DEPRESSION

A Natural Way to Approach Depression & Anxiety

How would you assess a patient with Depression & Anxiety?

Assessing Depression & Anxiety can be done predominantly through:

• • • • • Establishing a timeline in the patient’s life;
        • Questions focusing on stressors, how you cope with stress, significant events in their life;
        • An overall view of how their body is working helps to create a picture of their health status;
        • Another good tool to use is the mood appraisal questionnaire, as it helps the practitioner to consider specific nutritional deficiencies as the underlying cause as well as helps the patient with clarity in their condition.

How can Naturopathy help a patient suffering with Depression & Anxiety?

Naturopathy can help bring the patient’s nervous system and overall mood back to optimal status by enhancing the natural pathways instead of altering them in the body like conventional medicine tends to do (with antidepressants/antianxiety/mood stabilizers). Improving and modulating the way the body responds to stress and correcting hormonal/nutritional imbalances for the patient is a key feature in Naturopathy treatment. Correcting these imbalances can decrease and eliminate the need for medications.

What do you do for a patient suffering from Depression & Anxiety? What are the steps you would take?

• • • • • Regulate and Improve Mood.
        • Regulate the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) as is altered in depression and stressful life events.
        • Improve nutritional status.
        • Modulate body’s response to stressors in life and improve their coping strategies.
        • Improve quality of life and vital health.
        • Referral to a councillor.

How often would someone have to visit you to see improvements from their condition?

For the first 3 weeks, once a week and then once every 3 weeks, thereafter. Most patients depending on their condition would see improvement within the first 2 weeks.

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