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insufficient calories. Repeated diet failures are also a cause of depression for women with chronic obesity. Women who binge eat to deal with their depression may have less or no improvement in depression symptoms when dieting compared with women who do not binge eat. Women who have bariatric surgery also appear to have improvement in depression over time, although it isn't clear if this is because of their improved appearance, the provision of supervision and support, or the weight loss itself.

It appears that a well balanced, healthy diet will improve depression and lead to weight loss as effectively as a formal weight loss diet.

Will anything else help my depression?

Since dietary changes alone are unlikely to cure depression for most people, you should plan to utilize some or all of the following treatments:

Bright light has been shown to improve seasonal symptoms as well as non-seasonal depression
Exercise has been clearly proven to improve depression
Therapy is equally effective as medication for mild to moderate depression
Relaxation techniques especially helpful for the anxiety that often occurs with depression
Regular sleep try to go to bed and get up on the same schedule every day
Antidepressants when other measures haven't worked or for moderate to severe depression
Medical checkup to make sure other medications or medical problems aren't contributing to the depression

While it is easy to feel overwhelmed when you are depressed, there are many things you can do for yourself to get back control of how you feel. You may have to push yourself to improve your diet and your lifestyle, but if you do, you will not only decrease your level of depression now, but prevent it from coming back in years to come.

Learn more about this author, Harriet Squier.
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