Dear Alex,

My daughter is dealing with depression and low energy. We believe a lot of it is her age and situational however we decided to take her to a psychiatrist who put her on medication. She took the medication for a month and a half and then decided it wasn’t for her and she stopped going to therapy. I’m worried about her and not sure how to help. She’s open to my suggestions about eating better and getting exercise, etc. but I’m not sure how else to support her. Please help.

-         Concerned Parent

Dear Concerned Parent,

It sounds like you’re already ahead of the game here and your daughter has an amazing support system within you.   While I’m not a licensed therapist or nutritionist, below are some recommendations of things to look into to help support your daughter’s mental health and boost her energy.

o  Underlying Health Issues – If you haven’t already, I’d suggest getting her a checkup with her pediatrician or family doctor, just to rule out any general health issues that might be hiding behind these symptoms.

o  Sleep – I find with my clients suffering from depression and fatigue, setting a routine sleep schedule typically helps. Waking up and going to sleep relatively around the same time of day, EVERY day, helps reset your circadian rhythm and re-balance hormones such as cortisol.  Check out this article to learn more about sleep cycles and cortisol Exercise – Exercise is a great way to not only improve overall health but to combat depression. When we exercise the body releases endorphins, aka ‘feel good chemicals’. Check out this article by Harvard Health about exercise being as effective as antidepressants

o  People – This is a tricky one. Sometimes the people we surround ourselves with can contribute to our depression. It could be a friend, bully, teacher, parent, romantic partner or someone in her life that’s causing her to feel down. There’s a really good life editing exercise I like to present to teens to help them identify who the toxic people are in their lives, that seems to really help. Being able to identify these individuals is helpful and learning tools and techniques to set boundaries with them, could significantly improve her mood and reduce stress hormones such as cortisol.  If interested in providing her with this life editing tool, here’s my Free Lifepath Mentorship Consultation link let’s chat and get her started.

o  Joy – Sometimes depression is just because there’s not enough joy in life. Kids are under so much pressure to perform and be a certain way, especially with social media. That I think they oftentimes forget to be kids and experience goofy joy. They don’t always get to be their authentic selves and just be weird and find joy in silly things. With teens, it can be hard to get them to spend time with us as parents.  If you can’t get your teen to go to the park and swing on the swings with you or do a craft, the next best thing is to lead by example. Let your guard down around your teen. Be goofy or weird, laugh at yourself and don’t be afraid to make a mess! If they see you being happy and kind to yourself, they may want to engage in the fun.  

o  Supplementation - There’s quite a bit of research to support the use of nutrition and supplementation to increase energy and impact depression.  I would suggest looking into the following:

• Magnesium Glycinate

Here are a few really good scientific papers about the impacts of Magnesium and mental health

o  PubMed

o  NCBI

Here's another good resource on various types of Magnesium

• Methylated B Vitamins

Here's a great paper on B Vitamins

o  Genetic Testing  - If depression runs in your family, it could be related to a genetic factor. To test for genetic variation, it’s usually done by a blood test. I know 23 and me does it and typically do would your doctor or a naturopathic doctor. Here's an article about various genetic markers. Knowing if there is a marker in genetics, makes it easier to treat. For example, I have a gene mutation that makes it harder for my body to convert b-vitamins, so simple supplementation with the methylated b vitamins makes my body run more efficiently and gives me greater energy! Genetic testing could also provide some insight for your psychologist to be able to prescribe medication that is more likely to work for you.

There really isn't a one size fits all treatment plan for boosting energy and combatting depression. However, using a combination of the tools above could make a significant impact on your daughter’s life.   If you feel comfortable with sharing this list with your daughter, please do.  She's the one that has to want to make these changes and getting her buy-in will increase her chances of success.  Wishing you the best of luck on this journey and please feel free to reach out should you need additional support.

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