What is DEPRESSION | Non-Addictive Answers for DEPRESSION | Herbal Remedy for DEPRESSION
From anxiety springs depression which, some say, is like a great black beast that dogs your footsteps everywhere you go. To other it is heavy black bird hunched immovably on your shoulder. Some people cure it with sleep and others by taking a bottle of whisky beneath the table. For those who have not suffered it there is no way to describe the mood of meaningless black despair.
Minor despair or glumness of the spirit can be mitigated however. Often it is as a result of a vitamin B (particularly B6) deficiency or it may be an allergy which triggers an unhappy reaction. Some people suffer from acute depression after taking antibiotics. If you realize that what appeared to be only a bad case of ‘down in the dumps’ is becoming fearsome find someone to chat to. Do not take tranquillizers for they are not the answer.
Non-Addictive Answers for DEPRESSION
A brisk walk before breakfast and meditation are both well worth making time for, and so is a warm bath at night using any one of the essential oils suggested to soothe Anexiety.
Warm milk and honey with a dash of cinnamon: This is the best drink to take at night both to help you relax and to stave off insomnia.
Honey: Take by the spoonful or in hot water whenever tired and low.
Hop tea: Three hop cones or heads in 1 cup of boiling water taken the moment you begin to feel excessively tense is a marvelous remedy for anxiety and insomnia.
A Tea to Soothe and Heal the Troubled spirit
25g(1oz) each dried camomile flowers, linden blossom (lime flowers),
hihiscus blossoms and marigold flowers
15g (½oz) each dried peppermint leaves and vervain
1 teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds
100g(40z) Lapsang Souchong tea
Mix all the ingredients together and store in a dark airtight container. Use 1 teaspoon to 300ml (½pint) of boiling water in a tea pot and leave to stand for five minutes before straining and serving with a slice of lemon and 1 teaspoon of honey if liked. This tea calms turmoil and anxiety and also helps to clear a fuzzy head and upset tummy. One cup morning and night will sustain a feeling of well-being.
A Tea to Soothe the Nerves
1 teaspoon each grated dried valerian root and dried mint
½ teaspoon each dried camomile and lavender flowers
600ml(1 pint) boiling water
Infuse the dry ingredients in the water for 15 minutes then strain and take 1 glass three times a day for one week only.
Two tonic teas to take when feeling low: Sip either 2 teaspoons of dandelion and 1 of basil infused in 600ml(1 pint) of boiling water or 2 teaspoons each of nettle, basil and Melissa infused in 600ml(1 pint) of boiling water.
A Tonic to Relieve Stress, Anxiety and Debility
1 tablespoon each fresh dandelion and nettle tops
1 teaspoon each fresh blackcurrant and borage leaves
600ml(1 pint) of boiling water
Steep the greenery in the water for five minutes. Strain and drink with lemon and honey.
A good healthy breakfast: Oats are particularly strengthening and calm the nerves, making them a very good breakfast for youngsters who are taking exams. Take 1 tablespoon of raw oats, mix with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 3 tablespoon of plain live yoghurt, 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 well-washed grated apple and a few chopped nuts. Oats can also of course be eaten as porridge. If you cannot get your offspring to eat breakfast get them to take a handful of bar of oaty health food with them to school. Muesli is another excellent breakfast and snack food.
The Nice breakfast Food
450g(1 lb) porridge oats
450g(1 lb) fat juicy raisins
225g(8oz) wheatflakes
100g(4oz) wheatgerm
100g(4oz) mixed chopped nuts(not peanuts)
100g(4oz) crushed dried banana chips
100g(4oz) sesame seeds
50g(20z) pumpkin seeds
50g(2oz) sunflower seeds
Mix all the ingredients together and serve with chopped fresh fruit, stewed dried fruit, yoghurt or milk. This makes enough to last a family several weeks.
Flapjack: There are many really good recipes using oats, honey, dates, walnuts and so on. Not only and in every possible way is flapjack preferable to jam doughnuts but it is also an easily carried form of pure goodness – nourishing, sustaining and one of the few snacks to ne recommended for eating before bed. Flapjack helps insomniacs and reduces the chance of nightmares, especially in children.
Apple cider vinegar and honey: Take 1 tablespoon of vinegar in a small wineglass of warm water with a little honey, first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Orange juice: Drink orange juice each morning, especially if it is made fresh using the whole fruit. There is something particularly soothing in taking the time to make your own at breakfast each day.
Rosemary and sage: Use plenty of these herbs in cooking and drink either in a herbal tea.
Chervil: Use it in salads for it is reputed to brighten the spirit.
Walnuts: It was believed that their convoluted shape resembled, therefore must be helpful to, a poorly and fatigued brain. So eat plenty of them.
Herbal teas: Infuse 1 teaspoon of any of the following in 1 cup of boiling water: Camomile, lemon balm, catnip, vervain, valerian.
Lavender: Place a lavender pillow beneath the head at night.
Marigolds: Grow pots of this bright flower on windowsill and patio. It gladdens the eye and cheers the spirit.