The New Bible Cure for Depression & Anxiety (9 page)

—Isaiah 41:10

For low testosterone, I prescribe testosterone transdermal cream, and I check the blood levels of total and free testosterone and adjust the dose until the levels are normal. I also place patients on a natural supplement that will protect their prostate. I regularly check PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels since testosterone supplementation is contraindicative with prostate cancer. I also combine the testosterone cream with chrysin, an herb that helps prevent the conversion of testosterone to estrogen.

I rarely have to prescribe testosterone injections since I can usually get the patient’s testosterone level to normal by using transdermal testosterone creams. I prefer the cream because I find that patients injecting themselves with testosterone tend to have more side effects.

Thyroid

Although not a sex hormone, low thyroid levels, especially low T-3 levels, can lead to depression. Hypothyroidism and borderline hypothyroidism (called subclinical hypothyroidism) are fairly common in my practice. I can usually spot hypothyroidism as soon as I see a patient because of distinct signs and symptoms. Puffiness in the face and body, swollen eyelids, fatigue, constipation, unexplained weight gain, a loss of the lateral eyebrows, and edema in the feet and ankles are common symptoms. If a patient’s T-3 level is low and the patient has depression, I usually treat the depression with T-3 (liothyronine) or Armour Thyroid, which is a natural thyroid hormone replacement therapy. For more information, refer to
The Bible Cure for Thyroid Disorders.

A
Bible Cure
Health Fact

Toxins May Lead to Depression

Our world is very toxic. We are exposed daily to toxins in our food, water, and air. Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and aluminum are ingested daily in our food, water, and even in the air we breathe. Solvents such as isopropyl alcohol, benzene, formaldehyde, and cleaning materials are being absorbed through our skin and being stored in our fatty tissues. We also are exposed to pesticides and herbicides due to the produce and fatty foods that we eat on a daily basis. Pesticides are easily stored in fatty tissue.

On a daily basis, our bodies are accumulating a heavier and heavier toxic burden due to our constant exposure to these toxins. These toxins are stored in our fatty tissues, nervous system and brain tissue, bones, and organs. They create such a toxic burden that we eventually may develop fatigue and depression. (You can learn more about detoxification in my books
Toxic Relief
and
Get Healthy Through Detox and Fasting
.)

As you overcome depression with joy, use natural vitamins and supplements to help your body eliminate any symptoms of depression and anxiety. Before you take your vitamins and supplements, pray over them. In doing so, God’s blessing and anointing can empower what is natural in a supernatural way to be even more effective in physically strengthening you.

A
Bible Cure
Prayer for You

Almighty God, Your Word says in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (NKJV). Thank You for showing me which supplements to take. Before I take them, I pray for Your Spirit to impart potency to them for helping me physically and emotionally. Fill my body, soul, and spirit with Your joy that no circumstance can rob. Amen.

A
Bible Cure
Prescription

Overcoming Depression and Anxiety With Nutritional Supplementation

Circle the vitamins, minerals, and supplements you take regularly, and underline those you plan to begin taking. This does not mean that you are supposed to take all the supplements listed on this page. You should start slowly with a multivitamin and omega-3 fat, and start with only one amino acid supplement. A nutritional doctor will also help direct you through targeted amino acid therapy.

A comprehensive multivitamin

Vitamin B-6

St. John’s wort

Magnesium

Chromium

Omega-3 fish oil

B complex

SAM-e

5-HTP

L-trytophan

L-tyrosine

L-theanine

GABA

Kava kava

Lemon balm and valerian

Chapter 6: Joy-filled Living With Exercise and Rest

Exercise is the absolute best natural antidepressant. Regular aerobic exercise or increased activity can improve symptoms of anxiety, depression, excessive stress, and insomnia. Some studies have found that regular aerobic exercise is as effective as an antidepressant medication.
1

Research shows that it may take approximately thirty minutes of exercise a day, at least three to five days a week, to significantly improve symptoms of depression.
2
However, smaller amounts of exercise as low as ten to fifteen minutes at one time can improve your mood in the short term.

Two main reasons active individuals feel better are that regular exercise may raise levels of certain mood-enhancing neurotransmitters in the brain, and it also increases the production of endorphins, which help relieve stress, decreasing the stress hormone cortisol. Endorphins are morphine-like compounds that elevate your mood, enable you to sleep better, and decrease muscle tension.

