Traditional medicine tips for treating depression 2021

Traditional medicine tips for treating depression

For centuries, various herbal medicines have been used around the world to treat depression and anxiety.

But modern medicine has shifted to prescription drugs instead of traditional herbal remedies, and the depression treatment with herbs is not taken as seriously as it should be.

However, there are some approved herbs that are useful for treating depression.

Of course, usually when traditional medicine is involved, most attention is drawn to medicinal plants, while lifestyle changes are much more effective than any medicine.

Changing bad habits can prevent many mental illnesses and depression.

In this article, we will explain some of the causes of depression and mental illness from the perspective of traditional medicine and explain some simple and common herbal medicines that are prescribed to solve this problem.

Traditional medicine tips for treating depression

Table of Contents

What is depression and mental illness?

Traditional medicine tips for treating depression

Prolonged sadness, indifference to things we used to love, decreased concentration, excessive fatigue, and the like can all be signs of depression.

This disease changes our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.

Depression can be accompanied by emotional and physical problems.

Depressive disorder is not a problem that can be solved with just a few days of care, but requires long-term follow-up and treatment, continuous care and treatment.

But do not worry, we can overcome depression.

The sooner we think about treating it, the easier it will be to treat.

Recognizing the symptoms of depression helps a lot in diagnosing depression in us and those around us.

Here are 12 of the most important symptoms of depression:

Feeling sad, empty and hopeless
Going crazy and resentful of trivial issues
Indifference and reluctance to do things that used to be interesting to us.
Sleep disorders (sleep deprivation or oversleeping)
Feeling tired or lacking in energy even without doing heavy work
Severe changes in appetite and weight (increased or decreased appetite for no reason or sudden obesity and weight loss)
Anxiety and restlessness
Feeling guilty about trivial things in the past
Decreased concentration, decreased ability to solve problems
Decreased decision-making ability
Thinking of death and suicide
Physical pain for no apparent reason

An important part of our physical and mental health depends on the soul and also the one’s temperament can affect the body.

For example, peptic ulcer disease often has a psychological origin.

Also, a person with constipation is more likely to be depressed.

Cognition of temperament is critical to treat neurological diseases.

Traditional medicine doctors consider dry temperaments to be the cause of mental illness.

According to herbal doctors, these diseases are also caused by an increase in soda temperament.

The source of excessive soda may remain in a person’s brain or blood.

In fact, traditional medicine considers the body, soul and environment as an interconnected system and the causes of mental illness and depression are due to the imbalance between these three elements.

Therefore, anything that affects the human body can affect his psyche, and on the other hand, anything that affects the human soul will cause changes in his body.

In the following, we will examine the main causes of mental illness and depression from the perspective of traditional medicine.

Traditional medicine tips for treating depression

Depression causes in traditional medicine

Traditional medicine tips for treating depression

Despite current treatments, more than 75% of patients experience depression; Antidepressants also have a variety of side effects, such as suicide attempts, sexual dysfunction, weight gain, and central nervous system complications.

In addition, treating depression, even in the best of circumstances, is not able to restore more than 50% of the disability caused by the disease.

Grief, which is one of the main symptoms of major depressive disorder, has been considered in Persian traditional medicine.

From the perspective of traditional medicine, sadness is one of the mental states in which the soul gradually tends inward.

Traditional medicine attaches more importance to prevention than to the treatment of diseases; Traditional medicine prevention of depression is based on six important principles, which include air, eating and drinking, exercise, congestion, sleep and wakefulness, as well as mental states.

Traditional medicine tips for treating depression

Nutrition

Traditional medicine tips for treating depression

According to traditional medicine and also new research, depression is influenced by genetic, hormonal, biochemical, immunological and neurodegenerative factors; Nutrition affects these factors and plays an acceptable role in controlling the disease.

For example, traditional diets, including vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, and whole grains, are associated with a lower risk of depression, while processed foods as well as alcohol are associated with a higher risk of depression and anxiety. Soda and phlegm are the main causes of melancholy, so it can be concluded that excessive consumption of foods with cold temperament can increase the risk of depression and sadness.

Traditional medicine tips for treating depression

Traditional medicine doctors consider goat, lamb and chicken meat, bread (additives free), sweets (cooked by almond oil), and sugar to be effective in treating sadness and depression.

Eating processed foods, including pasta, hamburgers, fries, and o on, is associated with an increased risk of depression. Consumption of fiber, beta-carotene, vitamin B, vitamin C, potassium, zinc, and iron inversely decrease depression. Even from the perspective of modern medicine, the depression symptoms are directly related to high consumption of processed meals (hamburgers, sausages, …) and high consumption of processed sweets (cookies, donuts), so that increases the risk of depression up to six years later; A prospective study emphasizes the protective role of the Mediterranean diet, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and fish, as well as low levels of high-fat meats and dairy products against depression.

Physical activity

Traditional medicine believes that exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle has a positive role in preventing and reducing the prevalence of depression.

