The Ultimate Stress Blog | Stress Advice and More

Jane Henderson, acupuncturist and proprietor of the Get Help for Depression website

You may know someone who has become depressed after the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or some other major or ongoing stress in their lives. But can stress really cause depression and if so, what can you do about it? How can you deal with the stresses we all have to deal with from time to time without spiraling into depression?

Depression is caused by an imbalance in brain chemistry. We need a number of different brain chemicals to be happy. Serotonin, is one of our most important “happiness chemicals” and is involved in regulating mood, sleep and appetite. Dopamine is important for motivation, concentration, memory and positive feelings. GABA helps to keep us calm by switching off the “fight or flight” response. A deficiency of any of these brain chemicals can cause depression.

When we are under stress, our brains use up these happiness chemicals very quickly. Most of us have enough in reserve to be able to deal with a certain amount of stress. However, if stress is severe or prolonged, our reserves can run out and we can run low on these vital happiness chemicals and become depressed.

If you or someone you love has been under stress, there are plenty of things you can do to prevent an episode of depression, or help lift yourself out of it if you’re already feeling down.

One of the most important things you can do is to make sure your diet is healthy. The brain chemicals you need to feel happy, calm and relaxed are all produced in the body from amino acids, which come from the protein in your diet. Many nutritionists recommend eating around 30 grams of protein 3 times a day to ensure your brain is supplied with the amino acids it needs. Add plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables to supply the vitamins and minerals your brain needs to help convert amino acids into happiness chemicals. Supplying your brain with the raw materials it needs to produce serotonin, dopamine and GABA will boost your reserves of these happiness chemicals, helping you to deal with stress without becoming depressed.

Avoid sugar, alcohol and refined carbohydrates. These can all rob your body of the vitamins and minerals it needs to help produce those vital neurotransmitters.

When you are under stress, make sure you get plenty of exercise. Exercise helps boost levels of serotonin and dopamine. It has been shown to be as effective as antidepressants in the short term and much more effective in the long term. Meditation and other relaxation techniques can also be very helpful.

A healthy lifestyle goes a long way towards overcoming the mood sapping effects of stress, but if stress is severe or prolonged, sometimes even the healthiest lifestyle isn’t enough to prevent depression. If you do find yourself becoming depressed, natural remedies can be used to boost your levels of happiness chemicals and overcome depression safely and effectively.

Natural Remedies for Depression

Serotonin is one of the happiness chemicals most commonly involved in depression. Symptoms of serotonin deficiency include depression, anxiety, repetitive negative thoughts, a “glass half full” attitude, low self esteem, perfectionism and insomnia.

One of the best natural treatments for serotonin deficiency is 5-HTP, an amino acid that is converted into serotonin in the body. By supplying the body with more of the building blocks it needs, 5-HTP can boost serotonin production and start to lift the black clouds of depression within hours.

Dopamine levels are also commonly affected when we are under stress. Our adrenal glands produce dopamine together with adrenaline and nor-adrenaline as part of the “fight or flight” response. These 3 chemicals speed up the heart rate, send extra blood to the muscles, speed up the reflexes and generally prepare the body to fight or flee from danger. If stress is prolonged, eventually our adrenal glands start to wear out and produce less dopamine.

Symptoms of dopamine deficiency include the dull, flat, apathetic kind of depression, poor motivation, poor concentration, difficulty dragging yourself out of bed and a general lack of energy and alertness.

If you’re low in dopamine, l-tyrosine supplements can boost your levels very quickly. L-tyrosine is the amino acid that is used by the body to produce dopamine. It works very quickly and can start to lift depression and improve concentration within hours.

GABA is another neurotransmitter commonly affected by stress. GABA has the opposite effect to dopamine, and is used to switch off the fight or flight response when it’s no longer needed. If you are under stress on a regular basis, your body will be constantly pumping out GABA to dampen the stress response, and again your levels can become depleted.

Symptoms of GABA deficiency include anxiety, depression, feeling overwhelmed, tight muscles, insomnia and using alcohol, food or drugs to calm yourself down. The easiest way to treat GABA deficiency is to take GABA directly as a supplement. Taurine and glycine are calming amino acids that work in a very similar way to GABA and the three can be taken together to increase the effect.

Vitamin B is essential for the production of all of the brain’s happiness chemicals and is one of the first nutrients to become depleted when we are under stress. A good vitamin B complex is essential for anyone with stress related depression.

Stress can certainly cause depression, but it doesn’t have to. A healthy diet, exercise and, when necessary, natural supplements, can safely build up your reserves of happiness chemicals and give you the ammunition you need to deal with stress without falling into depression and despair.

Jane Henderson is the author of Get Help for Depression, a website that that has 13 tests for common causes of depression. She suffered from depression for over 20 years and eventually cured it by finding and treating the underlying cause.