The problem is that many patients who are depressed or anxious have a hard time getting out of the house, going to work, or even doing menial house chores. They wonder, “How can I possibly start an activity program or an exercise program?” They simply see that as adding one more burden or one more chore to their life.

In these cases I recommend starting immediately on either 5-HTP, L-tyrosine, or SAM-e. Before starting a new exercise program, I also recommend that you see your doctor and get his clearance that you are healthy enough to start an exercise program. Call a friend or an accountability partner—an “accountabilibuddy”—whom you enjoy being around and find an activity that you enjoy doing.

You do not have go to the gym and work out with weights or walk on a boring treadmill. You may want to take walks through parks, your neighborhood, or wherever there is beautiful scenery. You may want to even try ballroom dancing or try watching your favorite TV program while on an elliptical machine.

He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.

—Isaiah 40:29

If you do not enjoy the exercise activity you are doing, chances are you will not stick to it. So find an exercise or activity that you do enjoy. Also, make sure that you set a reasonable goal; instead of exercising five to seven days a week, try exercising every other day or three times a week. Have a day in between in order to rest. Start out walking only five or ten minutes a day, and gradually increase the time as well as the pace as you are able to. Eventually work up to twenty to thirty minutes three to five times a week.

Do not see your exercise time as a burden or something you
should
do. Remember, eliminate “shoulds” from your vocabulary; think that it would be a good idea for your health to exercise on a regular basis. For more information on exercise, please refer to my book
The Seven Pillars of Health.

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Bible Cure
Health Fact

Finding Your Target Heart Rate Zone

I used to recommend purchasing a heart rate monitor or calculating your target heart rate zone by using a formula I provided, but most modern exercise equipment now has a heart rate monitor feature built in.

However, if you don’t have access to such equipment, I have a very simple solution. To find your target heart rate zone, simply walk fast enough so that you can’t sing and slow enough so that you can talk. If you are walking so fast that you can’t carry on a conversation, slow down. But if you are walking so slow that you are able to sing, speed up. Also, find a buddy who is close to your fitness level. I have seen spouses walking in my neighborhood, and the husband is way ahead of the wife. The poor wife is huffing and puffing trying to catch up. This will add more stress to your life because exercise should be enjoyable and not a chore.

Restoring Adrenal Function

Chronic anxiety as well as depression is usually associated with high-cortisol levels. Cortisol is the stress hormone associated with chronic and unrelenting stress; it is also associated with insomnia, truncal obesity, decreased memory, hypertension, and osteoporosis, as well as a host of other diseases.

I commonly check the adrenal status of patients with both chronic depression and anxiety and then support their adrenal glands with nutrients and herbs in order to restore normal adrenal function. For more information on this important topic, please refer to my books
Stress Less
and
The Bible Cure for Stress.

The Importance of Sleep

Insomnia is a common symptom of both depression and anxiety, and that’s why restorative sleep is extremely important in overcoming both of these conditions. Restful sleep leads to improved immune function, improved mood, a more youthful appearance, improved stamina, improved mental function, and improved memory. Sleep deprivation leads to a decrease in immune function and sets the stage for a whole host of illnesses.

It is critically important that you get at least eight hours of good quality sleep in order to overcome both depression and anxiety—this is even true for elderly individuals. Elderly people can have trouble sleeping well at night because they do not have normal serotonin levels that younger individuals have. Approximately one out of three people have insomnia on a regular basis.

Chances are you either have problems falling asleep, staying asleep, or you wake up in the early morning and find it difficult to fall back to sleep. As a result, most people with depression and anxiety are tired and have little to no energy to exercise. Realize that the same supplements to treat depression and anxiety also help many people fall asleep. I discuss this very important topic in detail in
The New Bible Cure for Sleep Disorders
as well as
The Seven Pillars of Health.

The first step in correcting insomnia is to maintain a diet that is free of caffeine, chocolate, and other stimulants, especially in the late afternoon and evening. Caffeine inhibits the effects of serotonin and melatonin in the brain and also activates both the nerves and muscles, getting the heart pumping faster.

