Hi there. Last time I blogged I promised that I would discuss toxic chemicals in those that have had depression from a young age.

If you’ve had depression and other mental health conditions for a lot of your life, exposure to toxic chemicals at a young age or during utero (when you were in the womb) should be ruled out. I believe that this is especially important if you have no family history of depression or other mental illness.

Were you Exposed to Chemicals as a Baby or Child? Could it Be Causing Your Depression?

It is possible that as a baby or child you were exposed to a chemical that has affected the function of your brain, and therefore your mood ever since. Just like toxic chemicals can poison people and lead to death, cancer and infertility- toxins can also cause depression.

I suggest that you start by asking your family whether you could have been exposed to any toxic chemicals prior to the onset of your depression.

If possible, ask someone in your family if during your younger years you were exposed to a broken thermometer, handled liquid mercury, played in areas which were sprayed with pesticides, or whether your mother had dental procedures during her pregnancy with you? Were there any renovations being done on your home when you were a child? Could you have accidently eaten flakes of lead paint? Try to find out as much as you can about possible exposure to toxins at a young age.

Removing the Toxic Exposure Won’t Just Stop the Depression

This question is actually relevant to most depression sufferers that don’t have a family history of depression. The exposure to the chemical could have happened at any age. Sometimes it takes years for the chemical to affect you- and unfortunately just removing yourself from the source of the chemical isn’t always enough.

For example- there are some studies on men that did manganese welding for a job. They have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and hostility. Unfortunately, even 14 years after giving up their job of welding (and therefore not being exposed to the toxic chemical manganese) they still suffered from this mood problems.

There are some chemicals like heavy metals and pesticides that the body just can’t get rid of on its own. Your body may need some help.

We’ll leave it there for today. Go talk to your mother if possible, or other family members, and find out if you may have been exposed to any toxins in the womb, or as a child. And if you haven’t already think about when the symptoms of depression first started (even if just mild), and see if there is any correlation to a change in job, hobby, location, renovation, new furniture, or surgery.

Get curious- I’d love to hear what you discover.

All the best

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

Hi there. I’m glad that you could join me again today. We are now going to consider question number 7 in our 7 part selfhelp depression series. Could today’s question help reveal what the physical cause of your depression is? Find out with me.

Question Number 7: Is it possible that you have been exposed to a chemical or toxin which could be causing your depression?

Potential sources of toxins include:

1. Occupation: e.g. painter, builder, farmer, hairdresser, screenprinter, dentist or dental assistance.
2. Hobbies: e.g. painting, ceramic work, leather work.
3. Home: e.g. renovations (lead paint), new carpet, ‘leaky’ or moldy house.
4. Location (your home, work or school): heavy traffic (highway or busy street), vehicle idling area, dump site, farm(s), golf course, industrial plant(s), orchard, polluted lake / stream, nuclear power plant, hydro towers or other potential hazards.
5. Diet: e.g. aspartame artificial sweetener, fish (mercury or PCB contaminated.)
6. Medications, surgeries and/or dental procedures: e.g. oral contraceptive pill, breast implants, metal implants, amalgam (gray) fillings, root canal.

Here’s an Explanation for the Involvement of Toxins in Depression:

Toxic overload is one of the causes of depression and other mental health conditions that is often overlooked. It is possible that your depression has no psychological cause at all, but that a toxin (a chemical, a food additive, a medication, your amalgam fillings) is interfering with how your body and brain are functioning. When you went to your doctor with depression, were you asked what your occupation was, where you lived, or whether you lived in a ‘leaky or sick house’?

It’s been Known for a Long Time

One of the craziest things is that it’s been known for more than 300 years that psychiatric disorders can be caused by toxins, but this fact is often forgotten or overlooked by doctors. Mercury was used in the production of felt hats and the workers who were exposed to this toxin earned the name the ‘mad-hatters’. This was because of the psychiatric symptoms they displayed including irritability, anxiety, depression, and personality changes.

It’s also known today that exposure to other toxic chemicals including lead, pesticides, and industrial solvents can also lead to depression. These are often overlooked when you visit your doctor or psychologist complaining of depression.

Have you Been Exposed to Toxic Chemicals?

I encourage you to really look into and consider your potential exposure to toxic chemicals. Think specifically about the period of time before the onset of the depression. Is there a correlation between the deterioration of your health and a change such as a move, a new home, a new work location, renovations, new hobbies, or new furniture? Did you have a surgery, a dental procedure, or did you start taking the oral contraceptive pill?

Don’t just brush these off as silly or nonsense; really think about the possibility of your exposure to toxins. Toxins as a cause of depression are real and the condition is treatable.

I suggest that over the next couple of days you think about your work, your hobbies, your location, your food, your surgeries- and whether you could be exposed to toxic chemicals through them. You’d be surprised! I’ve found out that even office workers can be exposed to toxic chemicals when they work in the same vicinity to fax machines and photocopiers. You may also be exposed to chemicals in your own home on a daily basis.

It’s Not that Easy

To be honest, it’s not that easy determining whether toxins are causing your depression – that is unless you know of the types of toxins and how you can be exposed to them. In my book I’ve got a complete chapter devoted to this topic- the types of symptoms you may experience from toxic overload, the chemicals that are known to cause depression, how you may be exposed to them (occupations, locations, renovations…), and once you’ve found out what the likely chemicals are that are causing your depression, I’ll teach you how to detox.

In the next blog I’m going to discuss why you need to think about toxic chemicals if you’ve suffered from Depression all your life- or from a young age. I’ll talk to you then. Bye for now.

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