Need some help

[san70]

My 14 year old niece has anxiety and depression. My sister took her to a psychiatrist who suggested, of course, an antidepressant along with therapy. (He explained that the beginning part of meds are difficult until you find the right amount. You can just bump her up a pill, he explains. Of course, the antidepressants all have side effects of inceases in suicidal thoughts...) My sister, thankfully, is not jumping on the medication bandwagon. We do not think that there is a chemical imbalance with my niece. Just a lot of stuff that is coming out now since she is an adolescent, dealing with teenage stuff, starting a new school soon, has always been extremely sensitive and impressionable, among other things. I told her that I would post in this forum since everyone here is so extremely knowledgeable about alternative therapies, treatments, and supplements. We don't know where to turn for help. Does anyone have any suggestions about websites, books, etc.

 

Thanks so much for all of your help!

San

[Toms_Mom]

Hi! My 14 yr. old daughter has had depression come on for some reason every fall (school maybe?) since the age of 11 or 12. The things I have done is 1) make her exercise almost everyday. All of my kids have played tennis since they were young so I just sign her back up for tennis clinics/teams right away. She doesn't always want to, but once she starts playing she really starts loving it again. I think this has helped her the most. The exercise combined with exposure to sun is great. I think any exercise outside would help. 2) I give her a good multivitamin and nordic naturals omega 3 (helps with mood) and 3) My daughter goes to a somewhat challenging private school and has struggled at times. Before 7th grade I talked to her principal and they were able to change her schedule to make her load a little lighter. She dropped a subject that was required, but not necessary (band) and that left her with more time to study for other subjects. She also repeated 6th grade math, which was fine, because she is still on schedule to take algebra 1 as a freshman in high school this year. I think finding out what is making them stressed and trying to help take away some of that stress is key.

 

Maybe you have already tried some of these things with your niece, but hope this helps.

 

Mary

[CarolynN]

Hello,

 

My son Daniel, he is 8 now, has dealt with really bad anxiety. A Naturopathic doctor told me what to do and it worked really well. It was a combination of B6 (my doctor said 150 mg's for up to 5 days and then 50 mg's a day after that) and Glycine (10,000 mg's for up to 8 days and then back to the normal dose of 4,600 mgs). All I can tell you is by the third day I had a completely different boy back on my hands the anxiety was gone (he had been afraid of a particular boy at school and fire drills). It really helped to balance out his neurotransmitters. The doctor told me it would be about 3 to 4 days and I would notice a change.

 

Daniel has also been on GABA for anxiety and that seems to have really helped too. Magnesium Taurate is also a good daily supplement to take to help keep the nervous system in order.

 

I also took Daniel to counseling for cognitive behavioral therapy. The couseling really helped too but I have to say the supplements have done wonders.

 

Carolyn