Estimates indicate that > 350 million people are affected by depression worldwide. 1 While conventional medicine defines depression as a neurochemical disequilibrium disorder, treating it with psychoactive drugs, such as neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitors, 2 complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) finds different causes for depression and, therefore, its treatment. Approximately 10%-20% of patients' conditions respond poorly to conventional therapy or the conditions are nonresponsive. 3 Thus, we report some CAM interventions with which we have seen good results in our clinical practice by combining them in an individualized way according to each patient's needs.Acupuncture-A significant beneficial effect of acupuncture is that it can reduce the severity of depression. One metaanalysis showed that acupuncture and electroacupuncture as monotherapies had similar effects, compared to usual medication, 4 although when either of these therapies were combined with antidepressants, the results were no better than medication alone. 5
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