Beating depression one treatment at a time: a story of courage and determination

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” –Helen Keller

We have many people sharing their real experiences with health treatments on FoundHealth. These real experiences help health seekers understand a treatment through the lens of someone like them who had an actual experience with the treatment—it’s a powerful community platform to support individual decisions and actions in the health process.

A FoundHealth user, known as snowmaday whose real name is Sarah H., has shared several powerful treatment experiences about her fight with depression. We connected with her to understand what motivated her to stay determined to seek treatments even when she “didn’t feel like it.” We wondered how she was motivated to seek out treatments such as SAM-E, acupuncture, and yoga that may require a more long-term approach to healing herself.  She shared about her journey and her health philosophy.

Here is the story of Sarah’s journey as shared with us:

Sarah’s struggle with depression is a story of courage and hope for anyone suffering from a health challenge. She is a 2^nd grade school teacher and understandably, has a stressful work environment. Last spring, Sarah was getting ready for work.  She sat down on her bed to finish getting ready but she suddenly felt as though she couldn’t get up. She had no motivation to get up and go. During the next five months, she would continue to feel like she “was stuck in a hole.”

Through her research on the Web and a visit to her doctor, she was diagnosed as having depression and anemia. Her various treatment paths included:

• Osteopathic: A doctor of osteopathy (DO) is typically concerned with  a more holistic approach to healing which includes traditional medicine and other helpful methods. Her osteopath prescribed a prenatal supplement to address the deficiencies in her body that may have been contributing to the depression and anemia.
• Acupuncture: Sarah went to an acupuncturist (LAc) who became a trusted health professional for her. Along with acupuncture, the acupuncturist prescribed Sam-E.
• Yoga and Exercise: Sarah incorporated walking into her schedule since she researched how exercise could have a positive impact on depression. She also began a yoga practice that she continues to keep up.

Last year, after five months, Sarah woke up one morning and knew that the depression was over. She knew she had beaten it. Hooray! Her persistence and resourcefulness in searching for health treatments paid off beautifully.

A Healthy Health Philosophy

Sarah’s motivation for seeking these treatments versus antidepressants was:

-She did not want a quick fix but wanted to get to the source of the issues so she could beat them for good.

-She didn’t want to be forever dependent on a treatment to  continue to feel better.

-She was committed to a healthy way of living her life so that she could teach her body to take care of itself. My favorite quote from Sarah:

”Bodies are made to heal themselves.”

–Sarah Henne

To read more about Sarah’s experiences:

Depression and Sam-E Experiences

Depression and Yoga Experiences

Depression and Acupuncture Experiences