In addition to being attracted to alternative therapies, these individuals are moving toward self-administered strategies. Only about 20 percent of the respondents who used alternative treatments reported visiting a complementary medicine specialist. The range of alternative therapies used by people with anxiety or depression spans a list of two dozen treatments, from herbs to megavitamins to even laughter therapy. But the two most commonly used alternative treatments were relaxation techniques and spiritual healing. Researchers concluded that given this prevalence of alternative treatment, those patients who do seek a medical or mental health professional's care should be routinely asked about whether they are using complementary medicine as well.

Nutrition
In some cases, depression is caused by amino acid or other nutrient deficiencies. In these instances, nutrition counseling is important. If taking MAO inhibitors, it's critical to avoid alcohol, cheese, red meat, yeast extract, broad beans and any other foods that have tyrosine. As a nutritional therapy for depression, vegetable protein should be about 15% of total calorie intake.

Eat sea food, legumes, and whole grain and vegetable fiber. Sugar, caffeine, processed foods and refined carbohydrates much be avoided. Certain foods are known to affect mood. Bananas and some high-protein foods, including meat, milk, eggs, contain the amino acid tryptophan, for example, which is metabolized to serotonin, a brain chemical that induces calm and sleep. Lowered levels of serotonin are linked to depression and hostility.

Exercise
Exercise is important in the treatment of both depressionand anxiety. Not only does it help with assimilation of food and nutrients, it pulls the mind away from negative thought. Studies have shown that jogging for 30 minutes 3 times per week accomplishes as much as therapy sessions do for the treatment of depression and anxiety.

Herbs
Herbology, that is treatment with herbs, can be useful in treating many conditions including depression. St. John's-wort is one of the most widely used herbal crops in the world. Today, the herb is popularly used as a natural alternative for the treatment of depression in cases where antidepressants like Prozac or many other standard drugs are typically prescribed. St. John's Wort can help with mild-to-moderate unipolar depression and anxiety by preventing neurotransmitter serotonin from breaking down, thus keeping more of the mood-elevating chemical in circulation. Fish oil has been shown effective in treating bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression (not depression). Although St. John's Wort is being used to treat herpes, hepatitis, back pain, neuralgia and menopause, it's probably best known as a treatment for anxiety and depression. It's been found that it helps improve mild-to-moderate unipolar depression. St. John's Wort is great for the panic attacks and the blues that often come in recovery from addiction and trauma.

St. John's-wort is a plant that grows in the wild and is harvested for its active ingredients, which include at least 10 components that may contribute to its pharmacological effects. It is not yet known which specific component or mixture is the active ingredient, so the material i characterized on the basis of its leading components, especially the hypericins.

The active ingredient in St. John's Wort is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI). These substances were among first used to treat depression, and they are still used today when the condition is in a mild form. MAOIs inhibit the actions of a protein in the brain called monoamine oxidase. This protein "cleans up" in the brain by destroying neurotransmitters. You can't have neurotransmitters sitting around forever after they have done their job, so they have to be eliminated; yet if too many are eliminated, depression can result. MAOIs, then, keep the levels of neurotransmitters a bit higher and help keep you feeling better.

It is a simply phramaceutical fact that drugs sometimes interact with each other - there is no way around this. Does St. John's Wort interact with anything? As a matter of fact, yes - it can interfere with the chemotherapy drug irinotecan, reducing its ability to kill cancer. The FDA has issued a long list of additional medications which St. John's Wort can interfere with - medications used to treat conditions like HIV infection, heart disease, seizure, and cancer. It even affects drugs used to prevent transplant rejection and pregnancy.

St. John's Wort is a particularly powerful herb that should not be taken in conjunction with other drugs or supplements without an evaluation by a qualified health professional. If you are presently on an antidepressant and want to stop taking it, consult with your prescribing physician before doing so.

