Try Eating A Few More Nutritious Foods
Depression disrupts eating habits, which in turn can cause feelings of fatigue. Like implementing better sleeping habits, developing a more nutrient-rich diet can improve fatigue and exhaustion.
Some foods might help with depression, and a balanced diet helps to boost energy. This typically includes a range of unrefined carbs, proteins, and fats, with an emphasis on veggies, whole grains, and healthy oils.
Aside from just the types of food you should aim to eat, it also might be better to eat small meals and snacks every few hours than three large meals a day. More frequent eating, as opposed to a food overload in a few sittings, may result in more sustained fuel for your body.
What Are My Options
Since depression is at the core of your depression fatigue, its important to look into ways that you might want to treat your mental health above anything else.
There are many options, and each type of treatment can offer a different approach in helping you to deal with the challenges that come as a result of your feelings of depression.
Here are two main treatment options to consider:
Drug Interactions And Overdose
While benzodiazepines are relatively safe when taken only occasionally and in small doses, they can be dangerous and even deadly when combined with other central nervous system depressants. Always talk to your doctor or pharmacist before combining medications.
Dont drink on benzodiazepines. When mixed with alcohol, benzodiazepines can lead to fatal overdose.
Dont mix with painkillers or sleeping pills. Taking benzodiazepines with prescription pain or sleeping pills can also lead to fatal overdose.
Antihistamines amplify their effects. Antihistaminesfound in many over-the-counter sleep, cold, and allergy medicinesare sedating on their own. Be cautious when mixing with benzodiazepines to avoid over-sedation.
Be cautious when combining with antidepressants. SSRIs such as Prozac and Zoloft can heighten benzodiazepine toxicity. You may need to adjust your dose accordingly.
Paradoxical effects of benzodiazepines
The benzodiazepines work because they slow down the nervous system. But sometimes, for reasons that arent well understood, they have the opposite effect. Paradoxical reactions are most common in children, the elderly, and people with developmental disabilities. They include:
- Increased anxiety, irritability, agitation, aggression, and rage
- Mania, impulsive behavior, and hallucinations
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The Best Antidepressants For Treating Comorbid Depression And Anxiety
Most people suffer from both anxiety and depression. They are also more likely to struggle with the comorbidities of the two conditions.
When both anxiety and depression are present, the quality of life, functional impairment, and treatment outcomes tend to be poorer.
The following explores the medications considered to be best suited to treating anxiety and depression.
Apart from medications, patients with anxiety disorder and depression also require psychotherapy, support groups, and other non-pharmacological treatment methods.
Further, it is crucial to manage both acute and chronic symptoms of these disorders. Reducing anxiety symptoms can often lead to easing depression symptoms.
Antidepressants are also used for relaxation as well as treating depression.
Immune Response And Depression And Fatigue
Previous meta-analyses have shown an increase in proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF and IL-6 , in people suffering from depression . In a more recent, larger scale meta-analysis a greater range of changes have been described in people with depression, including higher levels of TNF, IL-6, IL-13, IL-18, IL-12, IL-1RA, and sTNFR2, along with a decrease in the proinflammatory cytokine IFN . A wide variety of chemokine levels have also been demonstrated to be significantly affected, including increased CCL2 , CXCL4, and CXCL7, with CCL4 having significantly lower levels in serum . Studies found increased levels of serum IL-1RA, IL-6, TNF, and IP-10 in cancer patients with fatigue . There is also evidence that these changes may be predictive of future depression. A longitudinal study showed that people with higher IL-6 at age nine are more likely to have depression at age 18 in a dose dependent manner, even adjusting for a variety of factors . Gimeno et al. conducted a study in adults that showed similar results, with CRP and IL-6 levels at baseline predicting cognitive symptoms of depression 12 years later.
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Homeopathic Medicines For Fatigue Due To Lack Of Sleep
Aurum Metallicum For Fatigue with Morning Weakness.Aurum metallicum is a homeopathic medicine used to treat fatigue along with weakness in the morning. The person feels weary, but cannot rest or sleep properly.
Cocculus Indicus For Fatigue with Constant Drowsiness.Cocculus Indicus is a homeopathic medicine used to treat constant drowsiness and fatigue caused by lack of sleep, being awake at night and nursing.
Psychological Treatments For Depression
Psychological treatments have been found to be an effective way to treat depression. They can help you change your thinking patterns and improve your coping skills so you’re better equipped to deal with life’s stresses and conflicts.
As well as supporting your recovery, psychological therapies can help you stay well by identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviour.
There are several different types of psychological treatments including:
- cognitive behaviour therapy
- behaviour therapy
- mindfulness-based cognitive therapy .
CBT is one of the most commonly used psychological therapies. It helps people with depression to monitor and change negative patterns of thinking and improve their coping skills so they are better equipped to deal with lifes stresses and conflicts.
