Digging More About Acupuncture For Depression

By Margaret Nelson

Acupuncture can be a jack of all trades once used properly. So, start being informed on how it could be a huge help to your current state of depression. You must stop being haunted by the things which happened in your recent past. In that scenario, you will start leading a fuller life and that is all that matters.

Your body energy will be adjusted for you to start thinking of better things from this point onwards. Start believing in the capacity of acupuncture for depression Boca Raton. You owe it to the remaining parts of your system to stop feeling what your irrational thoughts have been leading you lately.

Everything about this process is traditional in Boca Raton. You may even end up with an elderly therapist in town but that this not a reason for you to worry. These people are experts and you simply need to do your research on the right outlet to trust. Check their packages and the credentials which they have received so far.

This shall be an evasive process but the needles will never go deep down into your organs. So, be in a relaxed state in the best way you can. Accumulate happy thoughts for you to finally burry down those gloomy ones. Take one step at a time and you shall eventually find yourself smiling again. Recovery will always be a long and winding road.

Invite your friends to do the same for you to have more confidence in going to that clinic. Sometimes, all you need is a little push to get you out of that misery. With the presence of the people whom you trust, it shall be easier for one to just surrender to the pull of this kind of healing.

Avail of a thirty minute session every day in one week. After that, you can have a personal assessment as to how you are feeling right now. You know your body more than anybody else. If happiness is starting to creep up on you again, then you shall know. If not, try other alternatives.

Personally want to get out from that huge cloud of depression. When you are your main driving force, your therapist shall be enthusiastic along the way. Your money will not be put to waste. Therefore, talk to the different owners of these facilities. Judge them by how they have been informative during your meetings. This kind of screening will lead you to a resident outlet sure enough.

Be relieved of stress and all kinds of pressure. This is the first stage to questioning why you are depressed in the first place. So, simply go with the flow and submit yourself to something which you shall be experiencing for the first time. Stop being irrational for the first time.

Have faith that everything shall turn out to be fine. There are no shortcuts to recovery but this is a huge step that you are taking. Continue to stay in this path and you shall come to the point when anything can make you smile again.

About the Author:

Find an overview of the advantages you get when you receive acupuncture for depression Boca Raton area and more info about a well-respected acupuncturist at http://acupuncturebocaraton.com/depression-benefitted-acupuncture-meditation now.

Yoga Effective as An Adjunct to Western Medicine for Treating Depression

by Nina

Morning Glories in Flowers and Buds by Hokusai

Just a quick note today about a study Adjunctive yoga v. health education for persistent major depression: a randomized controlled trial on depression and yoga I just learned about that showed that yoga is effective as an adjunct for improving depression in individuals who are taking anti-depressants. Because anti-depressants are not always effective on their own, these researchers decided to study the effectiveness of hatha yoga as an adjunct treatment. According to sciencedaily.com, the lead scientist, Dr. Uebelacker, said:

"We hypothesized that yoga participants would show lower depression severity over time as assessed by the Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology (QIDS), as well as better social and role functioning, better general health perceptions and physical functioning, and less physical pain relative to the control group," said Dr. Uebelacker. "We found that yoga did indeed have an impact on depression symptoms. 

In the largest study of yoga for depression to date, the researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial on individuals who were taking anti-depressants but were still experiencing symptoms of depression. Sixty three of the subjects were given a weekly yoga class. The control group of 59 subjects were given health education classes (the Healthy Living Workshop). All the subjects were assessed after ten weeks, with follow-up assessments after three and six months. Although they did not find significant differences between the two groups after the initial ten-week assessment, the follow-up assessments showed that the yoga group had lower levels of depression and improved in other ways as well.

In their abstract, the researchers reported:

"At 10 weeks, we did not find a statistically significant difference between groups in depression symptoms (b = −0.82, s.e. = 0.88, p = 0.36). However, over the entire intervention and follow-up period, when controlling for baseline, yoga participants showed lower levels of depression than HLW participants (b = −1.38, s.e. = 0.57, p = 0.02). At 6-month follow-up, 51% of yoga participants demonstrated a response (⩾50% reduction in depression symptoms) compared with 31% of HLW participants (odds ratio = 2.31; p = 0.04). Yoga participants showed significantly better social and role functioning and general health perceptions over time. "

Although we did not see a difference in depression symptoms at the end of the intervention period, yoga participants showed fewer depression symptoms over the entire follow-up period. Benefits of yoga may accumulate over time."

According to sciencedaily.com, Dr. Uebelacker put it this way: 

"We did not see statistically significant differences between hatha yoga and a control group (health education) at 10 weeks, however, when we examined outcomes over a period of time including the three and six months after yoga classes ended, we found yoga was superior to health education in alleviating depression symptoms." 

