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St. John's Wort works to some degree for certain people with mild to medium depression, but few with serious depression. Despite claims to the contrary, there really isn't any magic bullet, alternative or traditional, that works for everyone. Antidepressants still have the best rate of success, particularly with counseling/therapy, although individuals often have to try a few medications before finding which work for them. There are some complimentary methods that help. Exercise, counseling (psychotherapy, especially cognitive-behavioral or dialectical-behavior therapies) and taking a good multivitamin that includes omega 3 and the B vitamins are proven to help many people. Any of these alone won't usually help as much as an antidepressant plus these complimentary methods.
In my Edmonds, Washington office, I see people for humanistic, supportive, strengths-oriented counseling, otherwise known as therapy or psychotherapy. I often use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) too, especially for people who are depressed. This thought changing approach has good evidence supporting its usefulness for people with depression. After all, many of our emotions arise from what we think. When we become stuck in our thinking, have habitually negative thoughts or tend to think self-deprecating, lack trust in others or experience guilty thoughts, we don't feel good about ourselves. We have choices and can choose more positive or neutral thoughts.
Jolyn Wells-Moran 2
months ago
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