I'm 21 years old now and was diagnosed with being clinically depressed when I was 16. I saw a bunch of counsellors and many of them told me that I should go onto anti-depressants. Although I have had friends that take them and they help, I have never personally liked the idea of taking medicine if I didn't absolutely have to.

I tried anti-depressants once, and didn't like them at all, I just didn't feel like myself. Then, one day, I had to be rushed to Richmond General Hospital because I collapsed at work. The doctors said that anti-depressants affected my heart and, after 5 days, they discharged me with the instruction that I was never to take any again. I felt like I was hung out to dry - I was left with no options and didn't know what I was going to do. So I continued through life with counselling and trying to figure out the emotions I was having that I couldn't control.

A few months went by and I couldn't do it on my own anymore, so I started asking my counsellor for alternative methods in getting better. My counsellor recommended I try naturopathic medicine. Because it's all natural it was less likely to react with any allergies (which I found out I had along the way).

I live in the Lower Mainland, BC, so I got recommended to go and see Dr. Allison Patton at Mountainview Wellness Centre in White Rock. For me, she was an amazing Naturopath who listened to all of my symptoms. She put me on a multi-vitamin, fish oil and capsules called "Happy Sense". I had to take them every day, and I got a vitamin shot once a week for about 6 weeks. The shots made me feel better almost immediately ... not healed from depression, but it did allow me to remember what "HAPPY" felt like, and reinstill some hope back into my life.

The pills took a couple weeks to start working but I am still impressed wtih the impact they have had on my life. They evened out my mood, so that I didn't snap back and forth between happy, sad, and mad without warning ...
this treatment started to help me heal.

I feel happy again, and it has taken a lot of work, but I feel that the naturopathic medicine played a large part in my healing process. I'm still not totally better ... I know this from the couple of times that I had felt like I was better and decided, on my own accord, to stop taking the naturopathic treatment. My moods would start changing quicker again, and I would feel more down without any real reason.

My counsellor has helped me to see that I'm not ready to stop taking my vitamins. I have gone back to the Naturopath, now that I'm older, and had my dosage changed to adjust to my healing process.

The naturopathic method of treatment has been a huge help for me emotionally and mentally because I have
had such difficulty with anti-depressants, and finding another path to take that actually helped me has, I believe, saved my life.

It's been 5 years and I've come a long way with the help of my friends, family, counsellor, and natural medicine ... my favorite part being that it's like taking vitamins - which everyone does.