Addressing Depression with Functional Medicine

Functional Medicine’s root-cause-based approach to treating depression may offer results without the need for antidepressants.

Depression appears to be on the rise. In 2017 more than 17 million American adults reported experiencing at least one major depressive episode. Today, as Americans deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated stressors, depression rates have increased three-fold across all demographic groups, according to one study.

Conventionally, depression has been explained by the chemical imbalance theory (i.e., that the condition is caused by imbalanced neurotransmitters in the brain) and treated with antidepressants. However, research indicates that only 25% of people with depression have low levels of neurotransmitters—and others have high levels of them. If you’re not part of the small percentage of people with a neurotransmitter imbalance, antidepressants won’t correct the problem. Antidepressants also can cause a host of side effects including anxiety, weight gain, decreased libido, tiredness and/or insomnia.

The approach of Functional Medicine, which identifies and addresses the root cause of a health condition or illness, may offer relief from depression.

Potential root causes include:

• Blood sugar dysregulation and obesity
• Chronic stress
• Environmental factors (e.g., mold exposure, air pollution)
• Genetics
• Chronic infection (e.g., Lyme disease)
• Leaky gut and gut dysbiosis
• Support network, trauma, and social determinants (e.g., access to healthy food, education, neighborhood, socioeconomic status, race, gender)
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Sleep deprivation and artificial light exposure
• Standard American Diet

A Functional Medicine approach to treating depression may include changing your diet to an anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense ancestral diet. This type of diet is also gut-healthy and rich in fiber, and fermented foods are recommended for additional probiotic benefits. Supplementation with 5-HTP, inositol, zinc, and/or magnesium may also offer benefits if you can’t receive everything you need from diet alone.

Adopting healthy habits can also help alleviate depression. This includes getting enough sleep and exercise; spending time outside in nature; building strong social connections; meditating and practicing mindfulness; making time for play.

Other treatment options could include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a form of talk therapy focused on changing patterns of thinking and behaviors that aren’t supportive of mental health. CBT teaches new coping methods such as facing fears, developing confidence, and learning problem-solving skills to deal with tough situations.

There are also several emerging treatments for depression, including bright light therapy, especially for seasonal affective disorder, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Psychedelics are increasingly being used to treat mental illness in controlled, therapeutic environments.

Cultivating adaptability can also be a powerful tool to ward off depression, now more than ever. We can each develop the internal and external resources needed to do this, described with the acronym HERO: Hope; Efficacy; Resilience; Optimism.