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Immunomodulatory Effects Of Antidepressant And Anti
Changes in the levels of immune markers have also been associated with the response to antidepressant therapies and found helpful in predicting treatment efficacy . In mice treated with LPS, serotonin reuptake inhibitor and serotoninnorepinephrine reuptake inhibitor administration lead to decreased serum levels of TNF and increased levels of IL-10 . In the repeated social stress model, treatment with tricyclic antidepressant decreased microglial expression of IL-6 mRNA both in vivo and following ex vivo stimulation, where TNF and IL-1 mRNA levels were also reduced . In vitro studies using animal macrophages have also confirmed similar immunosuppressive effects where the decrease in IL-6 and increase in IL-10 that follows treatment with amitriptyline, fluoxetine, and mianserin, suggests that such effects may be mediated by an inhibition of the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells pathway . On the other hand, Munzer et al. found that treatment in vitro of whole blood cultures with SSRIs and mirtazapine, a tetracyclic antidepressant , had the opposite effect on the stimulated production of cytokines, with an increase in inflammatory markers including IL-1, IL-6, and TNF.
Table 1. Efficacy prediction and immunomodulatory effect of therapies.
List Of The Best Antidepressants For Depression And Anxiety
SSRIs and SNRIs can treat both anxiety and depression.
They typically include the following:
- Venlafaxine
- Escitalopram
- Fluoxetine
Due to concern over safety and tolerability and potential somatic symptoms, tricyclic antidepressants often come as an afterthought.
TCAs used to treat depression and anxiety are:
- Amitriptyline
- Imipramine
Schedule your appointment with a mental health professional to get the most suitable treatment for anxiety or depression.
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Sign Up For A Pregnancy Registry
Pregnancy Exposure Registries are research studies that collect information from women who take prescription medicines or vaccines during pregnancy.
Pregnancy registries can help women and their doctors learn more about how depression medicines affect women during pregnancy.
The FDA does not run pregnancy studies, but it keeps a list of registries. Check to see if there is a registry for your depression medicine or other medicines at: www.fda.gov/pregnancyregistries
What Is An Antidepressant
Antidepressants, sometimes in combination with psychotherapy, are often the first treatment people get for depression. If one antidepressant doesn’t work well, you might try another drug of the same class or a different class of depression medicines altogether. Your doctor might also try changing the dose. In some cases, your doctor might recommend taking more than one medication for your depression.
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I Need Relief And I Need It Now
So where does that leave you if youre suffering? Even when anxiety relief comes with side effects and dangers, that can still sound like a fair trade when panic and fear are ruling your life.
The bottom line is that theres a time and place for anxiety medication. If you have severe anxiety thats interfering with your ability to function, medication may be helpfulespecially as a short-term treatment. However, many people use anti-anxiety medication when therapy, exercise, or other self-help strategies would work just as well or better, minus the drawbacks.
Anxiety medications can ease symptoms, but theyre not right for everyone and theyre not the only answer. Its up to you to evaluate your options and decide whats best for you.
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Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are a commonly prescribed class of antidepressants. Taking these drugs doesnt cause significant side effects, even at higher dosages. They can help to alleviate mild to moderate depression.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs as theyre commonly referred to, target only serotonin. These antidepressants prevent serotonin from getting absorbed back into neurons.
Consequently, this increases the brains supply of available serotonin, enhancing a persons mood and outlook on life.
The effect of SSRIs on anxiety is often described as turning down the volume on anxious thoughts.
It may have similar or higher effects to practicing mindfulness and participating in psychotherapy.
Apart from reducing physiological symptoms of depression and anxiety , SSRIs may also reduce psychological symptoms.
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Homeopathic Medicines For Fatigue With Muscle Ache
Gelsemium For Fatigue on Slight Exertion.Gelsemium is a homeopathic medicine used to treat fatigue and muscular weakness caused by the slightest exertion. Lack of muscular coordination with trembling and excessive weakness of all limbs, and general drowsiness and dullness are indicative of this medicine.
Arnica For Fatigue with Soreness.Arnica is a homeopathic medicine used to treat soreness caused by over-exertion. A sore, lame and bruised feeling in the limbs is present along with an inability to perform continuous active work.
Quick Brain Fog Fix: Natural Treatments & Remedies
Often, quick treatment for brain fog and mental fatigue is required when youre at work, at school, or just trying to be a more productive human. Lifestyle changes are always the best long-term route to maintain a clear mind. These changes include getting more restful natural sleep, eating healthier, and following a regular exercise routine.
With that said, sometimes life gets in the way. When youre always on the go, its common to grab fast food and a sugary drink in a pinch. Mix that with staying up too late the night before, and you have a recipe for cognitive disaster. Time constraints are the reason treating brain fog with herbal supplements is a convenient and efficient natural remedy for most people. Next time you need a quick cure for brain fog, give one of these supplements a try.
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Herbal Remedies For Depression And Anxiety
Herbal remedies have been used to treat depression and anxiety for centuries around the globe. Western societies, in particular, have moved away from traditional herbal treatments towards prescription medications. There are some proven herbal options that may be worth a try.
One in four women in the United States now takes a psychiatric medication.
