Improve Your Mood Naturally
It’s been a month since I stopped taking the antidepressant drug Lexapro, and I promised to update you. I wanted to wait 30 days from the date of my original “phase out” to get a sense of my baseline mood.
All in all, I feel pretty happy. Admittedly, I’m a little more easily agitated, but I am also more joyfully moved and touched by little things too. I guess with the unexpected lows come also the unexpected highs, but I’m learning to ride the wave of this new, broader spectrum of emotions. Kind of like surfing.
And the sex is better.
Meanwhile, as I waited for my “baseline” mood to return, I’ve been researching ways to enhance my mood naturally. So many recent studies show that antidepressants are no better than placebo for treating mild depression. Some research suggests that depression can’t be cured by increasing one’s serotonin or dopamine levels, rather only by increasing the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain.
Since 99 of the brain’s known 100 neurotransmitters are amino-acid based, I wondered: is it possible to “supplement” your brain with a broad spectrum amino acid, thereby helping it to repair/produce more of these neurotransmitters?
I’ve decided to put my hypothesis to the test.
For the next 30 days, I’ll be the subject of my own science experiment—supplementing my regular balanced diet with several of these natural “mood enhancers” to see if natural, over-the-counter substances can help re-balance my brain chemistry without side effects. Bronson will also be taking part in this experiment.
Each day, we’ll take:
500 MG of Time-Release Vitamin C (Natrol)
500 MG of L-Carnitine (Natrol)
6 Amino Gelcaps a great, broad spectrum amino acid product (Prolab)
1 teaspoon (4.5 grams) of Glutamine Powder (Prolab)
1 Training Pak (Prolab)
60 MG of Ginkgo
At the end of each week, Bronson and I will complete the Beck’s Depression Inventory, and I’ll chart our responses. At the end of 30 days, I’ll publish the results. Stay tuned.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:10 am
vitamin c and natrol are the only things that i truly believe work. i work as a pharmacy tech and there aren’t really many natural mood enhancers unfortunetely. as long as you keep a well balanced diet with exercise, you are more likely to be happier than not. good luck with your experiment. just don’t take too many natural supplements at once…it can end up hurting you more than helping!
June 26th, 2008 at 4:04 am
I have found the best mood enhancer is shopping… LOL
June 26th, 2008 at 4:51 am
I like to call that “retail therapy.”
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Hey there Sam,
I’ll be interested to hear about your anti-depression experiment.
I’ve also heard that the supplements Sam-e is good for depression as well as… I think it’s called 5htp. I’ll have to get back to you on that one. And Omega-3 fatty acids, but only from fish. Not Flax.
I’m going to mess around with all 3 and see what happens.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Never invoke the gods unless you really want them to appear. It annoys them very much.–G. K. Chesterton (1876–1936), English writer
August 30th, 2008 at 6:49 am
The problem with depression is that people think they have to be in high mood all the time.
In a fast paced hyper society where medications are a quicker and less complicated solution than to see the cause/s instead of the symptom they are a conventionally way to avoid facing real feelings.
Working out, Yoga, Qi Gong and Therapy are a harder but long lasting non harmful ways to achieve the same results that will also increase your energy.
I am glad you are getting over it!!!
Graciela