Have you ever feel depressed or anxious from time to time? Have you ever been diagnosed with depression or any mental disorders? As more people are being diagnosed with depression, it is the world’s second biggest cause of disability, according to a study by researchers from The University of Queensland. If you are one of victims and seeking for alternative solutions or knowing more about this condition, this topic series may well be your life safer.
As experts predicted that this condition will likely be the number one cause of disability globally in years to come, the statistics are not looking good, in terms of conventional diagnosis and treatment, and many more people are suffering from this illness, as of present time and future. Is there one approach or treatment for every different individual? It is often easy to apply the same 'one size fits all' approach to every patient when he or she walks into the doctor's clinic. But, many of us now realized that in terms of disease diagnosis and treatment, conventional paradigm of medical drugs may well be a huge failure, accompanied with side effects which cause more problems (side effects) to the body then attempting to fix anything.
In a similar analogy, conventional approach for patients who suffer from fever to go on paracetamol or aspirin, or in the field of dietary, or cancer patients undergo chemotherapy/radiation for a hopeful treatment. Most authors of diet books will claim that their own diet protocol is healthy and suit everyone else and there is no difference between many fitness professionals who proudly endorse their own workout DVDs and claim to be the best weight loss program ever.
We humans, are biochemical individuals, and with our own unique physiological adaptation and built, genes are being expressed constantly, be it from our diet, lifestyle or environmental stressors. Thus, 'one size fits all' approach by treating all depressed patients with SSRI drugs seemed to be an easy puzzle to solve. Does it really work? How effective is SSRI drugs?
In conventional medicine, SSRI (anti-depressant) drugs are prescribed to patients primarily diagnosed with depression or showed any symptoms of anxiety or similar mental disorders. It is primarily based on a neurotransmitter model. The idea is to recycle and use the available seratonin neurotransmitters in the brain for a longer period of time. However, this approach failed to assess other factors or possibilities for triggering or increase the likelihood of depression in an individual. As for some patients, it may worked for a short period, but the root cause was never investigated, and in most cases, the condition worsen and new sets of symptoms may appear overtime. Same apply for most alternative treatments, where patients are given Tryptophan or 5-HTP supplements to treat depression. For most people, it may improve the condition and make that individual feels better, but still, the underlying cause is yet to be identified, although this approach is a natural and less side effects.
Some of the possible factors we will learn in this topic discussion includes gut to brain axis, co-factors function of primary neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, the role of chronic inflammation in depression, toxins and diet as one of the culprits in making an individual become depressed, and also certain genes which can deplete one's serotonin faster then others or block production of neurotransmitters. If you have read my earlier posts on Brain Chemicals, this would be an extension and updated version of brain health and depression.
As statistics have shown that up to 60% of total patients have unsuccessful results or effect from anti-depressant drugs during 1st prescription from doctors. For some, they may feel better but it is not a long term fix and will never address the root cause of the problem. The general idea of anti-depressant drugs is meant to use and recycle the available serotonin in the brain longer, but what if certain people naturally have low serotonin production? How many conventional doctors actually dig deeper and ask the question why this is happening? Or is it solely serotonin deficiency?
There are so many variables and factors which could cause depression. For the ancient tribes or population, they believed that depression is a gift from god, a visitation of guardian angel to look at your life, what is wrong with your life. Why are you depressed? How are you living your life? Going for a pill prescribed by a doctor sounds so simple and aiming for a quick fix, and that merely mask the symptoms of what is actually going on physiologically and psychologically.
Stay tuned.
As statistics have shown that up to 60% of total patients have unsuccessful results or effect from anti-depressant drugs during 1st prescription from doctors. For some, they may feel better but it is not a long term fix and will never address the root cause of the problem. The general idea of anti-depressant drugs is meant to use and recycle the available serotonin in the brain longer, but what if certain people naturally have low serotonin production? How many conventional doctors actually dig deeper and ask the question why this is happening? Or is it solely serotonin deficiency?
There are so many variables and factors which could cause depression. For the ancient tribes or population, they believed that depression is a gift from god, a visitation of guardian angel to look at your life, what is wrong with your life. Why are you depressed? How are you living your life? Going for a pill prescribed by a doctor sounds so simple and aiming for a quick fix, and that merely mask the symptoms of what is actually going on physiologically and psychologically.
Stay tuned.
Reference/Journal:
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001547
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