Treating anxiety and depression effectively means knowing what works and what doesn't. There are many myths surrounding anxiety and depression that can prolong the suffering. In this article, I'm going to debunk some myths so you don't allow them to deepen your anxiety or depression.
If you're taking an antidepressant and it isn't working, you will be told that:
"some drugs are more effective than others. What works on one person may not be as effective with another. That's why doctors repeatedly change the type of drug. It's simply a matter of finding the drug that is right for you." This simply isn't true. There are other factors - tolerance to a drug, dosage of a drug and the simple fact that chemical imbalances aren't the root cause of your anxiety or depression. Tellingly, Yale University has published results showing that for 70% of people, antidepressant drugs are totally ineffective. Other treatments, especially cognitive therapy, are far more effective.
Anxiety and depression are all in the mind. This is another huge myth, mainly believed by people who have never suffered from these problems. There are many other symptoms that are part of anxiety and depression: back ache, muscle cramps, exhaustion, loss of appetite or increase in appetite, sleeplessness, hyper-tension, and loss of sex drive to name but a few. Dismissing anxiety and depression as being "all in the mind" simplifies them and shows a complete lack of understanding about them. All of these symptoms combined make it so very hard for sufferers to do even the simplest of daily tasks and cause so much anguish. If anyone tells you it's "all in your mind" ignore them, they don't know what they're talking about.
In today's modern society, the food police are continually advocating their belief that a poor diet is at the root of all of our ills. Indeed, obesity is a major health problem and increases your risk of heart attack and strokes. But can food cause and cure stress, depression and anxiety? No it cannot. A poor diet has no bearing whatsoever on anxiety or depression and this is easily proven by asking a simple question: Does everyone who eats a poor diet suffer from anxiety and depression and does everyone who eats a healthy diet never suffer from them? In both cases the answer is no! Your diet will not cause anxiety or depression and it won't cure them. However, eating a healthy diet will boost your overall health and healthy eating should be a part of your treatment to address anxiety and depression. Feeling good physically will help you feel better mentally.
Global industrialization has led to claims that harmful toxins are being released into the atmosphere and are the reason why anxiety and depression have increased so dramatically. This claim is absolute nonsense. If it were true, everybody who lives in major cities - Los Angeles, New York, London, Beijing, Tokyo, Moscow, Mumbai, Berlin, Paris etc. - would ALL suffer from anxiety and depression. Conversely, everybody who lives in rural locations well away from the toxic clouds hovering above our cities would never suffer from anxiety or depression. Clearly, both of these scenarios simply don't ring true.
You may hear fitness gurus promoting exercise as the best way to ease anxiety and depression. Although exercise is great for physical health, it cannot cure anxiety or depression. Lack of exercise has absolutely nothing to do with depression and exercising regularly will not cure you. Indeed, certain exercises - running, treadmills, biking to give just 3 examples - may even fuel depression as they allow you to brood over your problems. Exercises where you have to concentrate, such as tennis, badminton, squash, are more beneficial. Exercise can help, but you also need to treat the root cause of anxiety and depression as well. And if you perform the behaviours that cause anxiety and depression when you stop exercising, exercise won't help you conquer either of these problems.
Being aware of the myths that don't help you get better will give you a big advantage in coming out of anxiety and depression. Put your knowledge to work for you and concentrate on selecting the right treatment and you will find relief quickly.
About the Author
For more tips, articles and information about how to relieve anxiety and depression naturally without taking powerful antidepressant drugs, then please visit the Conquering Stress website at: http://www.conqueringstress.com
*SINewswatch would like to thank Chris Green for granting permission to reprint this article.