Beat Depression

Misery doesn`t love company. It also doesn`t love sleeping well, or enjoying activities, or eating healthfully, or making hopeful plans. Misery is, well, miserable. And when sad, empty feelings continue for two weeks or more, you`re not just feeling miserably - you may be depressed.

For many women, depression is an all-too-familiar visitor. Women are twice as likely as men to have depressive episodes. While the condition responds to many treatments, it often can recur. Your important first step in dealing with depression is to see your primary healthcare provider. What happens next depends upon the severity of your symptoms (mild, moderate, or major), medical advice, and your choices for treatment.

1. Fish Oil Omega-3s, best known as the components in fish oil, are essential natural substances our bodies need for good health. We get omega-3s only through foods we eat or by taking them as dietary supplements, usually in capsule form.

2. Folate Depressed people often have low levels of folate, a B vitamin important for cell growth. Adult women should take in 400 micrograms (mcg) of folate daily, with pregnant women needing 600 mcg and nursing mothers, 500 mcg. Yet even if these amounts are consumed, some of our bodies don`t absorb or use folate well, resulting in deficiencies.

3. Light Therapy Originally used to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression linked to the dark days of winter is now showing year-round benefits for general depression. It looks effective for major depressive disorder, even if it`s not seasonally related. The light boxes studied in research provide 10,000 lux of bright light. You sit in front of the light (it`s angled above eye level) for about 20 to 30 minutes each day, in the morning.