Tools to Help with Depression

Life, Death, Rebirth by Vincent Cacciotti

It is estimated that one in every ten American adults battle with depression. People born after WWII have almost ten times the rate of depression of their parents and grandparents, and women are twice as likely to suffer from depression than men.

Depression, if left untreated, can present additional health problems due to problems with Qi flow, if left unchecked, can impact major organs and systems in your body and create these types of symptoms: 

• headaches,
• dizziness, 
  
• blurred vision, 
  
• red eyes, 
  
• confusion, 
  
• difficulty concentrating
  
• tinnitus, 
  
• high blood pressure, 
  
• nausea and/or vomiting, 
  
• reduced appetite and weight loss, or 
  
• over-eating and weight gain, 
  
• fatigue, 
  
• reflux, 
• abdominal distention, 
  
• constipation,
  
• diarrhea

But there are many things you can do to help treat depression.
QIGONG
Qigong is a very effective tool to help get your Qi to flow and relieve some of the symptoms that come from qi flow disruption. There are different Qigong tools which can help, such as  

• Qigong exercises - do them daily
  
• Qigong meditations - do them a couple of times a week
  
• Qigong sound meditations - if you are a lover of music, do these daily
  
• Qigong medical treatments
  

These tools are ways to help you get your stagnant Qi moving and nourish your vital organs with vibrant Qi.  When you get your Qi moving and nourish you body with vibrant Qi, you move towards wellness and feeling better.  

THERAPY
There's new evidence that different forms of therapies may work as well as antidepressants. A total of seven different types of therapy were compared in this study, including: 

• interpersonal psychotherapy 
  
• behavioral activation 
  
• cognitive behavioral therapy 
  
• problem solving therapy 
  
• psychodynamic therapy 
  
• social skills training 
  
• and supportive counseling.  
  

Researchers reviewed 198 studies involving over 15,000 patients and the data showed these different therapies were better at reducing symptoms of depression than usual care.  

ACUPUNCTURE
Acupuncture has been proven to be one of the most effective methods to help with depression.  Here is a resource to help you find an acupuncturist. 
There are also many articles discussing different studies where acupuncture was used and helped treat depression. Here are a few of those articles:

• Acupuncture for Depression
  
• Study Finds Using the Five Liver Shu Points Effective for Depression
  

NUTRITION FOR DEPRESSION
Using food for fuel is a must. The first thing to do is 

1. GIVE UP ALCOHOL
   
2. Eat more greens. (If that is difficult, then make yourself a smoothie and throw in some fruit)
   

Next, 
according to “Healing with Whole Foods” these foods will work well for minor depression:  

• brown rice, 
  
• cucumber, 
  
• apples, 
  
• cabbage, 
  
• fresh wheat germ, 
  
• kuzu root, 
  
• wild blue-green algai (1.5 grams one to three times daily), and 
  
• apple cider vinegar (1 teaspoon vinegar in a little water up to 3 times daily. 
  

SUPPLEMENTS FOR DEPRESSION
There are a few studies in adults that suggest omega-3 fatty acids may be beneficial in the treatment of mild to moderate depression and you can get omega-3 fatty acids from

• Fish oil supplements 

But what about St. Johns Wort helping with depression? 
So far studies have found St. John’s wort did not relieved symptoms of minor depression any better than a placebo. 

CONCLUSION
There are tools available to help you deal with mild depression; qigong exercises, qigong meditation, qigong sounds, acupuncture, foods, and supplements, and therapy. You can start right now to get on a path to feeling better and start moving away from depression. However, if your depression is beyond mild and/or you have felt depressed for a long time, go get professional help; you need more than just these tools.

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