Where can you find the best natural remedies for depression? If you are asking yourself this question, you need an answer for yourself or loved one fast. Who better to answer it than someone who has used these services? I bare my soul with sadness, embarrassment and vulnerability. But I hope to help you live a better life.
20 years ago I also searched for the best natural remedies for depression. And, I went to several in patient. Some were for shorter periods than others. My length of stays varied from a week to 3 months. My goal in this article is to ask you to press the pause button. Before signing in to a mental health treatment facility, consider the potential consequences.
No matter how professional the staff is, and how caring they are, you cannot control the reaction of people at your job or home after you have been at an inpatient depression treatment center.
Everything sounds great, the reviews, the doctors, the facility, and that you will get the help you need. But, if going inpatient to a depression treatment center creates fear and suspicion in the minds of others, this help can boomerang and hurt you.
Or if the help leaves you suffering from negative side effects of antidepressants, you might face other serious consequences like divorce or job loss.
Even if you have a ton of ‘I could care less’ money, and you are the CEO and can take off anytime you want, I appeal to you to reconsider going inpatient to a hospital or treatment center for depression.
The Downside of Brick and Mortar Treatment Centers for Depression
The best treatment centers for depression cost thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars, use up countless days away from family and work, and creates endless gossip about situations that cannot be controlled or anticipated, along with tragic consequences.
No matter what, you need to have an approach to deal with your depression when you are outside of the inpatient facility. So you might as well try that first before entering a facility and before filling out prescriptions for antidepressants.
Remember that one of the main reasons inpatient treatment centers are suggested is so that you can begin your antidepressant depression treatment in a space where you can be monitored.
Think of the irony. You have to take off time from work so you can begin taking antidepressants. If you end up taking 4 weeks off from work to take antidepressants and your boss discovers you are not on vacation, but you are in a mental health treatment center, that could put you in an awkward or even worse position.
Some employers might be sympathetic, but business is business, and once you are labeled with any of the forms of depression, this can bring down your career and family life.
Fear is a great persuader. If your employer of family believes that you are severely depressed, they might look at you differently. They might even think you are dangerous.
Depression is a flaw in the eyes of many, and not just a small blemish, but a big red flag. Think of it, the most common excuse given for murderers (who were not known as criminals before) is that they are depressed.
People who are truly suffering with the painful symptoms of depression are not thinking about killing anyone, other than themselves.
The Alternative Best Natural Remedies for Depression to Consider
This is not going to cost you big bucks or time. The best natural remedies for depression are as close to you as the nearest field, forest, ocean, mountain or vineyard.Wherever you can find nature, you can find help for your depression.
If you can visit and see a vineyard or any other wonder of nature that speaks to you, you need to know that you are in one of the best treatment centers for depression in the world.
At first glance, there does not seem to be any relevance. Can the beauty of nature be as effective of a depression treatment as prozac and zoloft?
Let’s examine how a vineyard can help you fight depression without meds and avoid going to a depression treatment facility.
Not much can compare with the sight of acres upon acres of vines on trestles with sparkling grapes cascading and glistening in the sun. There is great order in the vineyard just as in most other natural wonders of the world, whether it be a sunrise, the waves of the ocean, majestic mountains or the seasons of the year. A unique aspect of the vineyard though is the time it takes to attain the ‘perfect’ development to become a wine that is savored by us.
I started on this path a month ago, which of course is not a very long time ago, but it is progress, and that is what I am focused on, making progress, whether or not it is perfection. We all know that we cannot stand in perfection. Time moves us, time pushes us, time carries us along, so no matter how perfect one moment is, another moment can come along and expunge all memories of the tranquil or turmoil filled past.
We can only keep moving forward, doing the best at that moment and trying to improve on the way. We all have highlights in our life which then seem to fade. I think consistency is a path to more great highlights than disorder. And that is where the vineyard comes in.
The vineyard is first off beautiful.
How Seeing a Simple Vineyard Can Start You on the Road to Recovery
About six weeks ago, before I embarked on the journey of Hashi Mashi, I went out of the City. Yes, I know, there is a world outside of Manhattan, beyond this island which is so pumped up with endless energy. I wanted to see for myself the touted vineyards of Long Island. Apparently, over the last several decades, some great vineyards have been growing in our own backyard, so I made it out to the Wolffer’s Estate, a vineyard a couple of hours away from Midtown.
The estate itself was quite beautiful, the ordered rows of vineyards basking in the setting sun were so calming, just to look at them, the peaceful surroundings and of course the wine.
It was there, at Wolffer’s Estate that I got to thinking more about order, consistency, time for growth, aspiring towards a goal and how it could benefit myself and others. Nature can be a great teacher. During those moments, I felt like it was clear to me, that in order to create ‘wine’ in my life, I needed both time and consistency of effort, and that it had to be focused towards an end in mind, similar to one of Stephen Covey’s seven effective habits, begin with the end in mind.
