Depression - Find the Cure by Finding the Cause

By Valerie Balandra - 2007-12-23 - Viewed 1051 times. Find more articles like this in our Depression causes and signs category.

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Depression is a medical illness that involves your thoughts, mood, and body.

It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things.

Common Symptoms of Depression:

Feeling sad, blue, and incapable of feeling pleasure.

Change in appetite.

Eating too much or not enough.

Changes in sleeping habits.

Feeling hopeless, worthless, guilty, low self esteem.

Loss of energy, no motivation, no interest or pleasure in activities.

Persistent physical symptoms such as aches, pains, headaches, stomach aches, and pain which no physical cause can be found.

Thoughts of death and suicide. Weight gain or weight loss

General Causes of Depression

Depression can be triggered by traumatic life events, poor diet, genetic conditions, blood sugar imbalances, medical illness, hormone imbalance, lack of exercise, medications, drug and alcohol use, and digestive difficulties. These triggers are known to cause or contribute to neurotransmitter imbalances.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry signals to your brain and nerves. When the messages are not delivered correctly Depression and other mental and physical problems can occur.

Finding the Cause of Your Depression

Testing for Neurotransmitter Imbalances

A single neurotransmitter imbalance can result in multiple symptoms. By identifying the chemical imbalances with neurotransmitter tests and understanding how neurotransmitters function and interact in depression, it is possible to better match treatments to the individuals own chemical imbalance.

You can now test your Neurotransmitter levels by a simple non invasive urine test. This test can determine your levels of:

Serotonin Dopamine Norepinephrine Epinephrine GABA Glutamate PEA Histamine

Testing for Hormone Imbalance

Many women may develop symptoms of depression, anxiety, and mood swings as estrogen levels begin to fluctuate during perimenopausal years then further decline at menopause. Too many women that suffer from menopause and depression have been put on anti-depressant medications instead of addressing the hormone levels through testing and natural bio identical hormones.

Of those individuals that are clinically depressed, around one-half will have an excess of a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is secreted by the adrenal glands. Located near the kidneys, the adrenal glands assist us in our reactions to stressful events.

A non-invasive saliva test can help determine your hormone levels. Testing will determine what products should be used to correct the imbalance that is disrupting your body's hormone regulation. Estradiol, Estrone, Progesterone, Testosterone, Cortisol, DHEA, and even thyroid levels are available by a saliva test.

Finding Your Depression Cure

With the information provided from testing you will be able to better cure the symptoms of depression. Neurotransmitter Imbalances can be corrected naturally by using targeted amino acid therapy which has the ability to raise or lower levels of the neurotransmitters found out of balance. When your neurotransmitter levels come back into balance the chemical messages are now delivered correctly. Restored communication means the alleviation of depressive symptoms.

Hormone imbalances can also be corrected naturally by balancing neurotransmitter levels, using herbs and bio identical hormone replacement.

The mental health experts at Integrative Psychiatry.net can help you put it all together. We can send testing supplies anywhere in the world, and provide telephone consultations to provide expert evaluation and treatment.

Valerie Balandra is a board certified psychiatric nurse practitioner and holistic health practitioner. Her integrative psychiatry practice focuses on identifying the cause of the chemical imbalance and provides natural treatments for depression and anxiety.

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