I have a couple of observations about this. First, it’s good to hear that yoga does work well as adjunct with western medicine for improving depression! We’ve been recommending that for a long time (see No Shame, Please! (Western Medicine and Yoga are Complementary)). 

Also it’s not at all surprising to me that the effects of yoga are cumulative (see Take Your Time: Results from Yoga Practice). Most of yoga’s effects do take time. After all, whether you’re talking about improving flexibility, quieting the mind, or fostering emotional healing, a single hatha yoga class is not a magic pill that works with just one dose! It’s actually quite impressive to me that only one yoga class per week had significant effects, as most yoga teachers would recommend three classes per week (or one class plus regular home practice) to see benefits. 

Unfortunately I’m unable to access the full study, so many questions remain. For example, what were the students learning in their yoga classes? Were they just learning everyday yoga or was the program specially tailored for them? And did they continue practicing at home after the study was over? 

But all in all it’s definitely encouraging to hear about yet another study showing the benefits of yoga for emotional healing. 

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Friday Q A Depression Medication and Meditation

The Gray Tree by Piet Mondrian

Q: I am an avid follower of Yoga for Healthy Aging and have benefitted greatly from the wisdom imparted on this site. Perhaps you can shed some light on the following question: I am taking several medications for depression and anxiety. I would like to start a meditation practice but am unsure about the interactions between psychotropic medications and meditation. Can you offer me some advice with this?

A: Your question is timely and important. As you know, today we turn toward combining the wisdoms of the East and the West. More and more people are managing their moods and physical states by using meditation and body /mind systems to deal with anxiety and depression. There is a newly emerging discipline called “yoga therapy,” which specializes in different forms of treatment.

Meditation is powerful, as you know. But one problem of meditating when you have depression is that the meditation itself can turn on you and become a litany of self-blame and despair. You might think you’re meditating and helping yourself, but you’re not; you’re ruminating, digging yourself into a deeper and deeper hole. So the biggest contraindication to meditating is severe unregulated depression, and this must be respected because the rumination picks up steam and can drive you into the depths. So it’s wise to wait until you’ve achieved balance before beginning a meditation program. 

You’re wise to ask about the interactions between psychotropic medications and meditation. Most research indicates that it is safe to meditate and medicate both, but until the medication has been carefully titrated and shown to work over a period of time, it is safer to allow yourself to come to your center before beginning anything new. Of course, there are no hard and fast rules; this varies from one individual to the next.

To play it safe, here is what I would do. First off, I would consult with my doctor to check that my moods have stabilized and that meditation is okay. Does your doctor practice Integrative Medicine? That might prove to be an important piece in your decision making process.

Then, if I decided to begin a daily medication practice, I would consult a meditation specialist, an expert teacher, and work closely with that person to make sure that I got on the right track and stayed there. Meditation is a simple practice, so simple that it can be hard to learn. You and your teacher will work together to find the methods that are best for you as an individual. The rewards of a daily meditation practice accrue slowly, but over time they add up and they help you learn to know yourself and to accept yourself deeply. This deep acceptance of self in the moment, whoever that self might be, plays a big part in helping with depression.

Since you’re a regular reader of  Yoga for Healthy Aging, I guess that you probably are already involved in yoga, which is another form of meditation. Yoga is often called a moving meditation. You might consider consulting with a yoga therapist who specializes in mood disorders, someone who will help you find the best yoga moves for you and teach you meditation and pranayama or breath work practices. Different movements have different emotional effects, too, as can the length of time the different positions are held. 

You might benefit from reading Amy Weintraub's book Yoga for Depression. Amy has a training program where she works with therapists to teach them yoga skills. Or you might look for a yoga therapist on the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) website, where there is a list of therapists, organized by location. 

I’m talking a lot about yoga because you’re a reader of Yoga for Healthy Aging, but maybe you would rather choose another kind of meditation practice. There are different schools for you to check out, and the essential factor is: do you like it? Does it appeal to your taste? Investigate, try different approaches. What is your gut feeling? 

You might start your research by reading a few books like The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness (Book & CD), by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn, or A Path with Heart by Jack Kornfeld. You could check out a Zen Center. There’s lots of choices, and I’m always happy to say it’s a big world! Whatever your choice, I wish you success. And thanks for asking.

—Lynn


Lynn Anjali Somerstein, PhD, NCPsyA, LP, RYT, is a licensed psychotherapist and yoga therapist in private practice, specializing in anxiety, depression and PTSD. She is also the author of numerous articles about yoga, anxiety, attachment issues and psychotherapy. Lynn is grateful to her many teachers at the Integral Yoga Institute and the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis who offered her extensive and deep training in yoga, yoga therapy, and psychoanalysis. See lynnsomerstein.com for more information about Lynn. 

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