There is no doubt that when these vineyards were planted, the owners began with the end in mind. Their vision was to create their finest wines which would enjoy the praise and devotion of true wine connoisseurs. I am the first to admit that I know little about wine and too much about disorder, dysfunction, aimless wandering and over thinking. But, I also know that when I have the vision in my mind, I am really energetic, aggressive and dedicated, I do not want to stop till I reach the finish line. For many years, my field has been overgrown with weeds and thorns.
No one was really tending to the land, specifically me.
At one time, I was the semblance of a vineyard, fruit was being produced, there was some acclaim, the vineyard had it’s beauty and I was moving along from one year to the next, taking care of the vineyard as I knew best with the awareness I had at the time. One day, a tornado ripped through the vineyard, destroying literally everything that I loved, my children, my home, my life. Everything was uprooted, tossed around like rag dolls and devastated to the point of not being recognizable.
I mourned over my children, over the vineyard, for many years.
I just sat and could not move, I would sit in the middle of the scorched earth where nothing grew, where there were no vines, where there were no kids playing and laughing, yea, even fighting, there was no rhyme or reason to life. For many years I thought that if it had taken me twenty years to create my world of children and beauty, the vineyard that I loved, and only two minutes to totally destroy it, then what is the point of me doing anything again. For many years, I just did not want to plant anymore, till the soil, water it, fertilize it, put up the trestles, take care of the vineyard, harvest the grapes, press them, create awesome wines.
It can be destroyed again, another tornado could come and ravage every last cluster of grapes left on the vine.
Like a tsunami which just rushes ashore and removes life in literally an instant. That is the truth. Life is so fragile. Without a breath, in less than a couple of minutes, we cannot live!
Life is so fragile and we all know the truth, at some point in the future, which I hope is at least 120 years for everyone, that when we go back to the earth, it is as if we were not existing previously.
Here today, gone tomorrow. The world keeps turning. Nature continues despite whether we exist or not. I remember the morning after the tornado struck, I had been so reliant on good weather, I always looked at weather as my support, the main component of the vineyard’s success, so I was in shock that the weather to which I entrusted my life, that same weather became a storm that took away everything which was important to me.
This is life.
Some people have to literally wait till the end of their life to lose their life. I did not have to wait.
The end came abruptly and in my prime.
For many years, I grieved over the loss but fortunately, I was able to realize that in a way, I was blessed to experience the end too soon, and that gives me a chance to create a new vineyard. I realized that I still own my land, I still have knowledge, I still have the means to till this soil and to plant vineyards. I am sure I am not the only one who has faced crushing losses in life.
Tornadoes of divorce happen, they are no longer freaks of nature, they are no longer aberrations of the norm, but in our society, they are the norm.
How do we recover after divorce? Clearly, some people rebuild, some people do not. I was definitely in the latter group for too long of a time.
There was not doctor, drug, or treatment center for depression that could help put me back on my feet until I visited, saw and reflected upon the vineyard at Wolfer’s Estate.
When I went to Wolffer’s estate, I thought about how many years I have sat in my own land, my former vineyard, and just accepted the devastation, letting it lie fallow, letting the land dry up and crack and producing no wine.
The destruction caused by the tornado was yes a tragedy, but the even greater tragedy had been my sitting in it for so long. The bigger tragedy has been not utilizing my existing land and capabilities to produce a new successful vineyard and wine which makes people happy.
I thought about the vineyards for the next week or so, seeing their beauty in my mind and how their existence changes the landscape.
I knew that I could plant again if I worked at it.
If I got off of the ground, dusted myself off and started digging with my tools, with my blood, sweat and tears, I knew that I could start to transform my property. So, when I came back to the City, I thought about how I could best begin to implement these ideas. I went out to my property so to speak, myself, my field which has essentially been a wasteland for almost a decade.
I looked at it.
I know it will be a challenge, but, if I do not take the plunge now, then when will I have a chance? I apologized to myself, my body, my field, for not taking care of it, for not working the land which I received as a pure gift. I resolved to work the land again, little by little, to be patient with my progress and to keep the vision of producing wine in my mind, a goal that is good for me and good for all who will taste my wine.
- The vineyard teaches us to establish order, to become more disciplined and patient.
- The vineyard teaches us to toil in the field with the end in mind, with the vision of producing a life that is sweet to ourselves and pleasant to others.
- The vineyard is a parable.
- The vineyard is symbolic of nature teaching us new approaches and perspectives for how to deal with depression and create strength of mind.
- The lessons of the vineyard start with you imagining that you are the owner of a vineyard.
Imagine that the vineyard you had built in the past is destroyed. Natural or man made disaster leveled your vineyard to the point that there is nothing left. You sit in the middle of your field mourning over the loss of your vineyard. The question is, will you continue to sit and mourn, or will you make a decision to rebuild?
