The general feeling that talk therapy does not work is wide spread, and for very good reasons.
Psychologists like us to believe that the �psychological experiences� of depression are the causes of depression. In other words that the depressive thoughts of depression are the reason why we are depressed. Hence there is the assumption that you can �talk yourself� out of depression. It seems to me that they are confusing symptoms for causes.
The drug therapy approach believe that depression is really due to some biochemical imbalance that can be corrected by rebalancing it with the use of drugs. But the question �why the biochemical imbalance�, is never asked, because most doctors do not know why people become depressed or at least cannot explain it. Besides drug therapy does not to pretend to cure depression, you take drugs like you take drugs for diabetes for the rest of your life. If indeed depression is a physical disease, then, of course, we cannot expect talk therapy to cure it.
Let us start with some reasons why some people become depressed, as a very plausible hypothesis.
Most depressed people have heard of the antidepressant activities of sam-e. The body can produce s-adenosylmethionine (sam-e) from methionine - an important essential amino acid that we must obtain from food. When methionine combines with a molecule of energy - adenosinetriphosphate (atp) - it becomes sam-e. The antidepressant effect of sam-e is due to the fact that it contains a methyl group (ch3), which if donated to another chemical changes the structure and function of that chemical. Methylation is very important in the synthesis of many neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and so on.
The molecule of energy (atp) is ultimately derived from glucose, following a long chain of biochemical reactions (called glycolysis) that has atp as its end product with co2 and h2o as by-products.
Thus if want to produce sam-e we need at least sufficient amounts of methionine and atp. But we also need a host of vitamins and minerals to produce the various neurotransmitters. Serotonin - our happiness hormone, said to be in short supply in depression - is produced from tryptophan, another essential amino acid found in food - with the help of vitamin b6 (pyridoxine) and magnesium. Thus if we are deficient in vitamin b6 and/or magnesium, we cannot produce serotonin. And if we cannot produce serotonin we cannot produce melatonin - our sleeping hormone - which is derived from serotonin, also via a vitamin b6 dependent enzyme.
When taking antidepressant medication the body will stop producing the neurotransmitters that are in oversupply. This is done by inactivating an enzyme (pyridoxal kinase) that converts vitamin b6 from food into its active form (pyridoxal-5-phosphate (p5p)). P5p is required in the synthesis of many neurotransmitters.
Thus one effect is that he natural production of serotonin has been interrupted and that may also affect our appetite centres, which are dependent on serotonin. Hence this explains some of the side effects of ad medications such as weight gain.
The biochemical aspect of depression can be and is very complex. One wonders how humans have remained free of depression for such long time, without knowing anything about biochemistry. The reason is that the body is wiser, than our brains. It knows exactly what substances in food are required to synthesize the innumerable enzymes, co-enzymes, vitamins and minerals to produce the right neurotransmitters.
Thus we may be able to simplify the problem of depression by saying that the answer and solution lies in a natural diet.
We could reduce the whole problem of depression by claiming that it is a disease of energy production.
We know that the brain relies solely on glucose as its only source of energy. In fact the brain, representing 2% of body weight, requires about 70-80 per cent of all available glucose in the body whether we are awake of asleep.
In our high sugar consuming society it would be natural to believe that we should not have any problems ingesting adequate sources of biological energy. Yet, the facts point in the opposite direction.
Excess sugar consumption may lead to insulin resistance and ultimately to diabetes.
Studies have found that most depressed people have insulin resistance. This means that receptors for insulin fail to properly push glucose across cell membranes. This may result in an increase of blood sugar levels, that trigger more release of insulin (hyperinsulinism).
This in turn may cause a steep fall in blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia), which is seen as a threat to the steady energy supply to the brain. In a hypoglycemic dip, the brain will send stress hormone messages to the adrenal gland to pour adrenaline into the system. Adrenaline functions to convert sugar stores in the body (glycogen) back into glucose, so as to feed the brain again.
The internally driven excess adrenaline production is said to be the major cause of those �psychological experiences� accompanying mental illness, such as depression, anxiety attacks, phobias, wild mood swings, insomnia, nervousness, heart palpitations, impulsive behaviour, anger outbursts and may drive some people to self-medicate themselves with alcohol and drugs.
Thus to simplify the treatment for depression, the best way to deal with it is to adopt the hypoglycemic diet. This diet, which is a natural diet, high in good quality proteins, low in refined carbohydrates, taken in frequent snacks and supplemented with various vitamins an minerals -known to be deficient or in great demand - aims at supplying the body with all the ingredients to synthesize the right amounts of neurotransmitters, normalize blood sugar levels as well as insulin and stress hormone levels.
This treatment is as free as sunshine and rain-water and places greater control of treatment in the hands of patients themselves. However, this is not say that you should change treatment without the help of your doctor or counsellor. Withdrawal of drugs is not an easy matter. Drugs may have created a different biochemistry, and it requires a long time for the body to readapt to a drugless environment.
Please familiarize yourself with the nutritional aspects of depression and then discuss with your therapist.
The body runs the brain, and the brain runs the mind.
Jurriaan plesman
