Alternative Healing vs. Antidepressants

What a turbulent ride we’ve had in our relationship with mental health disorders. From unsanitary asylums to horrific shock treatments to the brain hemorrhaging side effects of early medications.

Traditional means of helping us handle our woes seem questionable, at best.

An article published in Friday’s edition of the Wall Street Journal explores society’s growing disdain for drugging up our blues.

Nancy Keats explains that this disenchantment is creating, “an increasing number of people [who] are seeking treatment for depression, anxiety and eating disorders from naturopaths, acupuncturists and even chiropractors.

Naturopaths who study holistic therapies and alternative healing techniques, might prescribe omega-3 or fish oil supplements as a natural remedy for depression, instead of traditional medications like Wellbutrin, which has side effects like an increased risk of seizure, not to mention constipation, dizziness, dry mouth, excessive sweating, headache, and vomiting.

Alternative and complementary medicine, once considered a practice for liberal quacks, has gained much validity in recent years.

To earn a degree in naturopathy, one must graduate from a four-year institution, only after earning a bachelor’s degree. Mainstream medical institutions like Harvard Medical School now offer three complementary and alternative medicine classes in the psychiatry department of their continuing education program.

With mental health disorders on the rise, all options on the table are being explored. According to a study conducted by the trifecta of the World Health Organization, Harvard University School of Public Health and the World Bank, by the year 2030, “depression will be second only to HIV/AIDS in terms of disability caused world-wide.”