According to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics , the rate of antidepressant use in this country among teens and adults increased by almost 400% between 19881994 and 20052008.
The federal governments health statisticians figure that about one in every 10 Americans takes an antidepressant. And by their reckoning, antidepressants were the third most common prescription medication taken by Americans in 20052008, the latest period during which the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected data on prescription drug use.
Here are a few other stand-out statistics from the report on antidepressants:
So is it a good thing that so many more Americans are taking antidepressants? Many mental health professionals would say, yes, because depression has been undertreated and because antidepressants are effective.
But there are also plenty of critics, as shown by this review in the New York Review of Books, who say the benefits have been overstated and that pharmaceutical company marketing is responsible for the surge in prescriptions.
2. SAM-e
What Do Antidepressant Medications Do
Antidepressant medications increase the activity of chemicals called neurotransmitters in the brain. Increasing the activity of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine seems to help lessen the symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, the brain is a very complex organ and the reasons why these drugs work are not yet fully understood.
We do know that these drugs help to relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety in up to 70 per cent of people who try them. This rate is even higher when people who dont get relief with one type of antidepressant try a second type.
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Looking After Someone Who Has Depression
If you’re close to someone with depression, their condition can affect you too. Your relationship, and family life in general, can be strained, and you might not know what to do or how to help.
Talking about the situation can help. Finding a support group, or talking to other people in a similar situation, can make it easier to cope. If the condition is causing difficulties in your relationship with your partner, you could contact a relationship counsellor who can talk things through with both of you.
When suffering from depression, men are less likely to ask for help than women. They’re also more likely to turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the symptoms.
Natural Remedies For Depression
1. Healthy and Well-Balanced Diet
You may be surprised to learn that your food choices can have a significant impact on your mood. Its key to eat foods that support neurotransmitter function, which are the brains messengers that control your mood, energy levels, appetite and many other processes in the body. Neurotransmitters are significantly influenced by the foods you put into your body.
Research including a 2018 study published in the journal Primary Care also shows that eating an anti-inflammatory diet, such as one that closely mimics the traditional Mediterranean diet, can reduce your risk for depression. When compared to other balanced diets including the Healthy Eating Index diet , the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet , and the Dietary Inflammatory Index diet, the study found that the risk of depression was reduced most with adherence to a healthy Mediterranean-type diet.
Eating healing foods can be transformative. Heres a breakdown of the whole, anti-inflammatory foods that should be part of your diet to prevent and treat depression:
that should be part of your diet to prevent and treat depression:
2. Limited or No Refined Carbohydrates and Sugars
To reduce depressive symptoms by supporting the health of your brain and balancing your hormones, avoid eating packaged and processed foods that are made with refined carbohydrates and sugars. Stick to real, whole foods that are in their natural forms.
3. Fish Oil
4. Probiotics
5. Vitamin D3
7. B-Complex
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What Happens If You Dont Respond To One Antidepressant
Its tough for many people to find the proper medication, and some never respond to standard antidepressants. Its estimated that only30 to 35 percent of people will respond well to their first antidepressants.
A range of different antidepressants is available to treat depression. Some medications may work, and others may not. In that case, changing remedies could be beneficial.
How Much Is Too Much
Your body filters out excess water-soluble vitamins , so its difficult to overconsume these. However, fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin D are stored in fat tissues and can be dangerous in excess. While there is no upper limit established for omega-3s, high doses may interact with some anticoagulant medications. You can ensure you arent exceeding the upper limits of any vitamin or mineral by running your supplements by a healthcare provider.
When it comes to other types of supplements like herbs and other compounds, safe amounts will vary and may depend on your health status and other supplements and medications you are taking. Its always best to discuss the dosing of any supplements with a healthcare provider first.
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Management Of Residual Fatigue In Depression
The management of residual fatigue in depression may be summarized in five steps:
1. Differential diagnosis.Excessive daytime sleepiness . EDS may be due to insufficient or unsatisfactory sleep . Asking about sleep quality and amount must be part of the interview with any depressed patient. It is important also to consider hangover from hypnotics, be it over the counter or prescribed . Finally, we must remember that many psychotropics, besides hypnotics and anxiolytics, may induce EDS. Causes of EDS are listed in Table 1.
Myth #: People With Ms And Depression Always Look And Act Depressed
Truth: Its important to note that depression in MS may look different than our typical notions and assumptions about depression, says Hughes. Sometimes, an individual with MS may experience depression as irritability, anger, not feeling like oneself and/or uncertainty about the future.
Symptoms of depression based on recognized diagnostic criteria include fatigue and difficulty concentrating, which overlap with symptoms of MS. Therefore, they are not always a good indicator that someone with MS is depressed, explains Hughes.
A physician might use a questionnaire to help identify signs of depression in MS patients. If a patient comes to the appointment with a family member, it can be helpful for the family member to share their observations and provide examples of specific behaviors. Keeping a daily diary to track the frequency and severity of mood symptoms can also be helpful, suggests Hughes.
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