Info and products on Natural alternatives to antidepressants and Depression remedies

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This page will offer natural alternatives to depression medication such as Xanax, Prozac, Paxil, Lithium, Selegiline, Citolopram, Desipramine, Nefazodone and other drugs used to treat panic attacks, social anxiety disorder, atypical depression and SSRIS.

You will be provided with holistic herbal remedies, supplements and natural treatments to help those fighting depression without the dangerous side effects, insomnia, weight gain or possibility of overdose associated with commonly prescribed drugs.

WARNING: It could be dangerous to immediately cease taking psychiatric drugs, because of potential significant withdrawal side effects. No one should stop taking any psychiatric drug without the advice and assistance of a competent medical doctor.

Psychological Health

Many illnesses and conditions fall into this broad mental health spectrum such as learning

disorders, concentration, tension, anxiety – test taking is a prime example – panic attacks, mood swings depression, and even sleeplessness.

Psychological health information including natural, homeopathic, and herbal remedies as well as general advice for emotional and mental well-being.

Here are some examples of natural formulas that support nervous system and brain health.

Safe, natural options. Quickly providing a relaxing, calming effect on the body and mind. These herbs include Kava Kava, Rosemary & St. John's Wort.

A ginseng combination designed to help increase levels of mental energy. These herbal agents heighten levels of awareness and clarity.

Magnesium calms nerves, soothes tension. Supports musculoskeletal and the nervous system health. Helps promote pain-free rest. An herbal combination including Gotu Kola, Kava Kava, Black Cohosh or Valerian Root.

Information and products on natural alternatives to antidepressants, Herbal alternatives to antidepressants, Natural remedies for depression, Natural alternatives to Xanax, Natural alternatives to Prozac, Depression remedies, remedy for depression, Prozac alternative, Xanax alternatives.

Antidepressants: a brief overview

Chances are, either you or someone you know has a prescription for an antidepressant. They have become conventional medicine’s default drug of choice: when in doubt, you’re probably depressed.

There are three different families of antidepressants, each with a different chemical mechanism. All of these drugs work with your neurotransmitters — the brain chemicals that regulate mood, sleep, and appetite, among other things.

In the 1960’s and 1970’s it was thought that norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine were the primary affectors of mood. The first two families of antidepressants, MAOI’s and tricyclics, were developed to increase available levels in the brain, but it turns out that they can burn out the brain’s receptors within several weeks. They also have very strong side effects. As a result, physicians have come to prescribe them with care just to people who really need them.

At about the same time, some scientists began to view another neurotransmitter — serotonin — as the missing link in treating mood disorders. In the 1980’s a new family of antidepressants — SSRI’s, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors — was developed, and appeared to deliver results in regulating mood without the more serious side effects of its predecessors.

Due to the seemingly attractive risk/benefit ratio of SSRI’s, physicians expanded antidepressant use exponentially: in the 1990’s, spending on antidepressants grew by 600%! Today the various classes of antidepressants under such tradenames as Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Cymbalta, and Sarafem are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. And while we know now that diminished serotonin reuptake does factor heavily into the mood regulation equation, SSRI’s and their pharmaceutical cousins are not the magic bullet pharmaceutical companies would have us believe.

Original Publication Date: 02/08/2005

Last Modified: 08/17/2009

Principal Author: Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP