What exactly does St. John's Wort do? I mean, how long does it take to work... I'm taking it for depression.
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St. John's Wort works in the same way an SSRI does, by keeping your seratonin from being reabsorbed, and thus, keeping the levels higher in your brain at any given time. But it's not nearly as effective as a drug designed for that. You'd have to take 5-HTP or tryptophan at the same time, and that's dangerous (seratonin syndrome), since you wouldn't be certain about the exact dosage on ANY of them.
I tried for years all of the homeopathic remedy stuff - St. John's Wort, fish oil, Sam-E, 5-HTP, meditation, and so on, with little result, and now I know better.
The difference between self-medication and real medication is like night and day. Understand? NIGHT AND DAY. There is no comparison. You may feel a little better sometimes with home remedies, but then you spiral into despair again. You have to take something to break the cycle completely.
Imagine you're stranded, floating in the middle of the ocean. You've been floating out there for days, with sharks, sunburn, and no food or water. Now imagine you have the choice between a life preserver or a rescue boat.
Night and day!!!
Depressed people will do anything to avoid taking the drugs that will actually help them... and they will sound completely rational about it. They'll cite bad side effects, blow their own side effects way out of proportion... whatever will convince themselves not to take a prescription. It's a symptom of depression.
If you want to try alternative treatments, fine. But get better and THEN think about it. Decisions like that should be made months after being on antidepressants. Having your brain back to normal makes your half-hearted placebos seem correctly ridiculous.
Anything less than an SSRI is a waste of time. I don't know what excuses you've told yourself to make St. Johns Wort seem like the best choice (side effects you've read online, maybe?), but you need to realize that your "reasons" are irrational. It's depression getting the upper hand, telling you that the cure is bad.
I know this is probably making you mad and/or defensive. It's your depression saying "no," again, see? I'm trying to point this out to you. It's what depression does. Thinking "no" is what depression *is*.
Real meds aren't "happy pills." They don't change your personality. They just take away that terrible feeling of "no, no, no... bad, bad, bad..." so you can think straight, say "yes" to some things, and live your life again.
Meds need to be taken every day. Insurance covers most of them. It will take about two weeks before you feel any difference, whereas it would take more than a month with SJW.
Okay, with that said...
- Any GP will be able to prescribe you antidepressants. Lexapro is the best, IMO.
- A psychiatrist is more expensive, but will be able to suggest alternative meds if you have any side effects.
Buy a copy of "The Feeling Good Handbook" by David D Burns. It is, hands-down, the best help you can give yourself.
And avoid any site that touts "natural" cures; they are run by depressed people. (If you don't believe me, count how many times they use negative wording: but, no, won't, should and shouldn't, bad, wrong, unpleasant, etc.)
Your guess is as good as mine. I tried that once but I wasn't very consistent. So now I am on anti-depressants and those just mess with my mind.
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