Mental Care Facts & Health Tips

Occasionally you will hear of someone who has been diagnosed with depression. Depending on the type of depression, the affected person could lose or gain weight besides other symptoms. Drug manufacturers and medical doctors say that depression is a result of an imbalance in serotonin – a neurotransmitter in the brain. This means that, in order to ease depression, you should take drugs that increase serotonin levels. However, it has not been proven scientifically that drugs increasing serotonin levels really work.

Nonetheless, there are other treatment options for relieving depression without taking drugs. A good diet is one of them. This is because; the majority of depression symptoms are related directly to mineral and vitamin deficiencies or rather poor nutrition. Unfortunately, there is no specific diet, which works for depression. Nevertheless, taking a healthy diet forms part of the overall depression treatment.

Top foods for fighting depression

Omega- 3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 is known to have numerous health benefits and scientists have shown depression is associated to a deficiency in Omega-3. These scientists have shown that societies who take ample Omega-3 are less likely to suffer from depression than those who only take a small amount of Omega-3.  Omega-3 is commonly found in fatty fish such as mackerel, sardines, tuna, shad and anchovy and so on. You can also get the fatty acids form flaxseed and walnuts.

Carbohydrates

All the carbohydrates that you take in are broken down into essential sugars for proper functioning of the brain. Carbohydrates are said to improve a person’s moods by increasing serotonin levels. However, you should limit your sugar intake to smart levels to avoid increasing your blood glucose, which consequently aggravate or cause depression symptoms. To do this take less of sugar and more of fruits and vegetables especially cabbages.

Cabbages contain folic acid and vitamin C and are known to keep you from stress, infections, heart diseases, and some types of cancer.

Protein rich foods

Foods having high protein content such as chicken, tuna, and turkey are said to boost dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain; as a result, you boost your alertness levels and are able to concentrate more. Other great sources of proteins include beans, peas, lean beef, fish, poultry, milk, yogurt, soy products and so forth.

Peas are also a good source of Vitamin B1, which is essential for healthy nerves.

St. John’s wart

This plant has been used for years as a dietary supplement for treating depression. Although, there is no scientific evidence of its effectiveness in treating mild depression; some studies have shown that it is quite effective in the treatment for major depression.

Other foods

Brown rice, which contains Vitamins B1, B3 and folic acid, is a good low-glycemic food. It releases glucose to the bloodstream and prevents mood swings and low sugar levels.

Whole grain oats – contains Vitamins B1 and B6. They help in lowering cholesterol levels and avoid blood sugar in the body.

Others are selenium rich foods, foods rich in vitamin D, liver, dark chocolate, chillies, bananas and so forth.

Dysthymia is a type depression which is said to be mild but chronic. The symptoms for this normally last for about two years or sometimes longer than that. It may be less intense but can cause serious damage in your life because of its extended period of occurrence. People with dysthymia may lose their interest in doing normal daily activities, have low self-esteem, feel hopeless and lack productivity. They are often thought of being critical, always making complains on things and are mostly incapable of having fun. Other symptoms also include poor appetite, sleeping problems, trouble in concentrating and making decisions.

Study shows that depressive illness of dysthymia is usually experience by one out of four adults at the age of 21. Both adults and children have their own different key factors that increase the risk for them to suffer with the disorder. Adults are more likely to be affected with the condition when surviving the tragic death of a loved one, getting involved in a serious accident, being a witness or a victim of man-made disaster like plane crash, war or being caught up in a natural calamity. It’s only a single traumatic event which is directly experienced or witnessed by an adult would enhance the symptom of dysthymia.

Chronic stress that involves stressful situations that takes longer time such as abuse in marriage problems or working problems. Sometimes, a person could suffer chronic stress for having to care for an elderly relative, unemployment, and severe financial problems. With children, it is the boys that are most affected with the depressive illness while during adulthood women are frequently affected with the condition which are three times more than men.

Greater increased risk is said to be associated with female hormones, excessive concerns about body figures including dieting. A well recognizable link is also associated with the history of abusing substances such as alcohol, recreational drugs, tranquillizers and prescribed medications. Family history together with poverty and limited access to any social help can also contribute to the risk factors of dysthymia.

Feeling sad for a particular reason, is typically normal for an individual. But in cases with person who has dysthymia, this kind of feelings will last for years and may affect mostly your relationship, work and as well as your daily activities. If you notice any symptoms of dysthymia, it is better to seek medical treatment from professional who knows well on how to settle the problem effectively. If treatment for this condition is ignored, this commonly leads to a major depression which would be a more complicated situation. If you have a family doctor, open up with him the symptoms that you have notice with you. Or you may ask help directly from a mental health provider you know. But if you are hesitant of going to a mental doctor, try reaching out for someone you may be able to ask help to guide you with your treatment. Whether it‘s a loved one, friend, teacher, a faith leader or the person you trusted most it is better to tell someone about it.

If you didn’t have enough evidence to suggest that it is time to kick the smoking habit new research from Australia may give you extra incentive. Current research has found a link between women who are depressed and cigarette smoking. Contrary to popular belief that the cigarette smoking came after the depression, the opposite may be true.

Previous Theories

Healthcare professionals and laymen have long felt that cigarette smoking and depression somehow went hand and hand. There is a far higher incident of smoking among mental health patients in the United States and there has been for some time. Now there is proof to back up the theories that cigarette smoking may be a cause for depression rather than a symptom.

Prevalence of Smoking

Of the general population around 21% of adults smoke, this is half of what it was forty years ago, though certainly not as low as it should be. The startling part about this statistic is that women who suffer from depression are twice as likely to smoke as women who do not have underlying mental health problems.

Cigarettes as Self Medication

When it comes to which comes first, the depression or the cigarettes, it is has been very hard to call for the past few decades. It has often been argued that there is such a high incidence of cigarette smoking within the sector of society that suffers from depression because they are trying to self-medicate. They may feel that the cigarettes offer some sort of calming or deadening experience to accompany their emotions. This is one reason that physicians within the mental health field have been slow to do anything about the overwhelming amount of smokers they have as patients.  Many feel that taking away this crutch, no matter how detrimental it is to their physical health may cause their patients to spin out of control or delve into other substances as a form of self medication.

Current Evidence

Now there is evidence to support the belief that women do not smoke because they are depressed but rather are depressed because they smoke. This is what the latest study done in Australia seems to indicate. It turns out that major depressive order in women often seemed to come after they began smoking.

The extensive Australian study followed women for ten years. It showed that women who began smoking were more likely to later develop depression. Those who were heavy smokers going through a pack or two a day were far more likely to suffer severe or major depression then women who occasionally smoked or did not smoke at all.

This research indicates what many scientists have previously believed. Cigarette smoke either increases or agitates the underlying condition of depression in many, especially women. This means that by continuing to smoke women are making themselves suffer from depression, this is the opposite of what many folks previously believed.

Though ceasing to smoke may not result in women being able to completely lose symptoms of chronic clinical depression it is very likely that will help immensely. Even women who only occasionally get the blues and would not meet the requirements for a diagnosis of clinical depression are more likely to smoke. This further supports the evidence that smoking is a major contributing factor to depression in women.