MAOIs do something else, however: they also "clean up" tyramine, a molecule that affects blood pressure. When monoamine oxidase is blocked, the levels of tyramine increase quickly. You feel better, emotionally and psychologically, but your blood pressure can rise so much and so quickly that the blood vessels in your brain can burst. When MAOIs were first introduced in the 1960s, the country was swept by a wave of deaths from inexplicable brain hemorrhages. Eventually, the link between MAOIs and tyramine was discovered, so the banned drugs could be reintroduced along with a warning for patients to restrict their diets. Foods high in tyramine and which are forbidden include:

• alcoholic beverages (especially chianti, sherry, liqueurs, and beer)
• alcohol-free or reduced-alcohol beer or wine
• aged foods, especially aged meats and cheeses
• smoked or pickled meat, poultry, or fish
• bologna, pepperoni, salami, summer sausage, or any fermented sausage
• meat with tenderizers, unfresh meat, meat extracts, canned meats
• dried and pickled fish, including caviar, anchovies and pickled herring
• liver, especially chicken livers.
• cheeses (especially strong or aged varieties), except for cottage and cream cheese
• fermented foods and homemade breads with a lot of yeast
• fruit: raisins, bananas, canned figs, red plums, avocados, or any overripe fruit
• vegetable products: green bean pods, eggplant, Italian broad beans, soy sauce

Additional Therapies
A wide variety of complementary therapies claim to improve health by producing relaxation. Some use the relaxed state as a means of promoting psychological change. Others incorporate movement, stretches, and breathing exercises. Relaxation and "stress management" are found to a certain extent within conventional medicine. They are included here because they are generally not well taught in conventional medical curriculums and because of the overlap with other, more clearly complementary, therapies.

Hypnosisis the induction of a deeply relaxed state, with increased suggestibility and suspension of critical faculties. Once in this state, sometimes called a hypnotic trance, patients are given therapeutic suggestions to encourage changes in behavior or relief of symptoms. For example, in a treatment to stop smoking a hypnosis practitioner might suggest that the patient will no longer find smoking pleasurable or necessary. Hypnosis for a patient with arthritis might include a suggestion that the pain can be turned down like the volume of a radio.

Some practitioners use hypnosis as an aid to psychotherapy. The rationale is that in the hypnotized state the conscious mind presents fewer barriers to effective psychotherapeutic exploration, leading to an increased likelihood of psychological insight.

Relaxation and meditation techniques are very useful. One well-known example of a relaxation technique is known variously as sequential muscle relaxation (SMR) and progressive relaxation. The subject sits comfortably in a dark, quiet room. He or she then tenses a group of muscles, such as those in the right arm, holds the contraction for 15 seconds, and then releases it while breathing out. After a short rest, this sequence is repeated with another set of muscles. Gradually, different sets of muscle are combined.

Visualization and imagery techniques are somewhat akin to hypnosis: the induction of a relaxed state followed by the use of suggestion. The main differences are that the suggestions are visual and usually generated by patients themselves. In cancer treatment, for example, patients may be asked to think of an image which represents their immune system killing off cancerous cells. One patient might imagine immune cells as sharks and the cancer cells as small fishes being eaten; another might think of a computer game in which the cancer cells are "zapped" by spaceships.

Meditation practice focuses on stilling or emptying the mind. Typically, meditators concentrate on their breath or a sound ("mantra") which they repeat to themselves. They may, alternatively, attempt to reach a state of "detached observation," in which they are aware of their environment but do not become involved in thinking about it. In meditation the body remains alert and in an upright position. Some individuals with anxiety find it difficult to quiet their mind in order to meditate. In these instances, sound therapy can be useful. Sound therapy is basically the use of specially designed recordings of music and nature sounds to induce a state of well-being.

There are many complimentary and alternative therapies that have been used effectively to help alleviate depression. The therapies that follow have received attention in recent research. There are other therapies not listed that may prove to be of great benefit, and new studies are constantly be conducted and released. Before starting a new therapy, learn about it so you can get the most out of it.

References
(To view, roll mouse over the "References" heading; to hide, click on the heading)