Bright-light therapy may be an effective treatment for depression in pregnant women. The availability of an easy-to-use, potentially non-toxic antidepressant -- light therapy -- in pregnancy is a clinically attractive option.
The researchers conducted a pilot experiment to see whether exposure to bright light, a technique used to treat those suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or winter depression, might also work on women suffering from depression during pregnancy.
Around 5% of pregnant women meet the criteria for major depression.
However, doctors are often reluctant to prescribe antidepressant medications to pregnant women for fear of their effect on the fetus.
Previous research has suggested that bright light exposure may help people suffering from major depression or from postpartum depression. The exact mechanism has not been elucidated. Some data suggest that light therapy advances the timing of the daily biological clock, which may then bring about the antidepressant effect.
Sixteen pregnant women suffering from major depression completed the pilot study. They were instructed to expose themselves to an hour a day of bright ultraviolet light from a light box within 10 minutes of waking up for three to five weeks.
The patients showed a moderate improvement of their levels of depression after just three weeks of light treatment. For the seven women who underwent five weeks of light therapy, their average score on a scale that measures depression improved by 59%. When the light therapy was discontinued, the women showed signs of an increase in their levels of depression.
American Journal of Psychiatry April 2002;159:666-669
Light is clearly an important contributing factor with depression as the wealth of solid scientific evidence on SAD suggests.
It is interesting to note that the improvement in this study was with UV light. My guess is that full spectrum lighting would have been a better option, and the best option, would be sunlight. Unfortunately, that is a rare commodity for most of us during the fall, winter and spring months.
One of my primary foundations is in biochemistry so I would certainly recommend additional basics such as eliminating sugar and optimizing your omega-3 oils.
Dr. Andrew Stoll is a psychiatrist from Harvard and his recent book, The Omega-3 Connection is an outstanding book detailing how fish fats can be enormously useful in treating depression.
Exercise, of course, would be another terrific method to treat depression.
Depression is one of the most devastating and common diseases on the planet. It exacts a toll far more significant in pain and suffering than just about any other disease.
The numbers are quite compelling. Treating depression with drugs is becoming quite common. The number of people treated over the ten-year period increased by over 300%.By now over 8 million people are using antidepressants.
I used to be one of those drug prescribing doctors and in the late 80s I had put several thousand patients on these drugs.
They seemed to work well for many however; in not one single case did they solve the underlying foundation reason as to why the person was depressed.
Last year I learned how to use EFT to treat depression and it is very rare where I need to use antidepressants for any patient. I believe I can count the number of prescriptions I have written for them on one hand since I started using EFT.
If you are struggling with depression, one of the best things you could do would be to find a qualified EFT practitioner once you are feeling better start following my eating plan. EFT can also be used for any food addiction problems such as sugar or bread.
Alternatively, you could consider purchasing the videos of a workshop that I recently did on EFT. The videos should provide you with a great foundation for helping those you love quickly, effectively and permanently resolve the misery of depression.
However, for serious depressive disorders you will want to consider seeking consultation with a trained therapist and use the video instruction to enhance the treatment as your homework.
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