One of the most challenging things about having depression is the overwhelming sense of loss that you feel. You may feel like you have no idea what to do or who you can go to for help. This sense of loss probably leaves you feeling frozen and stuck.
To tackle your depression and anxiety, you always have the option of going to your primary doctor. Your doctor may prescribe an antidepressant such as Zoloft or Prozac to help ease your depression and anxiety. He or she may also suggest seeing a therapist for a couple months until you begin to feel better. If you end up following this kind of treatment method, that’s totally fine. But what happens if it doesn’t work?
Following a traditional method of treating depression and anxiety may work for you for a while. But for some, it might not work at all. The tricky, and unfortunate, part is that conventional medicine doesn’t properly address the root causes of illnesses, only the symptoms. So what do you do?
Hint: the answer is not to crawl under a rock and hope you don’t have to deal with it. If you’ve already participated in a traditional depression and anxiety treatment plan that didn’t work for you, you’re not out of options! Many people have successfully approached both of these conditions using a method called functional medicine.
Functional medicine is a practice that focuses on the root cause of a disease. In this systems-based approach to medicine, the depression and anxiety you’re experiencing are the symptoms of something else, something deeper. Instead of only alleviating your depression and anxiety, you should properly address the underlying cause. For instance, something like pain or inflammation may be causing depression and anxiety. With functional medicine, the focus would be to treat the inflammation or pain first.
While everyone is different, here are some ways you can conquer your depression and anxiety according to functional medicine:
1. Find the right physician. If you haven’t found the right functional medicine physician, or you haven’t started looking. now is the time to look. When you team up with the right physician, when you’re ready, it can be an amazing and life-changing experience. You’ll be surprised by how much your depression and anxiety can shift when you begin to learn the underlying cause. In this way, you’ll become unstuck and start to feel better everyday. Be sure to take the time when looking for the right physician. There’s no need to rush and your healing process will be better for it.
2. Be open to non-traditional treatment methods. A lot of functional medicine physicians recommend natural treatment methods, when appropriate, of course. Suggestions could be anything from walking, exercising, making nutritional adjustments, and receiving acupuncture treatments.
3. Book an acupuncture session. If you haven’t received an acupuncture treatment, you might be having a hard time putting these two together. In truth, acupuncture is a very relaxing practice that allows you time to escape. At the same time, the practitioner is clearing our meridians and releasing blocked up energy, which means you’ll feel better rather quickly. Doing this on a regular basis can help address the underlying causes of depression and anxiety.
If you’re struggling with depression and anxiety and need someone to turn to, be sure to reach out to Dr. Tanya Teggatz at the Teggatz Clinic. Dr. Teggatz practices functional medicine and has years of experience helping patients heal. Schedule a confidential consultation today to find out how she can help you.
