Whether you have been struggling with depression all your life or you are just experiencing this for the first time, you may think that antidepressants for depression are the answer. In some cases they work wonderfully for people who are dealing with one of the many different types of depression, but more and more people are choosing to refuse to take prescription medications of any kind, in a way to keep the body clean and free of chemical toxins.

Can You Recover Without Antidepressants for Depression?

Some doctors, particularly psychiatrists whose job it is to prescribe medications, will tell you that you need antidepressants for depression if you have any chance of eliminating this mental health problem from your life. However, there is a litany of side effects that go with almost all of these medications, not to mention the fact that they fill your body with chemicals that have a very long half-life.

What Side Effects Are There?

Depending on the type of antidepressants that you take, you could end up with either weight loss or weight gain, sleeplessness, anxiety, headaches, drowsiness, bad digestion, and sexual dysfunction. In fact, the majority of people who take these medications end up going off of them because of the side effects that they have. It is almost rare to find someone who doesn't have side effects from their antidepressant medication.

Are They Safe?

You might think that medications that go through the rigorous testing that the FDA puts them through would be absolutely safe and free from problems for most people, but nothing could be further from the truth. These products are safe for many people but certainly not for all people, and if you are taking other medications at the same time, then they can be even more dangerous.

What Other Treatments Are There?

Before the latest round of antidepressant medications came on the market, most people with depression didn't have any way of dealing with the problem. However, there have been many studies in recent years that show that a wide variety of natural treatments can work as well as or better than antidepressants for depression.

Some people think that "natural" means "hocus pocus," but that is not the case at all. Most natural treatments have been around for centuries and have proven in clinical studies to be effective. Unlike antidepressants for depression, they don't have side effects, and you can start and stop them at any time without worrying about withdrawal symptoms.

In fact, there are many over-the-counter herbal medications that have research behind them and are also natural and safe for virtually anyone to use. SAM-e (S-adenosylmethionine) is a naturally occurring chemical in the body that is able to enhance serotonin levels. You may also have heard of St. John's Wort, which dates back over 2,500 years and was used by the people of Ancient Greece as a way to deal with "nervous" issues. There are many other ways that you can use both age-old and newer research to find natural treatment for your depression.