DEPRESSION
AND HOW TO OVERCOME IT

By Lawrence Wilson, MD

© Revised, August 2008, The Center for Development

Many cases of depression are in small or large part due to nutritional imbalances. Hair mineral analysis can identify many of these.  Other causes are mental, emotional or even spiritual in nature. Let us examine all the causes for feelings of depression, not just the standard ones we all know about such as a loss or trauma.

Before we begin this discussion, anyone who has feelings of killing oneself or others should immediately see a qualified doctor for help. Do not attempt to solve these type of depression problems by yourself. This applies especially to young people, as they have less emotional control and are more likely to hurt themselves before seeking help.

PHYSICAL CAUSES OF DEPRESSION

There are a number of physical causes for depression. This is by far the most important cause to consider, if you are feeling down in the dumps. We will list the major physical causes in some detail so that you can take the appropriate action to remedy the causes.

Low Energy. Thousands of people are exhausted. Their adrenal and/or thyroid glands are sluggish. They must drag themselves through life, often using stimulants like caffeine, worry, anger and others just to function. Life just is not much fun. This gives rise to negative thoughts and low affect or negative emotions.

The body literally sends one messages all day long that life is not good, I don't feel like doing things, and there is little hope. Everything is more difficult when one is tired, and the entire world looks bleak.  In contrast, when one has so much energy one feels like conquering the world, depression is unlikely.

The Need For Rest And Sleep. This can be a simple cause for depression if it is due to simple lack of rest and sleep. So the first thing to consider is whether you are resting enough.
This cannot be mentioned enough. Rest more, sleep a lot, and see if your symptoms improve. If you cannot rest or sleep, then take even a medication to help.
Sleep is absolutely critical for all aspects of health, including your thoughts and emotions. So do not overlook this important and simple cause for depression.

No Natural High. If this does not help, then think about deeper causes for fatigue. The adrenal glands secrete cortisol, a hormone that provides a natural high.
People on cortisone therapy feel no pain.  That is why cortisone is used for pain control.  When the adrenals are exhausted, cortisol production diminishes and the natural high is gone, replaced by achiness, fatigue and often a lowered mood.

Adrenal Burnout. You may find that a simple test for this is whether you are achy in the morning. If you are a little stiff and it gets better as the day goes on, your adrenal glands may be tired out and usually nutritionally depleted. This is extremely common, almost too common to be made second to lack of sleep. So it is a likely contributor to your depression feelings.

Deficiency of Essential Fatty Acids. This is another common cause of depression in some people. Today, most people eat a predominance of the omega-6 fatty acids found in vegetable oils primarily. However, they are also found in our meats, poultry, butter, milk and other foods because the animals are not allowed to graze freely on grasses. Instead, they are fed indoors on corn and other vegetable cereals.
As a result, the fatty acid content of their meat, dairy and other products are quite different today than they were 100 years ago. This is an important cause of depression as the fatty acids are important for proper functioning of the brain and central nervous system.

Hypoglycemia. Another chemical imbalance associated with depression is carbohydrate intolerance.  The brain is highly dependent on a constant level of blood sugar.  When blood sugar levels vary, it causes lowered energy, mood fluctuations, confusion and at these times one can easily feel confused and depressed.
Diet is an important factor in carbohydrate intolerance. We will discuss diet in more detail later. Sugar is the worst food, however, for hypoglycemic people. This is not to label you, however, because you don’t need to be one of these individuals. Protein and fat are absolutely necessary, however, in your diet in many cases.
Trace minerals including zinc, manganese, chromium and others are also required for blood sugar regulation.   Most people are low in these trace minerals. We will discuss trace mineral nutrition later as well in this article and it is covered in a number of articles on this website, particularly one called Minerals For Life.
The adrenals are part of carbohydrate tolerance in some people, so it can be more than just your diet. The adrenal glands do far more than give you a slight natural high. Their hormone secretion, particularly cortisone and cortisol, raise your blood sugar. Another tip that indicates, in many cases, that your adrenal glands are malfunctioning is if you crave sweets during the day. Read our article about Hypoglycemia for more information.

