Is it possible to beat depression without prescription drugs or supplements?

First of all, I am not a doctor. Even if you do not want to take medications or supplements, I advise speaking with a medical professional to help track any depression symptoms you may have. One of the problems with self diagnosing any sort of mental health or emotional condition is that you may not be able to recognize if the symptoms get worse.

If you are having any thoughts of harming yourself or anyone else, please seek medical attention immediately. As for steps to treating cases of mild depression, there are several things you can try. Get 20-30 minutes of moderate exercise a day.

This doesn’t have to be marathon training; a simple walk would do it. Studies have shown that regular exercise creates natural endorphins – the feel good chemical -- in your body. (mayoclinic.com/health/depression-and-exe...) Similarly, getting regular exposure to sunlight can provide a natural boost to your mood and mental state.(webmd.com/mental-health/news/20021205/un...) Other things to consider: stick to a regular schedule.

Go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, even on the weekends. Getting too little, or even too much, sleep can mimic depression symptoms such as fatigue and irritation. Get dressed every day, even if you stay at home.

Get out of the house and visit friends, or join a support group to talk about your feelings. Get involved with a hobby or activity that you enjoy, such as cooking or knitting. Try journaling to keep any negativity from building up inside of you.

If you’re at all spiritual, consider praying or meditation, too. Most importantly, do not isolate yourself if you are feeling depressed. There is nothing to be ashamed of with depression, and withdrawing from your friends or every day life is only going to make you feel worse.

Reach out and stay involved, and know that regardless of what you are feeling, there are people who still love and care about you.

Awesome advise from EABanks! ___________________________________ I sometimes suffer with depression, too. This is what I do to help get myself out of depression: 1) I changed my diet.

I stopped eating and drinking junk. I eat more vegetables (the darker and rawer the green vegetable, the better it is for you). But be careful what you add on your vegetables/fruit.

Example, I don't add salad dressing on my salad - too much sugar in my diet can bring me down, too. Instead, I add salsa and pretend it's a Mexican dish - or even better yet, raw vegetables are good, too. 2) When I notice that I've been depressed for a long period of time, like more than 2-3 days, then I think and do something I know that will help me out of my depressed mode.

For example, I make myself go outside for a walk. I will go to a friends house, or somewhere else, even a restaurant and only order a drink, just to get myself out of the house. Find a new hobby.

Or even get yourself a pet and focus on your new pet. Like it needs to be walked, played with, feeding schedule, etc. That way, I'm focused on something else. You may also want to volunteer your time somewhere of your interest.

Being outside and exercising is the best for you. 3) Whatever you're depressed over, remember to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel - this day will pass and then you will see why you had to experience that tough road. Always remember, everyone experiences bad things in their life and you have to chose to deal with it by taking care of it by finding a solution for the problem - or just let it go (sometimes we make issues bigger than need to be) because there's other struggles in life that's more important and need to be focused on.

At times, when we focusoo many problems at once, we tend to get to overwhelmed, even the most simplest problem seems to be too big to handle. And even the most simple solution can get overlooked because the stress is so grand.So relax, take a moment off, take long slow breaths, and get refocused. Even going to the movies to get your mind off of things could be a great solution.

Then go back and deal with the problems/issues.3) Deal with whatever the problems may be at the time it comes to you. The longer you wait to deal with a problem, the more they stack-up to the point that you will become too overwhelmed to deal with any of them. Instead, write everything down that stresses you and deal with them one at a time - even make a realistic schedule on which problem you're going to deal with first, until they're resolved - even if it takes you a year, at least you're dealing with them.4) Anyone in your life who makes your stress level go high, suggest to that person how it makes you feel.

Also suggest to that person that you wish they would not put that type of stress in your life or you will have to take a break from them - or even eliminate them from your, life if it's bad enough. If someone is in your life who's not respecting you, is not a good friend - no matter how they may excuse their behaviors - and they always have excuses because they want to continue with their abuses.5) Sometimes we're our own worst enemy. If there's something that you're doing that you know is wrong, that is what you must change.

Because that could be one of your core reasons why you're in depression - your conscious is speaking to you.6) In my early 20's, I used to drink a lot. I didn't like bars nor had any alcohol in my home, but I liked going to clubs almost every weekend and drink. When I turned 30, I was pregnant with my first child.

I happily stopped drinking during my pregnancy but had problems with my son's father that I started wanting to drink again. I drove by a bar, and even though I highly disliked going to bars, I had the urge to go in and have a drink, but I didn't. I felt so guilty of wanting that drink, I called a counselor personal friend of mine and told her how much I wanted that drink that I cried and felt horrible.

She replied by saying, "Did you go in the bar and drink?" I said, "No. " She then stated, "You should be proud of yourself and not beat yourself over it.

Because if you continue to feel guilty of wanting to have the drink even though you didn't, then you will end-up talking yourself into having the drink." She continued by stating, "You have to start your thinking process of thinking the positive aspects of your decisions and outcomes of a situation, not the negatives. " She was explaining that a person who thinks negatively all the time, end-up doing the negative because they feel that's all they're worth and they talk themselves that it's impossible for change - that's why they go back to their negative behaviors - and their guilt becomes so high, that's where depression come in place.

Also, not to take-on someone else bad day. For example, if someone is angry and may say something bad to you without cause, you may say something like, "Sounds like you're having a bad day. " Instead of engaging into their negative behaviors.

Because when you engage in their negative behaviors, you've allowed that person to control you in what you're going to say and how you're going to feel.So when you say, "Sounds like you're having a bad day. " You have allowed them to own their own negative behaviors, you didn't engage into their negative behaviors, which means you can continue to control how your day will be because you chose to take complete control of your life instead of allowing someone else to dictate to you how your day will be.(I would also would like to stress, that I got down on my knees and begged God to take the cigarettes and alcohol out of my life when I first became pregnant because I knew it was bad for the fetus. My son is 16 years old and I've been cigarette and alcohol free ever since without any cravings.) 7) When you find yourself upset and you don't know why; try to remember the moment you got upset, you're feelings, and how a situation in the past may have gotten you upset - try to trigger your memory from the past.

Like if you lose something and you can't find them, like a set of keys, then you re-track your steps from end to the beginning of where you may have placed your keys until you find them. 8) Find a friend(s) and/or a group who you can talk with regarding your problems and without them judging you. You can probably find emotional support to help you out of depression, too.

But remember, don't be discouraged when you're not out of depression over night. Take realistic steps at a time and try not to take too many steps backwards - because it will happen - just don't get discouraged - just keep climbing those stairs to your healthy mind! :-) If you have any other questions or specifics you would like to talk about, just send me an email and I will try and answer your questions as best as I possibly can from personal experiences.

Legal disclaimer: I am not a medical profession and don't take any information I have shared with you as medical advise. Please consult a medical profession for medical advise. Respectfully, Sara J.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.