Question Number 3: Do you always have feelings of depression, or are there days or hours during the day that you feel good?
- Are the depressive symptoms constant?
- Do they fluctuate over the day?
- Do they fluctuate over a week or month?
- Do you feel better or worse in the morning, afternoon or at night?
- Are there some things that trigger the depressive feelings that you are aware of now? (e.g. stress, physical exertion, foods.)
If the depressive feelings you have are not always there and you feel good some of the time, it means that we can find ways to extend these periods of time – so that you’re always feeling well. Let’s now take a look at a few different scenarios.
Women whose depression in worse 1-2 weeks of the month
If you’re a woman and you have good weeks and bad weeks –perhaps in a cyclical manner – addressing imbalances of female sex hormones could be the answer for you. Many women aren’t aware of how their hormones and their menstrual cycle affect their mood.
If your depression, irritability, and/or anxiety are worse in the week before your menstruation is due, it could indicate that you have a progesterone deficiency. On the other hand, if your depression is especially bad during your menstrual bleed (your period) you may have an estrogen deficiency.
It is known that both progesterone and estrogen imbalances can cause depression, and research shows that by treating these imbalances that depression can be resolved. One particular study demonstrated that 68% of women with major depression, dysthymic disorder, or minor depressive disorder were ‘cured’ (had their depression go into remission) when given an appropriate natural hormone medication.
I have recently written an article for women with depression that discusses how to keep a diary that follows their mood and their menstrual cycle. If you’re interested you can access it here. When you purchase a copy of my book on the biochemical causes of depression, you get a free bonus mood and menstrual cycle diary. In it you can record details about your mood and menstrual cycle, and it gives you full instructions on how to interpret what you find. My book has a complete chapter on hormonal imbalances in women, the symptoms, how to diagnose them, and how to treat them with herbs, and natural hormones.
People whose depression fluctuates throughout the day
If your mood fluctuates on a daily basis, it indicates that there could be food sensitivities, or hormonal triggers to your depression. Check out the table below to see what this could mean. In my next blog post I’m going to discuss how food allergies and other reactions to food can cause depression.
Unsure if there is a pattern to your depression?
If you’re not able to see any trend in the patterns of your mood right now, I suggest that you keep a diary. Become more aware of your body, how you feel, and if there are any triggers or patterns to your mood.
I’ll be back in a few days to discuss adverse reactions to food and how they can cause depression. See you then.
Here’s to your depression free life!
Janelle
Dr Janelle Sinclair
To download a free report which discusses ALL of the 7 Self help Depression questions (and how to interpret them) visit http://www.breakingfreefromdepression.com
| Physical or Biochemical Imbalance to Investigate Further | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women: 1-2 weeks of the month I feel worse | Hormonal changes during your monthly cycle can trigger depression, anxiety and irritability. | Chapter 8: Female Hormone Deficiencies |
| Some days I feel good, others I feel bad. My mood fluctuates over the day. I can feel good and then something happens and I can just ‘flip.’ | Since your mood is not constant, it shows that there may be triggers to your depression. Potential causes include food sensitivities, low blood sugar (hypoglycemia,) and adrenal imbalances. | Chapter 7: Adrenal Imbalances Chapter 10: Reactive Hypoglycemia Chapter 12: Food Allergies and Sensitivities |
| My mood seems to be made worse by stress. | Stress weakens the body’s adrenal glands whose role it is to respond to and deal with stress. When the adrenal glands get worn out depression can result. | Chapter 3: The Mauve Factor Chapter 7: Adrenal Imbalances |
| My depression is constant. | If your depression is something that you feel at all moments of the day, every day of the month, it doesn’t tell us what biochemical cause is responsible for your depression, but it does exclude reactive hypoglycemia. | |
| I feel worn out and tired in the morning. I feel more myself and have more energy at night. | Stress weakens the body’s adrenal glands whose role it is to respond to and deal with stress. When the adrenal glands get worn out depression can result. Individuals with worn out adrenals find it hard to get going in the morning, whilst at night they often have more energy. | Chapter 7: Adrenal Imbalances |
| I often feel worse 1-3 hours after a meal. | If within three hours of eating your symptoms of depression or anxiety flare up, this could indicate low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) or food sensitivities – both of which could cause depression. | Chapter 10: Reactive Hypoglycemia Chapter 12: Food Allergies and Sensitivities |
| I can have one day which is great and I do heaps of stuff (I push myself), but then the next day I crash. | Stress weakens the body’s adrenal glands whose role it is to respond to and deal with stress. When the adrenal glands get worn out depression can result. For some individuals their adrenal glands will work one day (and they will feel good), but not the next (they will feel fatigued and often depressed.) | Chapter 7: Adrenal Imbalances |
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