Diabetes. When hypoglycemia persists for years, it turns into diabetes, another cause of depression. If you think you might have this, visit a doctor to make sure it is not the case.
With diabetes, you often, but not always, will feel tired all the time and need to eat sweets or you will get shaky and even weaker, and you may need to urinate a lot, even during the night.
This is still another physical cause for depression that often is overlooked by psychiatrists, although they should know better as they are trained to be medical doctors as well.

Slow Metabolism. A common finding on the trace mineral tests of people with depression is a pattern indicating a slow oxidation rate and very low cellular energy production.
Tissue sodium and potassium levels are usually low and the sodium/potassium ratio may be low as well. When the metabolism slows down, it is usually due to sluggish adrenal gland activity, as explained above.

Low Thyroid Activity. However, it can also be due to sluggish thyroid gland activity. This, too, is so common it should be placed higher on the list of causes, perhaps.
Do not overlook this simple cause for depression. Go to a doctor and have it checked. Or, you can read more about energy and the thyroid on this website first. The reason I say this is the doctor, if he can identify it, will just give you a drug for it. There is often a less drug-based alternative, which is to read about and follow our nutritionally-based healing program.

MINERALS AND DEPRESSION

Calcium And Depression. Mineral analyses of the hair, but not the blood or urine, often reveal elevated calcium and at times magnesium levels in those with depression.
Calcium stabilizes cell membranes and increases the voltage at which nerve cells fire. This effectively has a depressive effect on the central nervous system. This means that you may feel depressed because you have too much calcium in your body tissues. This is also an extremely common cause of depression.
Unfortunately, it is not always easy to spot without a hair tissue mineral analysis. However, a tip you can use for this cause is either achy joints that do not improve as the day goes on or creaking or crackling of your joints, especially your neck, shoulders or other large joints such as these.
This can indicate some calcium deposition in these areas. If you have it here, you may have it in the brain tissue as well. You can read our article on Calcium Mysteries for more information about this cause, which is related to the adrenal and thyroid imbalances mentioned above.
In some cases, the tissue calcium level gets very high, over 175 mg% on a hair tissue mineral analysis or 1750 parts per million, as the units are different with some laboratories that do hair mineral testing. In these cases, depression is quite likely.
We call this pattern a Calcium Shell, which you can also read about on this site. Both situations with calcium are quite correctible, often in a short period of time, say less than a year. So do not despair about any of these causes of depression you may feel.

COPPER TOXICITY

A very common toxic metal found in cases of depression is excess copper. It may be elevated on a hair analysis, or there may be indicators of hidden copper toxicity. Copper imbalance is very common today, mainly due to exhausted adrenal glands. To read more about copper, click here.

CADMIUM TOXICITY

Another toxic metal associated with depression is cadmium. It causes pronounced fatigue and many other symptoms. One can be born with it, or common sources are tap water, junk food and cigarette smoke. To read more about cadmium, click here.
Biochemical factors are very important today as contributors to depression.  Correcting body chemistry, which is not the same as using symptomatic remedies, is an important factor in correcting any depression.  Even if imbalanced chemistry is not the primary factor, it will enhance the effects of psychotherapy, counseling and other therapies. 

ZINC, MANGANESE AND OTHER TRACE ELEMENTS

In fact, many minerals can play a role in feelings of depression. Zinc, for instance, stimulates the cortex of the brain, which is the newer part of the brain. When zinc is deficient, it can feel the same a copper toxicity discussed above.
Other essential minerals including, but not limited to manganese, selenium, chromium and others can also influence the way one feels at all times. Only through a tissue mineral test can we know all the possible imbalances that are present in these and other common trace minerals in the body.

OTHER NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES

Deficiencies of dozens of vitamins, as well as mineral and other vital nutrients can cause or contribute to feelings of depression. This is quite complex, but is the reason why the basis of our program is a healthful diet with cooked vegetables at least twice daily.