Also, exercise and physical activity along with other factors such as diet modification, improving sleep quality, reducing drug use, alcohol and nicotine play an important role in the depression treatment.

Depression is usually associated with low levels of physical activity.

In adults, an active lifestyle is directly related to the reduction of depressive symptoms, which is stronger in women and people over forty; Studies show that depressed people spend less time on light to moderate physical activity than healthy people.

Climate

From the point of view of traditional medicine, fresh air without polluted elements is is a factor affecting on the people’s health and well-being.

If the air is mixed with dust, steam, smoke and other pollutants, it will be harmful to one’s health and will cause various diseases including depression and mental illnesses.

According to traditional medicine scholars, fresh and clean air without harmful substances will enhance the function of organs such as the heart and brain.

Studies show that increasing the amount of ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particles in the air, increases the symptoms of emotional disorders in depressed patients.

Also, particles (smaller than 10 micrometers) increase the physical and mood symptoms of depressed patients.

Based on the principles of traditional medicine, the seasons and depression have a significant relationship.

Many years ago, Persian healers emphasized the connection between “emotional symptoms” such as sadness and grief with different seasons of the year.

In other words, the occurrence of sadness in the cold seasons of the year is more severe and people with a melancholy temperament are more prone to grief and depression in these seasons.

Biological meteorologists believe that too much positive ions can lead to depression.

These ions are theoretically linked to serotonin, a hormone that is effective in depression.

Research shows that mood varies in different climates and different seasons of the year.

For example, people in the spring feel the most enjoyment of daily activities, which gradually decreases in winter and autumn.

The above is just to express the view of traditional medicine about depression and mental illness.

But rooting out the disease requires consultation with a traditional healer.

The traditional medicine doctor can diagnose the patient’s mood and treat him depending on the severity of the disease and the patient’s physical and mental condition.

Herbal remedies recommended by traditional medicine

Depression treatment

Traditional medicine prescribes a variety of treatments to treat depression and mental illness, including the patient’s living habits.

Therefore, traditional medicine can not be limited to herbal medicines.

But here are some effective herbs to treat depression.

Our goal is to show how much herbal medicine can eliminate the need for patients to use chemical drugs.

Most herbal remedies do not have serious side effects (although some herbs can be fatal if taken incorrectly) and are cheap and very effective.

Traditional medicine and herbal medicine are options that you can test the effectiveness of yourself.

You can talk to an online herbal doctor for more detailed information about medication and treatment that suits your condition.

Contact our team for more information.

Hypericum

Traditional medicine tips for treating depression : This plant is probably the best known herbal medicine for treating depression.

This plant was originally used in Germany for mild to moderate depression and has been well-proven as an effective antidepressant, and its effectiveness is as good as that prescribed for antidepressants, yet it has fewer side effects. Hypericum can help treat mild depression, although its effects have definitely not been confirmed.

A scientific study in 2008 found that Hypericum is as effective as antidepressants in treating mild to moderate depression and had fewer side effects.

Lavender

This herb is one of the useful herbal medicines for treating depression.

Lavender oil has been used by inhalation (in the form of sprays, perfume pads, oils and lotions) for centuries.

Smelling it relaxes and makes you sleepy.

Lavender edible oil is also available today. This oil is absorbed through the intestines and relaxes and reduces anxiety. This oil is not addictive or dangerous.

Lavender is an anti-anxiety drug that does not make you tired.

This medicinal plant can be prescribed to patients temporarily or permanently depending on their condition.

Valerian

It acts as a mild anti-depressant and anti-anxiety drug and has been shown in experiments to have no analgesic effect. Valerian extract has been shown to improve sleep.

According to the latest research, valerian root is the most effective herbal medicine for sleep.

Although it is an anti-anxiety herb, but unlike lavender it will eventually make you tired!

Lavender is a good option for severe depression and is best consumed early at night, when you are not driving or working. Lavender can be consumed during the day, in very small doses (20 mg or less).

You can take 600 mg doses at night to sleep, or to treat very severe depression.

Note that valerian should not be combined with alcohol or other antidepressants.

Ashwagandha

Known as Indian jessing, it is a plant that has been used in Indian traditional medicine as a herbal remedy for depression and has a history of 6,000 years. Ashwagandha is used for a variety of conditions, many of which have been scientifically studied.

Ashwagandha reduces stress hormones, increases intelligence and memory, protects against Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s nerve damage, and can also reduce nerve and synaptic atrophy in patients.

Chamomile

It is very useful for people suffering from anxiety and is a good herb for treating depression.

There are two main types of chamomile used medically: German or wild chamomile (Matricaria recutita) and Roman or English chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile).

German chamomile is more commonly used, but both offer very similar health benefits.

One study compared chamomile extract with a placebo to treat generalized anxiety disorder.

The results of this study showed that the level of anxiety in people who have used this plant was decreased.

Note that the prescription of any herbal medicine should be based on specific physical conditions and temperament. Therefore, only a traditional medicine doctor should determine which medications are compatible with your temperament and physical condition.