This question came up over the weekend as well when someone mentioned feeling depressed. Now as an herbalist I could mention herbs such as St. John's Wart, or oats (yes, the same stuff that your oat meal is made of), Vervain or Ginko, something that affects the nervous system. Or I might want to look at whether your adrenals are weary, or if you are irritable or short with people I might consider checking for a toxic liver or even a blood booster. Or I might mention some aromatic oils such as Lavender or Peppermint. That's one way of helping chronic depression as well as acute depression.
Of course I would want to find out the cause of the depression, if there is a loss of a loved one, a job loss, or some other primary cause for the depression. Some people suffer from chronic depression. In fact there is even a seasonal aspect and depression can be found prevelant on dark, dreary days where the sun is hidden. By the way, fresh air and sun light can be very uplifting. If you spend little time in the sunlight you should supplement with Vitamin D3.
But let me share the quickest, the most effective, free, and freeing remedy for depression. It is PRAISE! Yes, Praise! I know, when you are depressed you don't feel like praising...that's because you are depressed! But if you will force yourself to look to God and begin praising Him for even the simplest things, something happens in your body. You can call it a chemical reaction if you choose, and it is, but it is built into our natures by our wonderful Lord. When that reaction takes place it is truly healing to our emotions, uplifting, and remedial. There has been a question for a very long time, whether these chemical imbalances cause the depression, or whether the depression causes the chemical imbalances. We're talking about neurotransmitters such as serotonin, melatonin, dopamine, adrenalin, and noradrenaline. We don't really know the answer to the question as to which comes first and it is probably "both". I do know that the Bible says, "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7) I know that if you dwell on negative things you will eventually suffer the consequences both physically and emotionally. I also know that when you begin to think about the positive things of God, to praise His Name, your spirit will be lifted.
Go back and begin reading the Psalms and you will find that King David oftens begins a Psalm with a plea, or a complaint, or some expression of trouble and then, by the end of the Psalm he is praising God with expectation. Psalm 31 for instance begins with 18 verses regarding the ups and downs of life and then, in the last four verses King David is offering praise to the LORD.
In all my years of ministry I have found praise to be the most effective remedy for depression. When we praise God we are getting our minds off of ourselves and onto Him. That's what He wants anyway!
"Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" (Psalm 107:11) We praise the LORD for Who He is and we thank Him for what He does but if I were depressed I wouldn't bother trying to sort out the difference between praise and thanksgiving, I'd just force myself to start praising or thanking God for something, anything.
Yes, I know, it sounds really simple doesn't it. Well it's NOT that simple because when the mind is depressed it affects the whole body. Your immune system is lowered during depression which makes you an easy target for all kinds of ailments. When you are sick depression worsens.You will NOT feel like praising God; in fact, you may be getting close to just giving up on life. But force yourself; do it! Just by offering sincere praise to God you immune system grows stronger. In fact, start a habit of praising God every day to avoid depression and I don't mean for you to go through some habitual, meaningless mantra, I mean find something to REALLY praise our Lord about. "Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD" (Psalm 113:1)
When you take prescription medicine for depression you are forcing a chemical reaction to take place in your body which CAN and in lots of cases DOES carry unwanted side effects. I suppose for deep and dangerous cases this cannot be avoided but for most of us it is unnecessary.
As for the herbs, my own thoughts are, they can be used to help a person get back into balance, and without side effects but depression is a spiritual matter first and it must be addressed in a spiritual way. So, along with finding things about which to PRAISE the Lord, be sure to maintain regular associations with positive Christians, read your Bible, it is the living word of God. Listen to good Christian music, something that ministers to you. PRAISE! PRAISE! PRAISE!
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