Any therapist will tell you that depression can be palpable. You can feel it in the room. The heaviness sits between you and your client, making her harder to reach, time move slower, and your eyes feel like closing from the weight of it.
If this is what it's like for the therapist, imagine how much deeper it feels for the one living it.
Maybe that’s you.
I can remember one client in particular and the memory can still make my eyes get teary.
Her pain ran deep, and she wanted to run away from life. She described her feelings to me by saying she was “dying inside.” (Imagine that.) She felt stuck and had no control over anything.
At the time, I was learning how to use targeted supplements for depression and other mental health symptoms. I recommended that she take one of the amino acids samples I was testing out in my office.
I asked her how she felt and I will never forget what she said. Actually, I can’t print the first comment. (It made me laugh out loud)
As for the second comment, she said, “this feels like the beginning of my exit.”
How beautiful it was to hear her elegant way of describing what she was experiencing. I still feel the joy I felt from being able to help this woman. She experienced a sense of well-being she had not felt in a decade. And all of this in my office, in a matter of minutes.
I only saw her once more; I couldn’t get her to come back in because she felt so much better!
If your feelings resonate with depression, please know that there is hope beyond a prescription. Here are just three circumstances out of many more in which depression can manifest itself.
1. Neurotransmitters
Serotonin and the Catecholamines are responsible for our Anti-depression feelings (positivity, motivation and caring). If they are low, we can feel like nothing is ever going to work out or that we just don’t want to get out of bed. A simple first step to increase these neurotransmitters is to make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet. The only thing your body can make neurotransmitters from is protein.
2. Vitamin/Mineral Deficiency
Vitamin B6 and Zinc are the co-factors your body must have in order to manufacture neurotransmitters. Even if your diet is great, you won’t be increasing your serotonin or catecholamine levels unless you have these important nutrients.
3. Gut Health
Have you ever heard the phrase “go with your gut?” Our gut and our brain are very connected and when our gut is unhealthy it can translate to mental health symptoms. A beginning step toward gut health could be adding fermented vegetables into your diet or a high quality probiotic.
Don’t lose life to the weight of mental health symptoms. Time is too precious.