Doctor Reveals How to Manage Depression Without Resorting to Prescription Drugs

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - Oct 7, 2011) - In the past, people suffering from depression were often given two choices -- medicate it or deal with it.

Dr. Gregory Jantz, a licensed mental health counselor and author of "Moving Beyond Depression" (www.drgregoryjantz.com), however, believes there is a third option.

"The use anti-depressant medication has recently skyrocketed, but there is another way, and it doesn't involve prescription medication or other compulsive behaviors," Jantz said.

Jantz's method is called the Whole-Person Approach, and it incorporates getting a handle on the following concepts that make up the key elements of our lives:

• Emotional Influences - We are emotional beings, and we choose to acknowledge or express those emotions in outward forms. We are never far from our feelings and emotions. When depression settles into a person's life, emotions become confused. Minor daily irritants can become major life hurdles. Even if life appears to be going well, our emotional balance can become tilted toward depression.
  
  
• Environmental Influences - We live in a world where complexity greets us every morning. What are we going to wear? What are we going to eat? How are we going to arrive at work? From the moment we awake, the assault begins. We are overwhelmed. The assault demands a response, and retreating into depression can be that response.
  
  
• Relational Influences - We use relationships to determine our position in life. We make decisions about who we are based on how we believe others perceive us. We use this information to triangulate our state of well being.
  
  
• Physical Influences - In the past, the answer to a broken-down spirit was a pharmaceutical "fix." But as we learn more about the inter-working of mind, body, and spirit, we are learning that the potential exists for our bodies to act as partner in recovery instead of an opponent.
  
  
• Spiritual Influences - Wrestling with questions of worth and purpose are spiritual issues. Who am I? What is my purpose? Where is joy? The spiritual component of a person's life can provide direction toward both the right questions and the needed answers.

About Dr. Gregory Jantz

Gregory L. Jantz, PH.D., is the best-selling author of numerous books including "Every Woman's Guide to Managing Your Anger and "Moving Beyond Depression." He is the founder and executive director of The Center for Counseling and Health Resources, Inc.