Self-Treatment Methods for Physical and Mental Health

These self-treatment methods are focused on depression, insomnia, and anxiety, but may be relevant to other conditions.

Acupressure self-massage, acupuncture's self-help cousin

You can get many of the benefits of acupuncture from acupressure self-massage...and it's free! If you are pregnant, please don't try acupressure unless it's been recommended by a healthcare professional.

Acupressure Self-Massage For Treating Depression And Insomnia

There are a lot of other conditions that can be treated with acupressure. Blue Poppy press, or other publishers may have books showing acupuncture treatments for other conditions

Regular, gentle, aerobic exercise

A half-hour per day of gentle aerobic activity has been found to be an effective treatment for depression. One study found that it was effective as treatment with the drug "zoloft".

An intensity level that is just sufficient to break a very slight sweat is usaully recommended. Exercising for more than a half-hour per day is not necessarily needed, though some people might want to exercise for longer. Really intense exercise with heavy sweating is often counterproductive.

It's important to try to exercise every day, or at least three times per week, in order to get the benefits of exercise. Exercising for longer periods once or twice per week may not produce any benefits.

During the winter, you might want to go easy and just do something like light walking, tai-chi, or yoga.

Meditation

Meditation may be helpful with depression, and also anxiety, insomnia, and other conditions that may be stress-related.

As with exercise, regular practice is necessary in order to get good results. It is better to meditate for 10 minutes every day than to meditate for two hours once a week.

There are many methods of meditation. A simple method is to simply sit on the edge of a chair, with your back straight, with your eyes closed. Breathing gently, trying to clear the mind.

You might want to look for more information about mediation on-line. "Headspace" and "Insight Timer" are two popular online sources for guided meditations. They offer phone apps to download, but the meditations are also accessible via web browser. There are also plenty of other meditation that you could find online, or via youtube videos.

Joining a meditation group can greatly increase the benefits of a meditation practice.

Yoga, Tai-Chi, and Qi-gong

These practices can also be beneficial for treating depression and other illnesses. Some forms of these practices may not be appropriate for people who have certain, serious, mental health conditions. An acupuncturist may be able to recommend a specific medical qi-gong style that matches your particular health conditions

Dietary Changes

There are a number of approaches to diet, but I recommend reducing or eliminating anything processed, raw, or served cold (including water). Also, thoroughly chewing food is beneficial. This is the basic approach of traditional Chinese dietary therapy for treating most conditions. There are often more specific dietary recommendations that can be made if you are diagnosed with having particular conditions. If you'd like to read more about traditional Chinese dietary therapy, Bob Flaws has a book that may be worth checking out, The Tao of Healthy Eating.

Books

I also recommend the book Curing Depression Naturally with Chinese Medicine, Blue Poppy Press. The book contains information about many of the treatments above. It also has additional information about an acupressure self-massage, agarwood incense, and jasmin flower tea.

This may only be available as an ebook, or you may be able to get it from your local library. Interlibrary borrowing may be necessary to get a copy. You can see a preview of the book on google books. Some of the theoretical elements of the treatments may be hard to digest for those who are unfamiliar with Chinese medicine, but you may still find the treatments very helpful.

Reading-Well "Books on Prescription"

reading-well.org.uk has a list of books for adults, adolescents, and children on a wide variety of topics about physical and mental health. The books have been vetted by health professionals and can be "prescribed" in the UK. Topics include depression, anxiety, panic, bullying, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), insomnia, anger management, grief, phobias, stress, self-esteem, body image, body dysmorphic disorder, ADHD, dyslexia and other learning disabilities, autism, eating disorders, mood swings, dementia, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), asthma, diabetes, arthritis, chronic pain, stroke and heart attack recovery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), crohn's disease, general injury and illness recovery, and long-term care giving.

Miscellaneous

Finding the reason why you are depressed and trying to fix it is often very effective. Often people can get to this with therapy. Fixing problems in a relationship, or getting out of an abusive relationship or situation can help.

Safety Plans
If you are at risk for a suicide attempt, making a safety plan can help keep you safe

Help for Suicide, 12/2012, please read

Gratitude

If someone has recently experienced a really traumatic event, thinking of things to be grateful for may be impossible or counterproductive, but under less extreme conditions, thinking of things that you are grateful for make you happier. You may want make a list of things that you are grateful for to help remind you.

Other Helpful Things

Positive, caring contact with other people and with pets.

Watching some funny movies and having some laughs in general.

In addition to exercise, just getting some fresh air and sunshine.

Taking a break from the world news or stressful situations. While it is good to care about others, it's possible to care too much and to over-stress yourself. Taking a vacation from worry can make you feel better, and be better for everyone in the long run. You can't do much to help others if you yourself are unable to function.

This one is a bit awkward to mention, but important. For men, (from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine) not ejaculating frequently, especially during the winter time.

 

Nice one ! Appreciate this post too!! Just skimming over it to comment first. I saw the meditation, exercise, therapy. Man, my whole life I’ve been just getting my meds and out of the office as quick as possible. I waited so long to start therapy. I was actually embarrassed……I was ashamed etc.
ffs, they are there to help and it’s what they go to school for. If they want to spent there time judging me or thinking about me, that’s fine with me.

So I’ve filled out the paperwork, the 17th I have an assessment. That’s my foot in the door. They have both psychiatrists and Therapists.

I am finally going to find and face the underlying causes of my anxiety. Also I have self medicated / abused substances ( dual diagnosis ) so the exercise and diet will get my brain back working right. Shiz ima work in progress now, I still take Kratom which isn’t good and I’m tapering. Also modafinil ( as directed ) it gives me or induces anxiety sometimes.
Man- I will have to be 100% incoherent / brain dead before I give up. I even got a message back on Facebook from a ( group page ) it’s TMS treatment or some sort of treatment ( not a regular therapy etc ) but holistic. This year I will become happier and healthier then I’ve ever been.

My job in life after I’m sorted out and can worry about other people is to help ! I know that this all happened for a reason that will benefit others. Thanks for the post. Hit me up in a pm anytime.

 

I personally didn't do much good with self-treatment, probably because I was doing something wrong...

 

For mental conditions, a good stable friend or partner is a great help. particularly one who can listen as well as they can talk.
Avoid a job where your body gets tired, while your unused brain goes into overload. Logging on to HF can help with that one.

Physical conditions are far more complex. For the minor ones, ensure the correct balance of rest and exercise. The exercise can be as simple as walking to work and using the stairs, rather than the lifts.

Pain as a result of an injury should always be addressed by the CORRECT consultant, who can advise between exercise, medication and possible surgery. Pain killers, including to some extent anti-inflammatories can make matters a whole lot worse, particularly if a joint has lost lubrication.

With things such as trapped nerves, alternative treatments can work, but be careful. The brain is very powerful to suggestion, so taking money for wonder pills, while giving you glucose tablets can affect seriously affect the health of your wallet.

 

And put your inspirational toilet roll in the holder the correct way around.

 

Sorry to hear that self-treatment didn't work for you Umbrella. You're welcome to say more about what happened if you'd like.

 

I think that the best medicine is laughter & exercise.