Question:
I am attempting to gather info for a friend who has been diagnosed withclinical depression. He is currently on anti-depressives (don't know whichone). His psychiatrist has him taking stimulants to get him going duringthe day & tranquilizers to allow him to rest at night. He is interestedin exploring other more natural means. What types of alternative medicineare most successful in treating depression i.e., homeopathy, herbs, etc?

Any more information for me???

Answer: I strongly recommend the book Dealing With Depression Naturally, by SydBaumel (available in paperback by Keats Publishing -- check Amazon.comif you can't get it locally). The book helped substantially with my owndecision to treat my depression naturally.

Among other things, the book sensitized me to the fact that thefollowing common foods and drugs all tend to cause or exacerbatedepression (and I was taking most of them):

-alcohol-caffeine-cigarettes-stimulants-tranquilizers-sleeping pills

(plus a list of around 20 or 30 others that I can't remember)

I experienced a huge decrease in depression and anxiety when I quit allof those substances, plus my sleep cycle returned to normal within twoweeks. The book also suggested certain dietary changes and dietarysupplements which have helped -- for example, avoiding high carbohydratediets and getting a better balance of omega fatty acids (in my case, I'musing flaxseed oil for this second purpose).

The book covers a number of other topics such as poisoning from mercuryfillings, seasonal affective disorder, etc. And there is a chapter onpsychological counselling.

I have absolutely no association with the author or the publishingcompany -- my career is in computer science. I just think it's a greatbook.