So I've been dealing with some pretty mild depression as of late due to work/school/life. When I was younger, I used to be a LOT worse off and tried taking Paxil for awhile before coming to the conclusion that I didn't want to drug myself in order to deal with my problems. Flash forward to now, and I'm starting to think that maybe that wasn't such a great idea...

So, in the absence of a psychiatrist (I absolutely HATE counseling) and prescriptions, I decided to give St. John's Wort a shot since I've heard good things about it as a herbal remedy for some of the lesser forms of depression.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Johnswort

http://www.doctormurray.com/articles/worteditorial.htm


The particular kind I've been using is GNC's:
http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=95473&catid=16983&aid=333840&aparam=BCJVLf0Q5Ac-GxvkVGea7b7JV9I_KNzylg

Seems to be a bit of a high dosage (500mg @ 3x a day = 1500mg), but I think I'll give it a try for awhile.

Any of you guys have any experience with this stuff?

I've taken it... it stabilizes mood effectively. It raises seretonin, so if you forget to take it or come off it you're going to be moody. I refuse to rely on that shit though... if you're feeling down the 2 things that will make you feel better is exercise and eating healthier, especially correct water intake.

Alcohol is a depressant as well... don't drink it.

Hmm, I'll admit that my diet has been pretty shitty as of late. And I haven't been to the gym in like 2 months either, thanks to the loss of energy I've been feeling after dealing with everything going on.

I'm mostly looking to try this herbal stuff out to see if it'll kickstart my mood enough to get back into my usual routines. I'd definitely agree that you shouldn't have to depend on something like this in order to make you happier (hence why I quit meds the first time around), but at this point I'm willing to give it a try for at least a few weeks or so.

I've read that this stuff doesn't have the same side effects or withdrawal time as prescription drugs do, so it seems like I shouldn't have any issues with getting off of a regular intake when I feel I've had enough.

You won't see results for 60-90 days probably. Drink more water... walk a little bit more.. fixed.

K, can do. :D

My other question is this. I've read that most bottles ask you to take 3 tabs a day in order to have the most effectiveness. Is it possible to just take all 3 at once in the morning?

I'd rather not have to carry around two pills with me all day if this stuff isn't all that time sensitive.

I wouldn't exceed the max dosage (in respect to time) with any drug that affects chemical levels... You may find yourself in an odd situation you don't want to be in...

Also... caffeine really disrupts your nervous system and can make you "down" reallllllllly easy... just as easy as it can bring you up. Try cutting that out too... break the addiction easily, or be prepared for 2-4 days of headaches and feeling extremely tired.

One immediate result I noticed with St. John's Wort is that it keeps me awake for a very long time. I haven't taken it in years, but when I did, I'd take it at 6AM and go to bed around 1AM, not tired.

My mom fed this to me when I was a kid (told me it was a vitamin) and I found that it really just amplified whatever mood I was in, so high high's and low low's. Once I found out what she was doing I quit taking it and was much better off. But that's just me.

I'm with yzf... even if you're dead tired and feeling like shit... just walking a couple miles will make you feel a lot better and more energized.

Edit: I'm not sure about others, but I was getting hardly no fiber at one point my diet... I changed that and I feel a lot cleaner, better sense of well being, more energy and shit... Stop eating simple carbs, kthx<3

http://www.frenchmeadow.com/Mensbread.htm

healthy dumps cure depression ;)
Not sure about ordering bread off of the internet...

I eat multi-grain bread and try to intake a minimum of 20 grams of fiber (soluble + insoluble combined) a day, and lots of the time up to 30. I avoid simple carbs, especially white breads like the plague. I try to take in 0-12 oz of soda a day, no more.

it's relatively inexpensive so..

So... What?

I took it for a few days when I was younger and didn't notice much difference. So I started taking the pills apart and smoking it in a cigarette, and that didn't do anything either.

So it affects people differently. I guess if your depression has a chemical/biological cause, then it would be more beneficial. It doesn't help much if your life just sucks. :D

st johns wort works miracles. my mom is a grief counselor and went to New york to help the officers after 9/11. she got as many of them as she could to start taking the herb. before the officers couldnt sleep were extremely depressed and after 3 days of taking it they were all sleeping 10x better and had started coming out of depression. it will also turn your pee bright yellow. if you notice that your pee isnt yellow then you need to take more.

LOL

That's wonderful. Is there a little card that comes with it that tells you how to up your dosage? "I'm sorry sir, your pee is at least two shades of yellow too pale, you need an extra 200mg every 3 hours" "Lady, this craps not working and I'm shitting houseplants"

lol nah just take 2 starting out. trust me youll know whether or not to up the dosage. itll look like your pissing radiation

What if you have an unnatural diet that causes you to piss yellow anyway?