I am no doctor, so I want to state that right up front. I can only try to answer your question based on my own experiences. Are you actually experiencing clinical depression or are your doctors just recommending anti-depressants because they believe they will help alleviate your anxiety symptoms? If you are just experiencing the anxiety and are looking for relief I have a few suggestions. If you are actually experiencing clinical depression then I would recommend actually seeing a therapist who is trained in how to proceed. There are forms of treatment such as acupuncture and hypnotherapy that are incredibly effective in treating depression without the use of pharmaceuticals. For anxiety there is a natural supplement called Valerian Root that you can buy from most health food stores in capsule form. Just a warning that it has a particular odor and that is normal. I believe I took two capsules twice a day, sometimes 3 times depending on how I was doing and it significantly helped my anxiety. At the time I did not realize that my anxiety was actually being artificially aggravated by my diet. Yes, gluten and dairy products actually caused my heart rate to go up and my anxiety levels to shoot through the roof. Once I removed these trigger foods I didn't need the Valerian Root supplement anymore. I also recommend the treatments listed above for depression as well. Acupuncture and hypnotherapy can be incredibly powerful in treating anxiety as well. It really boils down to using the right tool for the right job. If you try something and it helps, but then that relief ceases after you stop using it, chances are it is a band-aid. Pharmaceuticals are band-aids. They cover up or mask symptoms. They only provide temporary relief because they don't address the underlying problem. In my case the Valerian Root was a band-aid as well because it was sort of serving the same purpose the pharmaceuticals would have. It was just a natural herb supplement instead of a chemical one. My body was not deficient in what it had. All it was doing was temporarily providing relief. I found that the dietary changes were a much more robust and lasting solution because they were much more related to the underlying root cause. No band-aid can ever do as well as a real fix.I had to keep going back to find out what was causing each issue and worked with my doctors to address the underlying root cause. If you suddenly have a problem with your diet and it wasn't a problem before in your life, what changed? I had to work to restore gut balance and that allowed me to be able to have more tolerance to certain foods. I don't know what I would have done without knowledgeable doctors who had experience in this area. They are out there. I found some in St. Louis and I found some in Dayton. If I can find them in each of the cities that I lived in since this began they can't be too rare. Everything in nature happens for a reason. Balance is always being tipped. Find what is causing your balance to be thrown off and work to address it. In some cases you may need to make permanent changes to your lifestyle because the old ways are what caused you to arrive where you are, but usually the changes can be moderated once you have corrected the initial imbalance. For example, for several months I had to avoid certain foods like the plague like soy, dairy, sugar, gluten, and nightshades to name a few. Eventually I was able to eat all of these foods again without any symptoms. Over time other problems began to manifest. I had to cut many of them out again. I am now back to eating everything except the gluten and this time I will probably stay off of it. The abuse my body takes from it is just too much to mess with. I am ok with this though as there are plenty of alternatives available now and it is easier than ever to be gluten free.Lastly I recommend working a daily meditation into your routine. If you don't know how then I recommend finding a meditation meetup group in your area through meetup.com or even signing up for a Transcendental Meditation class if you can afford it. There actually is an art to meditation although the methods and techniques vary widely. Meditation is about learning mental discipline, calming, and clearing your mind. Its stress relief benefits are immense and it will help you in your life beyond just anxiety relief. I really can't say enough positive things about meditation and how a good routine can help make a positive difference. I hope this helps...
