In the fight against depression, a wide variety of prescription medications, conventional medical procedures, alternative treatments, and homeopathic remedies are used. Because there are many different types of depression, levels of severities, and even personal preferences regarding treatment option, having an array of choices is definitely something positive. In fact, the broad range of possibilities means that the number of people with depression who would actually seek help is large.
One type of treatment for depression that has experienced dramatic growth is supplements. We know that different vitamins, minerals, plants, herbs, extracts, and essential oils have been used for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years to treat a variety of ailments to include depression. With knowledge that comes from ancient history and the application of innovative research and development, millions of people have found relief from natural solutions.
A thing in particular that has captured interest is using niacin for depression but people want to know if information heard is genuine or simply hype. With many conventional and homeopathic doctors now recommending niacin for depression, we felt it important to offer information to the public whereby any questions would be put to rest. However, before addressing this treatment, we wanted to offer a brief overview of what depression is and examples of the most common causes.
What is Depression?
Someone living with depression feels more overwhelmed and hopeless than the person who feels sad. To some degree, sadness is a type of depression although on a very minor level. However, once an individual faces sadness to the level of daily life being disrupted, the problem becomes clinical depression. Keep in mind that clinical depression also affects people on different levels but in this case, a mild case would still be considered serious and in need of proper treatment.
With clinical depression, several distinct types exist and while they share some symptoms, each is unique. In many instances, using niacin for depression works well, even for types deemed serious but as mentioned, more aggressive treatment options are available if necessary. Under the care of a qualified physician, the individual would be properly treated and carefully monitored to determine response so if a change were needed, it could be done quickly.
Depression Types
Below we listed a few common types of depression for which treatment is needed.
- Major Depressive Disorder – With this, functioning normally during the day and getting proper sleep at night is nearly impossible. This type of depression might lead to a single incident or numerous recurrences.
- Dysthymic Disorder – Also referred to as Dysthymia or Mild Chronic Depression, symptoms are long-term but not as severe as with other types of this mental disorder. While one person may experience just one episode, another person might struggle with multiple incidents.
- Psychotic Depression – While niacin for depression works well for even most major types, this form of depression is very serious and therefore, it must be treated in a specific way. The person with Psychotic Depression actually has problems with delusions and hallucinations.
- Postpartum Depression – Some women go through a period of depression after childbirth previously called the “Baby Blues”. Today, medical experts understand the potential of severity for this type of depression to the point of there being risk of harm to the mother but also newborn. While niacin for depression might be used for maintenance, doctors usually take a more aggressive approach in treating this type.
- Bipolar Disorder – Previously known as Manic Depression, the most common symptom is a rollercoaster of emotions to include extreme highs and lows.
Common Symptoms of Depression
In addition to the symptoms mentioned above, the following are among additional symptoms that go hand-in-hand with depression.
- Emptiness, hopelessness, anxiety, and sadness
- Defeat and pessimism
- Mood swings, irritability, and restlessness
- Lack of interest in relationships, hobbies, activities, work, school, or sex
- Little to no appetite
- Sleep problems
Benefits of Niacin
Because depression impacts more than 15 million adults living in the United States, a tremendous amount of time and effort has been dedicated to research. During the course of investigating various treatment options, it was discovered that one of the common triggers for depression, as well as anxiety and insomnia is a deficiency of niacin. Therefore, using niacin for depression makes perfect sense in bringing low levels up.
In addition to learning about the connection and benefits of using niacin for depression, another fascinating thing was discovered. If an individual has a niacin deficiency but it is not treated properly and in a timely manner, risk of developing pellagra is high. The thing that makes this so interesting is that this particular disease is not only serious but symptoms mirror those of schizophrenia.
This means that using niacin for depression not only dramatically reduces or even eliminates symptoms of depression but it also reduces or eliminates symptoms of the deficiency itself. In addition, correcting a deficiency of niacin actually prevents another major disease from developing. Along with this, new research shows that someone with a deficiency of this type is at much higher risk for dementia so overall taking niacin offers a laundry list of benefits.