Depression is a Symptom Not a Disease
Just because you are depressed does not mean you have depression nor does it mean that you have a psychiatric disorder.
 
Many people have been diagnosed and treated for depression without having a thorough physical and medical evaluation. There are many medical conditions that can cause a person to feel depressed. Many people have been treated for years with psychiatric drugs when they actually had undiagnosed health problems such as a thyroid disorder, a nutritional deficiency, allergies or a hormone deficiency. Everyone deserves a thorough evaluation to find the real underlying causes of their depression.
 
An acquaintance of mine who was initially diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder and medicated accordingly became steadily worse during his “treatment.” Finally he received the work-up that should have been done at the beginning. An MRI showed the presence of a brain tumor. It was removed and his symptoms resolved. Had his doctor provided a differential diagnosis, a brain tumor, among other possibilities, would have been explored. The tumor would have been found earlier and the prognosis would have been better.
 
A Differential Diagnosis
The basic and fundamental way my professors taught me to practice medicine involved specific steps: thorough history, complete physical exam, differential diagnosis, and informed consent. A differential diagnosis refers to all the possible problems that might cause a set of symptoms. Informed consent means that the doctor must tell the patient of all possible causes and treatments for the symptoms and of any possible side effects of the recommended treatments. If a doctor does not have the time or does not know how to rule out various conditions the patient should be referred to someone who can do those things. Above all, however, the temptation to rely on a simple psychiatric diagnosis should be rejected.
 

• depression
• fatigue
• weakness
• cold intolerance
• constipation
• weight gain (unintentional)
• joint or muscle pain
• thin and brittle fingernails
• dry, thin and brittle hair
• pale color
• dry and flaky skin
• puffy hands and feet
• decreased taste and smell
• abnormal menstrual periods

A Chemical Imbalance Is Not a Psychiatric Disorder
Psychiatry refers to many disorders as a “chemical imbalance.” Both they and the pharmaceutical companies seem to imply that chemical imbalances validate the existence of psychiatric disorders. The chemicals to which they are referring, neurotransmitters, function in the body to communicate information nerve to nerve. Their levels normally fluctuate. We change the balance of our neurotransmitters every time we smile or frown. They are different when we are angry, frustrated, sad or happy.
 
If we do have too much of one neurotransmitter or too little of another, it does not mean we have a psychiatric disorder. These chemicals can become imbalanced as a result of thyroid or adrenal problems, nutritional deficiencies, allergies, low blood sugar, pain or any other medical problem or from a medicine side effect.
 
Feeling Sad or Depressed Is Not A Psychiatric Disorder
The reasons a person can become depressed are too numerous to list. Sometimes specific situations such as the loss of a loved one or some other tragic event trigger the depression. Some times people feel depressed because their bodies don’t work properly. Depression is a normal response to death or loss, not a psychiatric disorder warranting medication.
 
Postpartum Depression Is Not a Psychiatric Disorder.
A woman’s hormones change dramatically while she is pregnant. It should come as no surprise that the hormones would change dramatically again after the baby is delivered. This hormonal imbalance is often referred to as Postpartum Depression. However, this condition is not, as is commonly believed, a psychiatric disorder. It is a hormonal imbalance.
 
The connection between feeling depressed and hormone problems is very strong. I have seen many women in my practice that became depressed soon after a significant hormonal change. A common story is that shortly after starting menstruation in their teens these women began feeling depressed. Menopause and peri-meopause can also cause the depressed feelings. Many of these women have been prescribed different antidepressants over the years. None fixed their symptoms and in some instances the drugs made them feel worse.
 
Magnesium Deficiency
More than 350 biochemical processes require the nutrient magnesium. Deficiencies can cause depression, asthma, cramps, calcification of small arteries, EKG changes, migraines and other headaches, kidney stones, muscles weakness, muscle tremors, muscle tics, heart attacks, neuromuscular problems, PMS and vertigo and many other symptoms. A deficiency in magnesium may be the cause of feeling depressed.
 
Drugs Used For Depression
The antidepressants and other drugs often prescribed for depression have some serious side effects listed by the manufacturer. To read the side effects of any drug you take or are considering taking, you can read the drug insert from the pharmacy or look up the drug in the Physician Desk Reference.

A list of side-effects for psychiatric drugs used to treat depression is included in Dr. Block’s book, Just Because You’re Depressed Doesn’t Mean You Have Depression—Depression is a Symptom Not a Disease.
 
Many of the drugs have potentially fatal side effect such as heart attack, sudden death, cardiac arrest or heart failure. The only way to make good, educated decisions about your treatments is to know what your options are and the risks of those options.

Headaches
Dr. Block`s approach to headaches is similar to her approach to other health problems. It is vitally important to find the underlying cause or “trigger” for the headaches. The cause can be hormone imbalances, allergies, low blood sugar, nutritional deficiencies, sensitivities to fragrances and many others toxins. Taking prescription drugs for headaches may help in the short term but finding the underlying cause can provide the tools to prevent chronic headaches.

Chronic Fatigue
Everyone has felt tired from time to time. Usually causes for this are staying up late at night, high levels of exercise or heavy work load. Chronic fatigue is persistent and there is usually no apparent cause. Underlying and unidentified problems can cause significant ongoing fatigue. These include dietary imbalance, thyroid problems, food allergy, nutritional deficiency, environmental toxicity, low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and physical or emotional stress. There are some basic approaches to reducing fatigue such as eating properly, exercising, and reducing emotional and physical stressors. Identifying and treating food allergies and sensitivities and avoiding environmental toxins can help reduce reactions to these chemical stressors. Dietary supplementation is important, especially if there is an underlying deficiency or imbalance causing the fatigue. A complete medical examination can help to uncover the causes.