Problems From Birth. Some of these imbalances and deficiencies may be present at birth. These are called congenital imbalances, as they are not inherited in the genetic sense of the word.
Congenital imbalances are due to imbalances, usually in the mother. However, at times they can be due to the health condition of the father as well. These imbalances are transmitted through the placenta to the developing child.
Few people realize that any deficiency or excess of nutrients can be passed through the placenta during the growth of the developing child. These will show up on a hair tissue mineral analysis of a young child and is an important reason why depression may occur often today in children.

Children’s Diets. Other imbalances often develop later due to a poor quality diet, unhealthy eating habits that impair digestion, stress that impairs digestion and uses up more nutrients, intestinal infections and food intolerance that damages the intestines.

Consuming Anti-Nutrients. Most people, especially children, eat a lot of sugar, toxic food additives and other substances that provide basically no nutrition at all, but to contribute to stuffing the body with poisons that cause many problems, including often depression.
Some of the chemicals, such as Aspartame or Equal, are being taken off the market at this time. Many others, however, continue to be marketed as food additives or other items and are placed in thousands of food-related items.
Consuming anti-nutrients like refined sugar, stimulants such as caffeine, MSG and others, and foods that have been stripped of nutrients like bleached, white flour aggravate deficiencies and open the way for the development of depression in many people. Congenital imbalances, poor diets and imbalanced lifestyles, along with a lack of adequate rest and exercise in children set the stage for depression and many other problems in the majority of cases of depression. So it is often incorrect to blame just one item. This is true even though a change in diet may cause a dramatic improvement in symptoms. For this reason, it is always best to follow a complete healing program to undo many causes of depression at the same time.

TOXIC METALS

Health problems develop slowly as nutrient minerals become depleted and are replaced by toxic metals in vital enzyme binding sites. These are like replacement parts on a car that are not the correct part. When enough accumulate, hundreds of symptoms may begin to appear. Lowered energy, discouragement and many others are among them.

Today, most children are born with quite a load of toxic metals, passed on through the placenta. This is revealed on hair mineral charts of newborn babies. For this reason, problems can start at a young age. Also, one’s entire personality may develop based on nutritional imbalances that were present at birth (congenital) or which developed soon after.

Identifying Toxic Metals in Depression. Another common biochemical factor in depression is the presence of toxic metals. These interfere with energy production, alter neurotransmitter levels and can affect all body systems. Excess copper, mercury, cadmium, lead and aluminum are often found in the tissue mineral tests of those with depression.

Tissue mineral analysis may or may not reveal the presence of these toxic metals on the first or even on later hair mineral analyses. This occurs because the toxic metals are usually buried deep within the brain and elsewhere, and will not show up on any toxic metal tests, including urine challenge or feces or sweat or hair or blood. In other words, do not assume you do not have toxic metals just because all the tests are normal. This is usually not the case.

Reducing Toxic Metals In Stages Or Layers. Eliminating toxic metals is a primary goal of a nutritional balancing program. It is not sufficient to provide the needed vital nutrients, although this is necessary. Giving the correct nutrient in the right proportions will allow the body to slowly replace the toxic metals.

Random or shotgun nutrition therapy will be found to be much less effective. It may provide symptomatic relief, but long-term results will not be as good. This is the difficulty with each new product that comes on the market. No provision is made for testing to see it is really beneficial or just providing a symptomatic effect. Most testing methods including machines, kinesiology and others often only test for symptomatic benefit.

DEPRESSION AS AN ADAPTATION TO STRESS

Depression can be a positive adaptation to exhaustion. In these cases, depression occurs to prevent further depletion of energy that could cause more serious illness.
The truth of this is observed as a person recovers their health. Many patients comment after several months or longer on a health building program their depression lifts, but they are exhausted. After several more months, the exhaustion begins to lift. As they regain their health, they retrace the sequence of events that led to the depression.
Thus depression may be a stage of life after exhaustion. Rebuilding body chemistry is necessary to reverse the process. Sometimes the reversal process is fast. At other times, toxic metal elimination and nutrient replacement can take up to several years.

