Is St. John's Wort a Viable Treatment for Depression?

[Rapunzel]

I have been advised to take St. John's Wort and I've read good things about it. I'd be interested to know how many of you have tried it, and whether it has fewer side-effects than medications, whether it's more or less effective, and so on.

[batgirl]

I know I've heard many people say it's helpful for mild depression, but if you're depression is worse than that, I'm not sure. I know I took it a while back and it didn't help me. If you're going to try it, one caution. Make sure you're not on any other medication, for PTSD or anything else. St. John's Wort tends to flush toxins out of your system, which is why many people feel better on it. However, that means it also flushes out other medications, which can interfere with other treatments you're having.

Good poll!

[anthony]

I thought it was a waste of time.... did nothing for me at the level of depression set from my PTSD. I say that, because depression that comes with PTSD is not what shrinks seem to so freely label as "major depressive disorder" but instead it is a chemical depression as a symptom of PTSD itself. PTSD feeds from stress, negative emotion, etc... fix those core issues, no more depression because the chemical intolerance is no longer constantly present.

[cactus_jack]

I feel that St. John's Wort is good stuff, and can be controlled/reduced/increased far easier than drugs. If you try it and it does nothing, you have to ask what you want it to do. Me, it did alright for a while but I ended up decreasing the amount taken.

Right now my ference is Standard Process, Inc. nutrients. They literally work wonders for me.

[Sapper]

I don't have PTSD, but I took St. John's Wort for "the blues" a while back, and I didn't notice any change. Exercise helped me much more.

[anthony]

I agree sapper, it did nothing for me either, but exercise fixed the problem near ASAP.

[Auburngirl]

I've taken it in the past and found it helped for minor depression and irritability/anxiety. I see it as just another tool to use in conjunction with walks to the beach, plenty of sleep and fresh vegetables.

[nic]

As batgirl said, be careful with medications. DO NOT take it if you are on birth control pills.

[indigo~in~0z]

i agree with batgirl and some others....

mainly only for mild/everyday blues..

try it for anything heavier & it can do anything from absolutely bugger all to have extreme side-effects...

never did anything for me... i think i might have gotten more edgy/ansy??? who knows.. hard to judge given what im like tho..

[cypher]

I never tried it and never looked into it all that much.