Most people I talk to have seen that commercial on television about the anti-depressant Zoloft. The commercial starts out saying "you know when you feel like this", and "you know when you don't feel like that". After it sets out a bunch of symptoms it explains that they're the symptoms of 'depression'. Then the commercial goes on to say that depression 'may' be caused by an imbalance of a chemical in the brain and their product 'may' help to correct that imbalance.

Although it's true that the main reason for depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain, what the commercial doesn't tell you is which chemical/s is/are actually out of balance, that their drug does not actually correct the imbalance of those chemicals, or that the drug they're promoting blocks a totally different chemical in the brain, or that in may people it makes the depression worse and many of them commit suicide! The suicide rate has gotten high enough that the FDA made a new regulation that makes the manufacturers of these anti-depressants put a warning label on the container about suicide.

Here's what the commercial should be telling you. Depression is not a 'condition' in and of itself it's actually a 'symptom', along with all the rest in the commercial, of an imbalance in several chemicals in the brain and those chemicals are 'hormones'! Progesterone, Estrogens and Testosterone are the main hormones men and women produce and they are all neurotransmitters (chemicals that help escort nerve impulses from one cell to the next.) in the brain. But because of the normal aging process of the body these hormones decline which means that the amount in the brain declines too. And if there aren't enough of these chemicals in the brain the person (male or female) can experience symptoms ranging from

Some doctors understand what's happening (but they're few and far between) and prescribe 'Hormone Replacement Therapy'. But the majority of doctors have been given the false data that these symptoms are part of a 'mental disorder' and either prescribe anti-depressants or send the patient to a psychiatrist who does.

The anti-depressants do not replace the missing hormones (neurotransmitters), (which is what caused the depression and anxiety in the first place), they prevent a totally different, and very important, neurotransmitter called 'Serotonin' from working properly. 'Serotonin' has a stabilizing effect on our moods and when it's not functioning properly a person will not feel right.

Here's How it All Works
Our brain produces electrical impulses that are carried through the body by the nerve cells, but since none of them are connected to each other the impulses have to be 'helped' from one cell to the next. The nerve cells have fluid between them containing mineral salts(electrolytes) that 'conduct' the electrical impulses through it. The electrical impulses are escorted through the fluid to the next nerve cell by the 'neurotransmitters'. Below is a demonstration of how nerve cells and neurotransmitter are supposed to work and the effect that anti-depressants have on the neurotransmitter Serotonin.

In the picture below:

What's happening in the picture is this. The red dots (nerve impulses) come down to the end of the nerve cell and the purple dot (progesterone), the blue dot (testosterone) and the green dot (serotonin) piggy-back them across the fluid containing the mineral salts (electrolytes). Then the progesterone, testosterone, and serotonin go back to get another red dot (nerve impulse) and the process is repeated.The process of the progesterone, testosterone and serotonin going back for another nerve impulse is called 'reuptake' and that process is VITAL to the proper function of the brain.

The next picture shows what happens when the hormones are not there.

As you can see the first two neurotransmitters (progesterone and testosterone) are missing so the red dots cannot get across to the next nerve cell. This causes depression, anxiety, sleep problems, irritability and short term memory loss etc.

Now have a look at the next picture.

In this picture the anti-depressant (serotonin reuptake inhibitor) is stopping the serotonin from going back for more red dots (nerve impulses). The person was already depressed and may have been thinking that they felt so bad they wished they were dead. Now the drug has blocked the chemical that was providing the last bit of stability they had left. And since serotonin helps with mood stabilization too, when the hormones are missing AND the serotonin is not working properly it makes the depression worse and the person can go ahead and kill themselves. That's why suicide is the #1 side effect of taking anti-depressants!

Something else you should know is that suicide is the second leading killer of teenagers in America. There are two reasons for this. They're being prescribed these drugs, and as if that were not bad enough, they're taking them recreationally. This needs to be stopped! So if you have teens on these drugs you need to get them off them! If not you need to educate them about these drugs because they may, unbeknownst to you, be taking them recreationally. If they're not taking them recreationally and they understand the consequences of doing so, hopefully, they never will.

So What's The Answer?
The answer is to simply replace the missing hormones NOT to block the serotonin! Below are links to some more information that can help you to understand why the hormones are missing in the first place and how to figure out which ones you need to replace. We have helped thousands of people with this and some of them have written success stories which we have published on this web. Below is a very recent one that really made me tear-up. I know it's not about anti-depressants but she had all the symptoms I talk about and she found relief from them. It came by e-mail and the subject read "Please read - You saved my life!!!"

Hi, Sindi!
I just wanted to write and let you know my story. I am a 32 (almost 33) mom of 2. And a month ago had vaginal swelling and the docs were not sure what was wrong with me. It scared me so bad that I thought I was dying the pain was getting worse antibiotics didn't help. I went back to the docs, they thought it was herpes the meds they gave me for that didn't work either.

I became suicidal and really thought in my head I was dying, and had something that no one ever heard of as all of my test results came back negative. Then my mom out of shear desperation looked up depression and found you. I had over 30 of the symptoms on your list. (I was also drinking a lot of soy as well as taking herbal supplements)

I have been using your products for less then a week now and most all of my symptoms are gone. I no longer have the swelling or pain, less facial hair, more upbeat.

I want to shout it out to the world about your products. It is worth everything!!!!I Your products saved my life!!! If you need anybody to help spread the word please let me know. I will be glad too. I thank you and my family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts. You may use this if you want too in your testimonials.

Gratefully yours,
Heather Barrett

Sindi Holmlund - Founder of Nature's Botanicals, Researcher, Writer, Master Herbalist