Am The Walrus" song.

Trade the destructive fragmentation of the self for creative Unity thru T.M.