Series: Disease, the Cause, and the Cure
Part 3: Common Health Issues and their Cause, Symptom 2
Note: Interventions are not discussed in this blog; if you need help with natural interventions, please make a telehealth appointment with Dr. Green. In this blog, I will define variations of the issue, the standard medical treatment, and the physiological and environmental causes. Knowing the origins of these issues will help you to identify and correct the cause, thus eliminating the symptom.
Depression is a very complicated subject. Before psychological and psychiatric interventions became mainstream, it was commonly viewed as a character flaw or a weak-minded person. Today’s ever-changing views on mental healthcare have made it difficult to understand what depression truly is. Thankfully, open-minded psychiatrists (like those at the Amen Clinics) use cutting-edge technology to identify what parts of the brain cause depression. This has allowed people to pinpoint the origin of their symptoms and treat that specific area of the brain rather than trying different medications until one works.
Most people suffering from depression don’t have the motivation to care for themselves, which requires friends and family support and can be easily misdiagnosed by professionals. Depression is commonly coupled with other symptoms and can easily be confused with different conditions. For instance, lack of energy and sadness are not the same as depression and should all be treated differently. Depression, chronic fatigue, and laziness are not the same either and do not share the same origin, although these three symptoms can be very similar.
Treatment of depression is usually medication-based interventions. These medications help regulate parts of the brain, providing relief when taking them regularly. However, most people don’t want to be on drugs for the rest of their lives, so once they feel stable, they go off the medication, causing the symptom to reemerge. The theory of providing a pill for the rest of someone’s life is flawed if you eliminate the cause of the symptom, removing the need for medications. Depression can be caused due to damage to the body, usually in the brain. Injury-related depression needs to be identified and treated by specialists such as those at the Amen Clinics.
Pure depression:
the state of mind where a person has little to no motivation to be productive for at least three weeks.
Standard treatment:
- antidepressant medications, usually an SSRI
- psychotherapy
Physiological cause:
- overactivity in the deep limbic system of the brain.
Lifestyle causes:
- foods that cause improper hormone production (especially serotonin)
- foods that block hormone absorption
- foods that are over stimulating
- nutrition deficiency
- lack of daily activity
Bipolar depression:
fluctuation in behavior between little to no motivation and periods of extreme energy and motivation.
Standard treatment:
- multiple medications for mood stabilization, antipsychotics, antidepressants, and antianxiety pills
- psychotherapy
Physiological cause:
- overactivity in the deep limbic system of the brain
- overactivity across the surface of the brain
Lifestyle causes:
- improper hormonal balance due to eating foods that deregulate homeostasis
- nutrition deficiency
- high anxiety lifestyle
Seasonal depression:
little to no motivation to be productive during days that have reduced sunlight.
Standard treatment:
- antidepressant medications
- light therapy
Physiological cause:
- abnormal regulation of the hormone serotonin
- overproduction of melatonin
- low vitamin D levels
Lifestyle causes:
- living outside natural primate zones
- eating an unnatural diet
- nutrition deficiency
Oppression depression:
little to no self-value; can lead to suicide, may include other depression types listed above.
Standard treatment:
- antidepressant medications
- psychotherapy
Physiological cause:
- programmed response (learned helplessness) when controlled by external forces that prevent freedom of choice
Lifestyle causes:
- physical, mental, or psychological abuse
- can be self-inflicted abuse caused by guilt or shame
- being forced to conform to an incompatible value system
Postpartum depression:
little to no motivation to be productive and/or increased sadness after childbirth
Standard treatment:
- antidepressants
- psychotherapy
- peer support
Physiological cause:
- overactivity in the deep limbic system
- hormone deregulation
- external stressors due to a lifestyle change (oppression)
Lifestyle causes:
- improper hormonal balance caused by eating foods that deregulate homeostasis
- nutrition deficiency
- poor community support
- grief in the loss of a formal lifestyle
By Dr. Robert V. Green, N.D.
Original post date 05/31/21
Click here to read more from the “Natural Healthcare for our Modern World” collection.
Dr. Robert Green, N.D. 
One thought on “The Origins of Depression”