The biochemical path from stress to anxiety to depression is becoming clearer and clearer. For some people-- though not for everyone-- the path begins with a gene variant that predisposes them to be hyper-sensitive to stress. That sensitivity starts a domino effect of neuro-endocrinological degeneration, commonly marked by biochemical processes like elevated cortisol levels, elevated c-reactive protein, and elevated homocysteine.
These biological descriptions are not vague analogues to psychological conditions. This aberrant biochemistry results in serious physical damage to the brain and body. For some of these people- usually ones with major depression- these aberrant biochemical processes are related to an overactive brain circuit.
And for many people this process co-exists with metabolic syndrome, which can end in diabetes, heart disease, and death.
In psychological terms, we call this process of degeneration anxiety and depression.
For some people, this path is more like a ski run. They speed downhill in weeks or months. For others, it seems to take a lifetime. But for everyone, at every point on this path, there is a way out... a way to take another path.
No doubt modern psychopharmacology can make a positive contribution here. But the antidepressants are at best only an intervention, not a cure. They are one way off the path, not a path in themselves. Aside from the awful side effects, relapse rates for depressed patients after going off antidepressants are as high as 80%.
Because of the political and economic realities of our culture, psychopharmacueticals have become the mainstream solution to an extremely complex set of biochemical and psychological problems. They simply are not up to the task. Their use is akin to swatting a swarm of locusts with a baseball bat.
However, a wide range of alternative interventions and long-term treatments have been scientifically demonstrated to work.
Often, supporters of alternative and complimentary medicine like to point out that these solutions-- the kind of treatments this website presents-- have been proven to be as effective as modern antidepressants.
That's true, but it's not that much to brag about. Remember, most antidepressants aren't much better than placebos.
Often alternative treatments for anxiety and depression can be reasonably presented as superior to anti-depressants. That's true too, but mostly because the side effects of anti-depressants are so awful, and the expense is so unconscionable.
What we can brag about- what really makes a long-term difference for people with anxiety and depression- is that someone who suffers from these disorders can combine scientifically supported alternative treatments into a reasonable regime... a personal discipline that is not simply a way off the degenerative biochemical path... but that actually creates a new path, a new way of living, a way of life that actually works.
The basics usually involve regular exercise, and a reasonable diet, and special nutriceutical support, combined with some form of daily relaxation or meditation, and some cognitive behavioral therapy to handle negative thoughts. The results are better when working with professionals- psychologists who understand these alternatives, nutritionists, and other alternative healthcare practitioners. Or when working with specialized programs designed to implement this kind of change.
Structure helps. Dedication helps. Persistence helps. Change is not easy, but the alternatives are enduring a drugged life or a degenerative condition that usually results in misery or death.
Without question, change is not easy, but it does come... as it has for millions who have gotten off the path permanently. What you get when you step off the path and blaze an alternative trail is nothing less than a new life.
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