The choice is yours.
If you do choose to rebuild, reinvent yourself from where you are right now, the following steps provide lessons from nature to us on how to get stronger in both mind and body.
Top 10 Natural Remedies for Depression from a Vineyard
- Choose to Plant a Vineyard – make the choice to be productive again.
- Select a Site with Ample Sunlight – we need physical sunlight, bright thoughts, positive thoughts to rebuild.
- Plowing the Field – we have to work the field, we need regular exercise for our bodies, we need strength training for mind and body to plow up the past and work on the present
- Planting the Field – we need to plant good seeds of thought and expectation of the future
- Watering the Field – we need good nutrition to nourish the vineyard and ourselves
- Growing the vineyard – we need to take care of ourselves and adjust to new obstacles which come every day
- Harvesting the vineyard – we need to appreciate what we have and be grateful for the accomplishments however small
- Winnowing – we need to select the best of what we have right now and not focus on the worst
- Pressing the wine – we must squeeze the best that we can out of the grapes that we have right now
- Drinking the Wine – we should celebrate as often as possible the gift of life, with our family and friends
I stumbled across a treatment for depression literally in the woods. How many medications did I try which did not offer me any perspective, just the feeling of being tranquilized? What will the impact be if you spend a month in one of the best treatment centers for depression?
You can come out on a cocktail of antidepressants with the same thoughts of suicidal ideation and depression as you went in. You can come out with your family believing that you are dangerous for the mere fact that you actually followed medical advice to enter a treatment center for depression. You can end up being estranged by your family because of the phenomenon of social distancing which can happen to anyone who is struggling with depression, american society tends to assume that anyone in depression is dangerous.
Many incidents of violence in the media are explained away by citing that the perpetrator was taking medications for depression or had exhibited signs of depression. This is grossly unfair to people with depression and their only attacks have been against themselves.
After a month in one of the best treatment centers for depression, when you exit, you might find that your career is gone. Businesses have a short attention span for their workers to recover from depression.
Is it really worth to go to a brick and mortar treatment center for depression before trying other less invasive methods?
If you are searching for a treatment center for depression, I hope that reading this will at least give you pause to entertain the idea of looking for another path, seeing a different model than what is loosely prescribed.
I believe that the doctors have good intentions, but when doctors and even family prescribe a treatment center for depression, they will not be the ones coming out.
And if you come out with not much more than when you went in, if you come out losing your family, career, community and marriage, what exactly have you gained? You think that you will be less depressed because you took antidepressants and went to meetings to share your feelings?
If you do not have a guarantee that you will not lose your life and if the treatment center for depression cannot guarantee that your life will not be forever altered, better to think about not going.
Think about other ways that you can strengthen your mind and emotions before submitting to a path that might absolutely destroy the life that you know today.
Sure, it is great to feel high on tranquilizers, being cared for during the month that you are inpatient, but how about strength training for the mind and body as well as thinking high to engender the high feelings?
Is it worth going to a treatment center for depression for a month to come out and see everything that you have built in terms of family and career vanish before your eyes?
You need to know that you can see your very own treatment center for depression, whether it is a vineyard or some other reflection that can get you off the ground and working on yourself to get stronger both emotionally and physically.
This is what the vineyard, the simple beauty and order of the vineyard did for me.
It helped to change my thoughts, and once I changed my thoughts to something other than my losses, I started to focus on rebuilding, which instantly made me feel better in my mind than any other drug or treatment center for depression that I had tried in the previous decade.
– A person is like the tree of a field… (Deut. 20:19)
– He will be like a tree planted near water… (Jeremiah 17:8)
– And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water,
that bringeth forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf doth not wither; and in whatsoever he doeth he shall prosper. (Psalms 1:3)
This subject of The Vineyard reminded me of the words of a song that I used to listen to quite a bit:
“Businessmen they drink my wine, come and taste my herb.” from the Jimi Hendrix version of All Along the Watchtower.
You can listen to the full version as over 16 million other people have done right here.
What do you think about the metaphor of The Vineyard to rebuilding one’s life? Have you been inspired by nature to make changes in your life? Do you know anyone who is suffering from depression that can be helped?
Do you know of someone who only thinks that they can be helped if they go to one of the best treatment centers for depression?
They need to know that they can see a treatment center for depression in a vineyard or many other wonders of nature that might help them to get back onto a better path.
Please reach out to them.
Depression is a lonely condition mainly existing in the mind of the person experiencing it.
Believe me, you can make a big difference in their life if they are willing to get outside, start moving, start thinking of how to rebuild their life, rather than watching the images of the ‘tornadoes’, whatever it is that has crushed them.
Please comment if you have a chance.
Thanks so much!
Rich is a NASM-CPT (Certified Personal Trainer),