Newbie - HELP! Depression/St. Johnswort

[Guest guest]

(QUESTION is at the bottom of this post).

 

Hello, All. My name is Rose, I'm 54, I live in rural upstate New York with husband and six cats. I'm a professional tarot reader.

 

I've suffered from Clinical Depression for the last dozen years, went to therapy, received that diagnosis, plus Generalized Anxiety Disorder and PTSD (longstanding child abuse). The severity of the depression waxes and wanes and right now it's on the increase. AFter leading an active life, I ended up taking the geographical cure to rural America, and haven't stopped moving since. We've moved six times in about as many years. (By the way, the georaphical cure doesn't work. It's never better "over there.")

 

I've tried Paxil - low dose did zero; higher dose gave me the willies. I bolted! No more drugs. Enough already!

 

I tried the diet approach - went vegan for six months, no sugar, 90% organically grown - felt great, never better - then bam! Depression! Went on a less extreme diet, mixing food groups, still no real change. Exercise seems to help, but I don't stay on it long enough. I could go on...

 

Methinks the PTSD is more the issue than the other diagnoses, but I'm sure they're all intertwined.

 

QUESTION: Anyway, I'd like to start on St. Johnswort. I know a quality preparation is everything, so I'll certainly look for that. Are there any other herbs/preparations that could help? What about Gotu Kola, etc.

 

Help is greatly appreciated!

 

Rose

[Guest guest]

Hi Rose:

 

The name's Sara; we have some similar issues and I truly sympathize with

your struggle. I'm sure the list will be a great help to you; these

people are wonderfully honest, supportive and candid and they've done

wonders for me simply by being so!

 

What I can tell you (which isn't much, but I can vouch for its

sincerity): Definitely, if you don't already, do breathing exercises and

do them all the time. They didn't stop me from having depressive

moments/days/etc., but they did lessen the intensity of it somewhat and

allow me to get control of myself before I do something to make me truly

miserable (like break something or alienate my husband). Two of my

favorite breathing exercises, for you or anybody who'd like them, are

written out below.

 

Secondly, St. John's Wort is super-easy to grow. It likes poor soil and

does very well in cool weather (it grows like gangbusters in Michigan!).

So for the best quality and a little fun besides, I'd recommend growing

your own. The seeds are cheap and the flowers are pretty; what can you

lose? (If you'd like the name of a place where you can mail-order

organic seeds of this and some other medicinal herbs, all affordable and

grown on a local farm in Virgina, just mail me privately and I'll fork it

over.)

 

2 breathing exercises that do a great job " downshifting " active depression:

 

- The Osteopathic Zen Breath: (That's what I call it, because it was

recommended by an osteopath, but it just so happens to be a Buddhist

meditative posture too.) Stand legs planted shoulder-width, arms

extended wide. Do not lock your elbows or knees. Stare straight ahead.

Turn your left hand palm-up and your right palm-down. Now breathe

normally--try to take deep, slow breaths but don't push it--until you

can't hold your arms out anymore. Bring your arms all the way up so your

fingers touch and then put them down (this is so your back doesn't

cramp). Do this at least once a day for circulation, craniosacral flow

and general well-being. (Doing it in front of a nice painting, in the

fresh air or in a sunbeam has added anti-depressive benefits!) I can't

explain why or how, but doing this actually " cured " a lot of minor

symptoms I had on the side that were aggravating my depression; I can't

recommend it enough!

 

- The Chill The $@#! Out Breath: This is for when you're freaking,

there's that knot in your chest, you're going to kill or break the next

thing your eyes lock on, and you can't stamp down the urge to scream and

cry endlessly, for when it just keeps coming back up like emotional puke.

Breath in through your nose, hard enough to make a noise, for a count of

FOUR. Hold the breath for a count of SEVEN, and then let it out with a

loud hiss through your mouth for a count of EIGHT. Keep doing this, and

concentrate on doing it as hard as you can, for at least a minute. When

your mind tries to go back to pissing you off, try slowing down your

counting--keep the 4,7,8 ratio but try to do it a little slower each

time. Like I said, this won't make the bigger problem go away, but it's

really helped me keep it from getting out of control or overly painful.

