Depression Tip: Mark Your Calendar

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

Did you take your anti-depressant today?

Did you take it yesterday and the day before that?

Can you even remember?

Depression can create such a fog that we can’t remember what we did yesterday, let alone if we took our anti-depressant.

Oftentimes patients are having unnecessary mood swings because they either:

A. Are so depressed they can’t even take it for whatever reason.

Or

B. “I’m feeling better, so I just take it when I feel like I need it.”

Now both of these scenarios can be improved upon with a little organization. Let’s mark our calenders!

First of all, if you fall in category A, you need to talk to your doctor about a more aggressive treatment plan. If you fall in to category B, you need to remember that regardless if you are taking natural or prescription meds for depression, that overall you will feel better with consistency, and consistency means marking the calendar and taking the prescribed supplements or drugs DAILY.

The problem with this inconsistent paradigm of thinking is that most antidepressants have a half life of several days, so they tend to stay in your system even if you aren’t taking them. If you feel fine one day and decide to skip it, it this choice likely won’t have a significant impact until the drug cycles out of your system several days later, when you are depressed, taking your anti-depressant, and waiting for it to “kick in” again.

If you are feeling better, you can talk to your doctor about decreasing your prescription meds. Maybe you just need a half dose. Or maybe it is time to titrate off them and try some natural medicines for depression as I discussed in my article “The Nine Best Natural Medicines for Depression” to help provide simple depression prevention, aka daily maintenance.

St.John’s Wort was shown to be just as efficacious as standard anti-depressants, yet with fewer side effects (be cautious when combining with MANY prescription drugs though, as the drug metabolizes them at a faster rate…esp birth control pills, be careful unless you want to name your kid John.)

I know you are depressed, so give yourself a sticker for sticking to your regime consistently, everything feels like a chore when depressed.

Mark it on the calendar, or find your own system, but by all means make sure you are taking a second to keep track of your depression meds. The best way to stay out of the hole is to make sure there is not a hole in your preventive plan for depression.

Read More: Depression Category.

Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD is a licensed Naturopathic Medical Doctor at Fountain Hills Naturopathic Medicine 16719 E Palisades Blvd, Suite 205, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268.

She believes we should utilize natural medicines to treat the root cause of disease rather than just treating symptoms, as symptoms are a message of imbalance sent from the body and will persist until they are properly addressed.

For appointments please visit http://FHnaturopathic.com for more information about Naturopathic Medicine services.
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