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I bought some St. John's Wort yesterday and I'm going to take it for a month and see how it works out.
What set this off is that I visited my daughter at her college on Thursday and Friday, and I actually sat in one of her classes (It was a lecture hall, and I'm not sure the Prof noticed I was there--or at least pretended not to, because I'm sure my 50-something self stuck out amongst the 20-something fetuses, most of whom appeared hungover.)
It was a neuroscience class, and the topic was controversies over medication for depression. He showed a clip from 20/20 or 60 minutes that appeared to be from the late 1990's and it was all about St. John's wort and how it seemed to help mild-to-moderate depression, although not severe depression at all. I would say my current state falls into the mild-to-moderate area. I can function, but the black cloud is always with me. The segment, which I'd never seen before, talked about the plant and its history and how its usage for mild-to-moderate depression is suppressed by the pharmaceutical industry.
The other video he showed was about the placebo effect vs. real depression medication. Also very interesting. Sometimes, even when people KNOW they are on a placebo, they will get better.
Anyway, it was fun to go to school for an hour, and I decided to give St. John's wort a try. I'll report back. But--what if it works and it's only the placebo effect???
And whether it is working because St. Johs Wort is effective or because of the placebo effect, does it really matter? As long as you get results. As the expression goes "whatever works"!
Good luck. I will be interested to know your results.
I bought some St. John's Wort yesterday and I'm going to take it for a month and see how it works out.
What set this off is that I visited my daughter at her college on Thursday and Friday, and I actually sat in one of her classes (It was a lecture hall, and I'm not sure the Prof noticed I was there--or at least pretended not to, because I'm sure my 50-something self stuck out amongst the 20-something fetuses, most of whom appeared hungover.)
It was a neuroscience class, and the topic was controversies over medication for depression. He showed a clip from 20/20 or 60 minutes that appeared to be from the late 1990's and it was all about St. John's wort and how it seemed to help mild-to-moderate depression, although not severe depression at all. I would say my current state falls into the mild-to-moderate area. I can function, but the black cloud is always with me. The segment, which I'd never seen before, talked about the plant and its history and how its usage for mild-to-moderate depression is suppressed by the pharmaceutical industry.
The other video he showed was about the placebo effect vs. real depression medication. Also very interesting. Sometimes, even when people KNOW they are on a placebo, they will get better.
Anyway, it was fun to go to school for an hour, and I decided to give St. John's wort a try. I'll report back. But--what if it works and it's only the placebo effect???
First off, it's great that you're taking a natural supplement that can help w/ your depression. I hope it helps; Gotu Kola is also a good supplement to take.
Now for the second point. When you realize how many people are addicted to antidepressants it becomes crystal clear why the pharmaceutical companies & even the medical community are definitely not too thrilled when people enlighten themselves & take a holistic approach to their health. Think of the billions of dollars they're making, on Xanax, Zoloft, etc. It's outrageous. I hope people wake up to what they're putting into their systems.
MQ, I'm with the poster who says if it's the placebo effect, who cares? Whatever works. A thing to keep in mind though--the placebo effect can harm as well as heal. You can have placebo side-effects as well. I just learned that this past month in a book.
I read a book in December called Mood Cure by Julia Ross, which I highly recommend and she gives several options for depression treatments that are natural and SJW is one of them. Studies have shown that it works at least as well as prozac. If this doesn't work for you, don't be discouraged as she also gives the names of supplements that she recommends even more than SJW. She says that if you take SJW, you will probably need to take it 2x a day or more, since it will elevate your mood w/in 15 minutes but will be gone sooner too.
What's interesting about this book though is that she talks about different kinds of depression and low serotonin is only one of them. In my case, I fit the low dopamine profile better, and this may be why anti-depressants don't work for many people--because they're fine on serotonin but are low on other neurotransmitters. The best thing about the amino acid supplements is that they actually help your body build the neurotransmitters you need, rather than stop your body from eliminating the old used up ones you had.
It's not an instant cure but I am feeling much better and more social than I was when I read the book, but to be fair that may be due to other factors as well. Time will tell.
I have always been somewhat skeptical of psycho-tropic medication. There is no real bllod test that can define whether or not a medication is helping or not. Yes, people get better taking meds, but is it the therapy that is facilitating the change?
There is also the 5-HTP which is supposed to be a mood enhancer as well.
You have to be careful tho,because all these so called "natural" remedies are not always safe either.
They can be just as toxic to liver,etc.
Greenchili
Read up on the side effects of Paxil, Xanax, etc. I've always believed in investigating anything you're going to put into your body. The small list of side effects w/ natural supplements is something I'll take my chances on.
I'm never going to be hooked on prescription meds, like so many people I personally know are.
Just be careful about your dosage, and any medications you're also taking, in addition to the supplement. St. John's Wort is known to cause significant adverse reactions when combined with certain medications.
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