 

Hope this helps -- best of luck to ya!

 

Sara Thustra

 

 

When you have nothing better to do, visit Bored.com at http://www.bored.com

[Guest guest]

Hi Sara

 

Idiotic question time: How do you use St. Johnswort?

 

Yvonne

 

-

tv_is_a_drug

herbal remedies

Tuesday, April 30, 2002 4:38 PM

Re: [herbal remedies] Newbie - HELP! Depression/St. Johnswort

Hi Rose:The name's Sara; we have some similar issues and I truly sympathize withyour struggle. I'm sure the list will be a great help to you; thesepeople are wonderfully honest, supportive and candid and they've donewonders for me simply by being so! What I can tell you (which isn't much, but I can vouch for itssincerity): Definitely, if you don't already, do breathing exercises and do them all the time. They didn't stop me from having depressivemoments/days/etc., but they did lessen the intensity of it somewhat andallow me to get control of myself before I do something to make me trulymiserable (like break something or alienate my husband). Two of myfavorite breathing exercises, for you or anybody who'd like them, arewritten out below. Secondly, St. John's Wort is super-easy to grow. It likes poor soil anddoes very well in cool weather (it grows like gangbusters in Michigan!). So for the best quality and a little fun besides, I'd recommend growingyour own. The seeds are cheap and the flowers are pretty; what can youlose? (If you'd like the name of a place where you can mail-orderorganic seeds of this and some other medicinal herbs, all affordable andgrown on a local farm in Virgina, just mail me privately and I'll fork it over.)2 breathing exercises that do a great job "downshifting" active depression:- The Osteopathic Zen Breath: (That's what I call it, because it wasrecommended by an osteopath, but it just so happens to be a Buddhistmeditative posture too.) Stand legs planted shoulder-width, armsextended wide. Do not lock your elbows or knees. Stare straight ahead. Turn your left hand palm-up and your right palm-down. Now breathenormally--try to take deep, slow breaths but don't push it--until youcan't hold your arms out anymore. Bring your arms all the way up so your fingers touch and then put them down (this is so your back doesn'tcramp). Do this at least once a day for circulation, craniosacral flowand general well-being. (Doing it in front of a nice painting, in thefresh air or in a sunbeam has added anti-depressive benefits!) I can'texplain why or how, but doing this actually "cured" a lot of minorsymptoms I had on the side that were aggravating my depression; I can'trecommend it enough!- The Chill The $@#! Out Breath: This is for when you're freaking,there's that knot in your chest, you're going to kill or break the nextthing your eyes lock on, and you can't stamp down the urge to scream andcry endlessly, for when it just keeps coming back up like emotional puke. Breath in through your nose, hard enough to make a noise, for a count ofFOUR. Hold the breath for a count of SEVEN, and then let it out with aloud hiss through your mouth for a count of EIGHT. Keep doing this, andconcentrate on doing it as hard as you can, for at least a minute. Whenyour mind tries to go back to pissing you off, try slowing down yourcounting--keep the 4,7,8 ratio but try to do it a little slower eachtime. Like I said, this won't make the bigger problem go away, but it'sreally helped me keep it from getting out of control or overly painful.Hope this helps -- best of luck to ya!Sara Thustra When you have nothing better to do, visit Bored.com at http://www.bored.comFederal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire. 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy. 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and toprescribe for your own health. We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as they behave themselves. Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members, you are agreeing to be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members free of any liability. Dr. Ian ShillingtonDoctor of NaturopathyDr.IanShillington

[Guest guest]

>

> 2 breathing exercises that do a great job " downshifting " active depression:

 

These triggered me remembering things I have taught people for years.

 

One your body can be fooled very easily. It does not know you are anything

 

so if you will stand up straight and raise you chest a bit then look up

where the ceiling meets the wall and smilling (one of those big shit eating

grins you will stopp feeling depressed almost immdeiately

 

also Spearmint in a bag if you breath it will help.

 

Zip

 

The Dragonmaster

Heaven on Earth

 

dragonmasterzip

 

He who rules truly serves and she who serves truly rules.