EMOTIONAL OR EGO DEPRESSION

This type of depression is caused by emotions that are basically out of control. One reacts or over-reacts to stimuli that cause severe negative feelings.
This is common with copper imbalance, but can be caused by a lack of emotional control. It is common in infants and young children who have not learned to handle or examine their emotions in the cool light of reason and common sense.
Emotional depression is more common in women, while depression caused by mental aberration is more common in men. This has to do with their mineral balance, hormones and other factors.
The answer to this type of depression is to learn emotional balance by whatever means is effective. Among the popular methods are affirmations, reading the bible or other spiritual or uplifting books, watching a movie that reminds you to laugh at your problems or takes your mind off them.
Other ways to overcome emotional problems are to speak with a counselor or friend about them, learn meditation that we offer, which is very grounding and centering. To investigate this method further, read the article entitled Meditation.

DEPRESSION DUE TO MENTAL CAUSES

This occurs when one wants something one cannot or does not have. It is a disappointment of the ego when it cannot have or control the world as it would like. This kind of depression is often rooted in immaturity, fantasies and delusions about oneself or about the world.
This depression is basically caused by beliefs or other types of thinking that are not healthy or are not true, or are not grounded in this reality. For example, one may believe that one deserves to win the lottery. Therefore, one may become depressed when this does not occur.

Playing The Victim. The most important single cause of this type of depression is to feel sorry for oneself. This is also called the victim mentality or “poor me”. This is unfortunately encouraged by liberal politicians, the media and even some religions.
This belief is basically that one is worse off than others and somehow deserves a break or special treatment or even monetary compensation because of one’s skin color, religion, state of physical or mental health, financial condition or other situation or behavior choice.
This type of depression is always basically at its root a mental aberration that can only be corrected by adjusting one’s thoughts and beliefs so that they reflect reality. In fact, there are no victims, but this is hard to believe for many people. The best approach is to know that one is a child of God and there are unseen angels and other beings standing ready to assist everyone at all times.

SPIRITUAL DEPRESSION

Some people are depressed because they are living in a way that is not compatible with their deepest nature. This is what I call spiritual depression.  One may be in a job that is incompatible one's nature and ability.  This may apply to the work itself or simply the office associates.
It can also occur in personal relationships that are simply not working well.  One person may be more aware than the other, but the more aware person is deferring to the less aware one.  As a result, the more aware person is not living the fullness of his or her life, and depression is a common result.
This cause of depression will not be remedied by nutrition, unless nutrition improves the physical health of the more aware person to the point that he or she becomes more assertive in the relationship.
This is also an important reason for depression in children. Children have less control over their lives.  Many are not compatible with their school environment and at times they are not appreciated or possibly misunderstood by their parents or even their friends. This can be a difficult situation that can lead to drug and alcohol abuse, runaways, failing grades, violence and even suicide.
Spiritual depression, sometimes called “spiritual madness”, can also be a stage in one’s spiritual development that is actually quite common. Carolyn Myss coined the term “spiritual madness” to describe this phenomenon.
It is a condition in which it seems like the world is not the way one thought. One is becoming aware of new approaches to living, new ways of thinking and viewing reality and there is a disconnect when one tries to fir these into old ways of living.
For example, if one is used to running all the time from work to home, and then to entertainment. One may suddenly discover that tai chi or meditation are wonderful tools for living. There is a period of time when one must integrate one’s meditation time or other new activities into one’s previous lifestyle.
This can be extremely confusing and one must feel one’s way forward. The sense of confusion, uncertainty and temptation to return to old ways can create a type of depressed attitude in some people that is important to be aware of and not to fall prey to the use of drugs or other crutches to pass through this important stage in one’s development.
This can occur at multiple intervals as one awakens to more dimensions of reality and one is forced to leave behind old friends, old ways, old relationships, old jobs and so forth. This is, indeed, an important type of depression that occurs in those who are attempting to make positive changes in their lives.