Alcohol is another toxic chemical that prevents a good night’s sleep. In addition, avoid exercising too late in the evening or near bedtime since this will stimulate instead of relax the body. Never watch action-packed movies before bedtime, since they too can get your adrenaline flowing.

Relaxation Techniques

Especially for people with anxiety, it is important to learn how to relax. When you have a panic attack or your anxiety level creeps up, simply practice some abdominal deep-breathing exercises or progressive muscle relaxation to abort an anxiety or panic attack. Also, simply ten good belly laughs a day will usually relax your body and decrease anxiety significantly. Understand that all anxiety disorders are marked by muscle tension, and when you relax the muscles, you usually relieve anxiety. I discuss many relaxation techniques in my book
Stress Less
.

Before falling asleep, try the following:

• Read the Bible or a good book, or watch a funny movie or TV show. Laughter helps to relax the body. I prescribe ten belly laughs a day to all patients with depression or anxiety. Turn off the late night news, and do not watch action movies or adrenaline-pumping ball games before going to bed. Instead, record them for watching the next day.
  
• Practice relaxation techniques such as progressive relaxation at bedtime. Relax while lying in bed. Begin by flexing the toes for one to two seconds and then relaxing them. Then systematically flex and relax the muscles all the way up to your head.
  
• Enjoy a light snack, before bedtime, consisting of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent fat.
  
• Cut back on your fluid intake past 7:00 p.m., and empty your bladder before going to bed so you do not awaken in the middle of the night and then find it difficult to fall back asleep.
  
• If you have tried all the basic steps outlined above and still find it difficult to fall asleep, take 100‚Äì300 mg of 5-HTP approximately thirty minutes to an hour before retiring. You may also take valerian and passionflower in a dose of 300 mg each approximately an hour before bedtime. You might also try 1‚Äì6 mg of melatonin thirty minutes to an hour prior to bedtime; take the kind that dissolves in your mouth.
  

One more note: if you are extremely anxious, you should decrease any activities that create additional stress. The steps above will help you to relax, but I also recommend that you avoid volunteering for extra work and eliminate all unnecessary activities that cause stress.

Prescribing the Peace of God

In this chapter, we have focused on the importance of physical exercise and adequate rest. However, the Bible cure affirms the benefits of
both physical and spiritual exercise for our continuing health.
The Bible says, “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it” (1 Tim. 4:8–9). As you exercise your faith, trusting God to remove pain, strengthen, and heal your body, you will boldly pray for your healing.

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

—1 Peter 5:6–7

God’s Word encourages us to “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Heb. 4:16).

You can boldly approach God’s throne in prayer. How?

• Believe in faith, trusting God for your healing.
  
• Trust His promises to heal you. For example, ‚ÄúHe [God] sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions‚Äù (Ps. 107:20, KJV).
  
• Pray boldly for your healing, knowing that in His mercy and grace, God‚Äôs will for you is to live in divine health.
  
• Ask God to give you rest and peace. Jesus said, ‚ÄúCome to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls‚Äù (Matt. 11:28‚Äì29).
  

For every patient with depression and anxiety, I recommend a list of specific scriptures that deal with peace of mind. Realize that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7, NKJV). You are actually
promised
a sound mind, which is the opposite of depression and anxiety. I have found that when my patients meditate on and confess scriptures on a daily basis, both depression and anxiety usually begin to subside. (See
Appendix A
for Scripture confessions for peace of mind.)

A
Bible Cure
Prayer for You

Almighty God, in the name of Jesus and through His shed blood, I boldly approach Your throne of grace and seek Your healing power and touch. I know that by Jesus’s stripes I have been healed. I claim Your promise that You have forgiven all my sins and healed all my diseases. So I boldly stand on Your promises of healing, and I praise You for helping me to overcome depression with joy. In the name of Jesus, amen.

A
Bible Cure
Prescription

Overcoming Depression

Do you:

• Rarely exercise
  
• Exercise occasionally
  
• Exercise regularly
  

If you are not exercising regularly, when will you start? What exercise program will you implement?

How many hours a night are you sleeping? How many should you be sleeping? If you are not getting enough sleep, what will you do about it?

Check the steps you need to start taking before you fall asleep at night:

• Practice relaxation techniques
  
• Eat a light snack
  
• Other. Describe: _______________________________________