Things that you do

• Aerobic exercise. The standard protocol of 40 minutes three times a week plus warm-up and cool-down should work. [1][2][3]. This says after 16 weeks, 60-69% of patients no longer met diagnostic criteria for depression; compared with antidepressants, this is a slower response, but relapse rate is lower, especially if they keep exercizing.
  • Running versus weight lifting in the treatment of depression - found weights are just as effective.
• Relaxation - like progressive muscle relaxation, EMG biofeedback, or autogenics. Lots of studies on this.
  • Massage - Some self-reported improvements, but no intervention studies (p.4)
• Laughter yoga [4]
• Pranayama. Don't know if there are any studies specifically on this, but we do know that "for mind and body alike, there is no purgative like pranayama"
• Cold showers. Adapted cold shower as a potential treatment for depression is an intriguing proposal that brief cold stress is part of the evolutionary environment we are adapted to. "Exposure to cold is known to activate the sympathetic nervous system and increase the blood level of beta-endorphin and noradrenaline and to increase synaptic release of noradrenaline in the brain as well."

Things that you nom

• Fish oils, 2-3g a day with EPA:DHA ratio of 3:1 or 4:1. Study published in Journal of Clinical Psychiatry with n of 432 found fish oil effective in depression without anxiety, less so in depression with anxiety. Meta-analysis of ten trials with n of 329 found strong effects.
• 5-HTP
• Magnesium
• Vitamin D is needed to make serotonin and most people are deficient.
• In theory, creatine supplementation could help depression, because the creatine-phosphate system is hypoactive in the brains of depressives. A preliminary study (no control group) showed improved symptoms in all eight subjects after 4 weeks. (And also found that creatine caused two manic-depressives to go manic). Half a gram (i.e. half a teaspoon) six times a day would probably do the trick, as it raises concentration of creatine-phosphate as much as the more conventional single 10-20g [5]
• St John's Wort. Here is a meta-analysis published in the BMJ with a total n of 1757 that found a strong effect, equivalent to antidepressants. This is a smaller meta-analysis showing a weaker, but still significant, effect.
• Placebo. Effective in 30-50% of cases

Things that you put on your head

• EEG feedback [6]. Increase left frontal cortex activity and/or decrease right frontal cortex activity. Neurofeedback Treatment of Depression and Anxiety - review of various studies, showing pretty convincing evidence
• Transcranial magnetic stimulation [7][8]. Repetitive stimulation to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. How could this be adapted to low-voltage systems like the Shakti?