OTHER CAUSES TO KEEP IN MIND

Pharmaceuticals. Many, many drugs have depression as a side effect. Among the most important are cortisone therapy during withdrawal, depressants such as valium, ADHD drugs, blood pressure medications such as beta blockers and many others. Always be sure to check the side effects of any medication you are using on a regular basis if depression begins to occur. It can be life threatening, so do not ignore this cause of depression.
Medications of all sorts can cause depression directly by inhibiting various neurotransmitters in the brain. They can also cause depression by inhibiting or interfering with other nutrients. They may also affect your appetite, sensations or other areas that lead indirectly to feelings of sadness, inadequacy or other problems. This applies to over-the-counter remedies equally as it applies to prescription or recreational drug use.
For example, birth control pills, patches or the newer insertable Nuvo-ring can cause depression by affecting copper balance. This is well known by some women, but many are unaware that these drugs can affect one’s entire personality, leading even to suicidal thoughts.

WHEN WILL I FEEL BETTER?

This is the most common question we receive. It is not easy to answer. Some people feel better in a week or two when they eliminate sugar from their diet or end a relationship that is driving them crazy. So change can come quickly for some cases. However, for best results, do not expect to feel better overnight, especially with physically-caused depression. It may take longer, depending on many factors.
For example, if one’s depression is physical, then physical changes will improve it. However, if it is emotional, mental or spiritual, then other types of changes are needed to alleviate the condition.
Even if it is a simple physical depression, improvement may require at least several years. This occurs because the body has buffering systems to prevent it from absorbing too much of any nutrient at once, as this would upset body chemistry.
Thus, making large changes in body chemistry always take time. Similarly, making important emotional and lifestyle changes may also take a while. Thus, you should not be discouraged if time is required to overcome depression feelings.

HOW TO PROCEED TO OVERCOME DEPRESSION

Testing with hair tissue mineral analysis by someone who understands how to interpret the test can be a very helpful step to identify many imbalances, including mental, emotional and spiritual ones, believe it or not. This is explained in a number of articles on this website, such as Introduction To Hair Mineral Analysis and Psychological Patterns On A Hair Analysis.

The hair analysis will help you to avoid random and often harmful dieting and supplementation that will be less effective or could even make the problem worse. We can identify your metabolic type, for instance, that tells whether you will tend to do better on more fats and oils, or less of these essential foods..

Replacement Therapy Is Not Often Helpful. It is important to note that when a mineral is low on this test, it is not sufficient to simply take that mineral. This is called Replacement Therapy and you may click on it to read more about this very poor way of using hair mineral analysis.
The method we use, called nutritional balancing science, is more complicated, but yields far better results. We teach this to doctors and other practitioners, because it is far less well known or understood. Anyone interested in this can read about on the page regarding Training.

CONCLUSION

Depression is not a simple imbalance in serotonin, or a simple need for Prozac, Zoloft, or some other medication. Depression has multiple causes and multiple approaches may be needed to overcome it. In fact, most people experience depression at some time in their lives, and this is perfectly normal. It is less normal when it persists for more than a few moments, however, providing one is healthy.

The approach to use with depression will depend upon whether you can identify whether it is primarily physical, emotional, mental or spiritual in nature. However, we find the best approach is to integrate improvements in all these areas. When this approach is followed, then depression can usually be overcome within a few months at the most.

A WORD ABOUT ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION

First, do not stop antidepressant medication without careful thought and attention. Many patients report side effects when stopping these drugs. This is a sad fact about these drugs.
Adverse effects of the drugs or of stopping them may include headache, nausea, depression, anxiety and many, many more. Be careful and preferably work with a health professional. I never tell patients to stop prescription medication without the assistance or okay of their doctor.
However, a new study reviewed all of the past studies on four popular anti-depressantdrugs. These are representative of the newer class of antidepressants called SSRI drugs.
The researchers concluded that they are no better than placebo, except for some very severe cases of depression. This is a very important study. Here are questions everyone taking these drugs must ask himself or herself:

* Why risk the side effects of these drugs that include suicide in teens, homicide in adults and many more that are just less severe?
* Why risk the toxic effects of any drug if it is no better than a sugar pill such as Tic Tac?
* Why spend the money on these drugs?
* Why take any toxic products that don’t work well anyway?

Please pay attention to this study, which you are not likely to hear about on the evening news.

Reference: PloS Med. 2008;5(2):e45.

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