Most people go through periods of feeling down, but when you’re depressed you feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days. Some people think depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition. They’re wrong – it is a real illness with real symptoms. Depression isn’t a sign of weakness or something you can “snap out of” by “pulling yourself together”.
The good news is that with the right treatment and support, most people with depression can make a full recovery.
Depression affects people in different ways and can cause a wide variety of symptoms. They range from lasting feelings of unhappiness and hopelessness, to losing interest in the things you used to enjoy and feeling very tearful. Many people with depression also have symptoms of anxiety. There can be physical symptoms too, such as feeling constantly tired, sleeping badly, having no appetite or sex drive, and various aches and pains. The symptoms of depression range from mild to severe. At its mildest, you may simply feel persistently low in spirit, while severe depression can make you feel suicidal, that life is no longer worth living.
Most people experience feelings of stress, unhappiness or anxiety during difficult times. A low mood may improve after a short period of time, rather than being a sign of depression. Read more about low mood and depression.
Acupuncture for Depression
When you visit me as your practioner and you describe a complex array of symptoms, physical, mental and emotional, from a Chinese Medicine perspective these can often make sense and offer treatment as a whole, rather then requiring a table for X and another table for Y.
In Chinese Medicine, each person is seen as unique. ‘Depression’ is such a broad term that offering general advice is difficult. It is far easier to offer advice when I can hear what exactly makes you feel depressed and try to get a sense of what it is that actually makes you recognise that you are depressed. For every sufferer this will be unique and different.
Acupuncture, Aromatherapy oils, Cupping and Kore Therapy work brilliantly for Depression.