Mood Change Medicine
Stress
Plant Valium: Is Valerian Effective for Anxiety?
Some studies show valerian is as effective as Valium and others show it is no better than a sugar pill. Evidence suggests it’s safer than drugs like Valium. Effectiveness is impacted by how it’s prepared. To find out how Ashwagandha, CBD, kava and other anxiety treatments compare to valerian Continue reading
St. John’s Wort: Getting its Benefits without the Drawbacks
St. John’s wort may fight depression by modulating cortisol, calming stress, extinguishing inflammation, boosting neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, increasing tryptophan and normalizing melatonin. But there are more powerful ways to heal depression that do all those things and more. Continue reading
5-HTP: Are antidepressants effective, and if so why?
5-HTP might be as effective as SSRI antidepressants like Prozac. But that might not be saying much. Most (if not all) of the benefits of SSRIs “are due to the placebo effect,” a re-analysis of FDA studies found. Antidepressants and 5-HTP may work in ways that don’t involve boosting serotonin. Continue reading
Low Tryptophan = Low Serotonin. Does Low Serotonin = Depression?
There’s a major controversy over whether or not depression is caused by low tryptophan and it’s consequence—low serotonin. Some researchers assert that there’s no support for the hypothesis that depression is caused by lowered serotonin. What does the science say about the causes of depression . . . Continue reading
Exercise Better than Drugs for Lifting Mood
The most common antidepressant drugs got bottom-of-the barrel results in a landmark systematic review comparing the drugs’ effect on depression with that of the talk-therapy CBT and a range of exercise modalities, according to data published by the prestigious British Medical Journal in February 2024. Continue reading
INSOMNIA’S UNBIDDEN BEDFELLOWS: Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Insomnia, Anxiety & Depression
Find out how to defeat the vicious cycle by resetting the biological clock with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia and how to short-circuit stress and inflammation with biofeedback, hypnosis and talk therapy. Continue reading
INSOMNIA’S UNBIDDEN BEDFELLOWS: Anxiety & Depression
Insomnia, depression and anxiety share common causes and often occur together. All 3 feed a vicious cycle worsening each condition. Stress is the common thread tying insomnia, circadian disruption, anxiety and depression together. Stress ignites a firestorm of inflammation suppressing levels of the sleep-hormone melatonin and elevating the stress-hormone cortisol.
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Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: A Swiss-Army Knife for Tackling Anxiety & Depression
The value of reducing stress is widely embraced. An analytic review of 39 studies including 1,140 people with conditions including generalized anxiety disorder and depression found that mindfulness-based therapy, a widely-used stress-busting technique, was associated with significant improvement in anxiety disorders and depression. Continue reading
Harness Hidden Strengths with Hypnotherapy
A 2021 study comparing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to hypnotherapy showed hypnotherapy is at least as effective as gold-standard CBT for reducing symptoms of mild to moderate depression.
A 2019 analysis of 15 studies found “the average participant receiving hypnosis reduced anxiety more than about 79% of control participants.” Continue reading
How to De-Stress Your Way Out of Anxiety and Depression
Biofeedback technology helps people shift out of the physiology of stress and anxiety into a calm state. It helps people slow speedy hearts, quiet anxious breathing and relax tense muscles. These new skills build a sense of empowerment and safety. It can avert anxiety before it can gain a foothold. Continue reading
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