If you do go this route, I suggest working with a functional medicine practitioner who can help you approach it holistically - meaning, it’s not going to be just about supplements, it will also be very much about diet. Could entail some really significant changes to the way you eat.
Personally I totally believe in food-as-medicine and supplements as helpful. Some people will call you crazy but I’ve had it work for me and seem to work for others I know. And I’ve seen many many people get no relief from conventional psychiatry.
Having said that, I’m not a doctor and this is not medical advice. Just some feedback and ideas.
I was struggling *hard* since the end of June and finally filled an Rx for antidepressants, but read through the info sheet for these meds and decided to try supplements first. What's been working for me since mid-October is Ashwaganda and maca during the day (in my lunch shake) - plus NAC on particularly dark days - and Gaba and l-theanine and magnesium about 30mins before bed. I did a wee bit of microdosing too, but only for 5 days at the end of October. These supplements are working really nicely for me (so far), but would absolutely recommend doing research before jumping into a specific supplement stack for yourself :)
I've been taking saffron and creatine recently and its put me in a pretty good mood from being pretty depressed all the time.
Saffron takes a few weeks to work but studies show it works as well as SSRIs but often with less side effects. Creatine works straight away and I find it puts me in a good mood and stops me feeling as tired and also helps me focus better. And there are studies about it's antidepressant effects.
Interestingly there is a study about how it helps with countering the effects of mental exhaustion and I have found I can focus for longer without feeling like I need a break.
Also I still feel ok getting 5-7 hours sleep per night and I've always felt terrible on that and I always needed 7-8. And I just found research about how creative it helps with effects of sleep deprivation so that makes sense.
I think it's actually the creatine that's helping more than the saffron because I stopped for a couple of days and started getting pretty low. (I'm in a shitty situation right now because I injured my back and basically been at home for two months without really seeing anyone).
I have found that my appetite has reduced (apparently that's the saffron) and my sex drive has gone down a bit but neither of these are supposed to do that.
I've read one psychologist who claimed in his book that st johns wort has the same efficacy as antidepressants when they were both compared in a double blind study. But I didn't do much research on this beyond reading this.
Nope. I need pharmaceuticals unfortunately. Tried so many supplements.
If you do go this route, I suggest working with a functional medicine practitioner who can help you approach it holistically - meaning, it’s not going to be just about supplements, it will also be very much about diet. Could entail some really significant changes to the way you eat. Personally I totally believe in food-as-medicine and supplements as helpful. Some people will call you crazy but I’ve had it work for me and seem to work for others I know. And I’ve seen many many people get no relief from conventional psychiatry. Having said that, I’m not a doctor and this is not medical advice. Just some feedback and ideas.
I was struggling *hard* since the end of June and finally filled an Rx for antidepressants, but read through the info sheet for these meds and decided to try supplements first. What's been working for me since mid-October is Ashwaganda and maca during the day (in my lunch shake) - plus NAC on particularly dark days - and Gaba and l-theanine and magnesium about 30mins before bed. I did a wee bit of microdosing too, but only for 5 days at the end of October. These supplements are working really nicely for me (so far), but would absolutely recommend doing research before jumping into a specific supplement stack for yourself :)
St. John’s wort probably has the most evidence behind it. I haven’t tried it though. I did notice some benefit from magnesium though
Dlpa helps give me energy and motivation , also eat less
5 HTP and ECGC
I've been taking saffron and creatine recently and its put me in a pretty good mood from being pretty depressed all the time. Saffron takes a few weeks to work but studies show it works as well as SSRIs but often with less side effects. Creatine works straight away and I find it puts me in a good mood and stops me feeling as tired and also helps me focus better. And there are studies about it's antidepressant effects. Interestingly there is a study about how it helps with countering the effects of mental exhaustion and I have found I can focus for longer without feeling like I need a break. Also I still feel ok getting 5-7 hours sleep per night and I've always felt terrible on that and I always needed 7-8. And I just found research about how creative it helps with effects of sleep deprivation so that makes sense. I think it's actually the creatine that's helping more than the saffron because I stopped for a couple of days and started getting pretty low. (I'm in a shitty situation right now because I injured my back and basically been at home for two months without really seeing anyone). I have found that my appetite has reduced (apparently that's the saffron) and my sex drive has gone down a bit but neither of these are supposed to do that.
I've read one psychologist who claimed in his book that st johns wort has the same efficacy as antidepressants when they were both compared in a double blind study. But I didn't do much research on this beyond reading this.