Depression

Depression Is Helpful to the Body.

People with depression often avoid talking about their symptoms, hesitate before seeking help, and often speak of their symptoms with shame. They sometimes believe their depressive SYMPTOMS reflect their strength or character. Of course they don’t!

Depression is simply the body’s signal that something is out of balance physically, chemically, or emotionally. It is not the signal of character weakness.

It is clear that depression is actually a very helpful signal in our body. It works similarly to pain. If a person puts their hand on a very hot surface, it hurts. The pain is a signal to pay attention to her hand and make sure she take it off the heat before getting severely injured. If she didn’t feel pain, she’d put our hand on a hot surface and might not ever notice the severe injury until it was too late. While it’s not pleasant, we need pain.

Depression works the same way. If someone has unresolved emotional issues, inflammation or damage to the cells of the small intestine, a brain injury, a thyroid issue, a low-level chronic infection, or is missing vital nutrients, then they will likely develop depression.

Depression is the body’s way of saying, “Hey! Something is wrong and we have to fix it!” If your body is sending you this signal, don’t ignore it. You are not depressed because you are weak or flawed. You are depressed because something is wrong and your body is trying to get your attention.

AT PROGRESSIVE, WE IDENTIFY THE ROOT CHEMICAL IMBALANCE

Progressive runs comprehensive evaluations and testing to determine the root cause. As an added upside, the remedy can often be natural (diet or supplements), so as to avoid long-term dependence on a prescription pharmaceutical product.

WHAT CAUSES DEPRESSION?

People are not depressed, their chemicals are depressed.

There can be many reasons for that: imbalances, deficient sleep, head injuries, and major life events can all contribute. Emotions, appetites, sleep schedules, energy levels, and nutrients affect the levels of hormones influencing us throughout day. They prompt people to wake up, eat, feel energized, get tired, fall asleep, and perform all the necessary functions for life. When this symphony is disrupted, depressive symptoms (and many other issues) can develop.

When we hear about depression as a “chemical imbalance,” most pharmaceutical options target the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. What typically happens is that if a physician suspects that the body doesn’t have enough serotonin, they prescribe a drug to increase serotonin levels, called an SSRI. These medications are only successful about 30% of the time. Why? Serotonin levels probably weren’t the problem, but the physician didn’t test ahead of time.

The testing & benchmarking for these multiple chemicals is highly overlooked in traditional medicine. That means the majority of the time, this treatment is unsuccessful. At Progressive, we test ahead of time.

Get to the root cause of your depression today, and let Progressive help you find the right therapies to get you back on track to a healthier, happier you. We believe every patient should have the right information and guidance to live a happier, healthier life and truly feel good.