Flat, heavy, tired in a way sleep does not fix, and told your bloods are fine. Depression is a condition your GP, psychologist or psychiatrist looks after. Our naturopaths and nutritionists in Geelong and Drysdale work alongside them on the physical things that can weigh on mood: what you eat, how you sleep, your gut, and nutrient levels that may never have been checked.
If you are struggling with your mental health, your GP or a mental health professional is the right first port of call. We don’t diagnose or treat depression; that stays with your doctor. Our part is the nutritional, herbal and lifestyle work that sits alongside their care.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 000. For support around the clock, Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. healthdirect lists more mental health helplines.
Because depression is not one thing with one cause, and a standard blood test was never designed to explain it. Most people who come to us already have a diagnosis and care in place: a GP, often a psychologist, sometimes medication. Some are improving and want to do more. Some are doing everything asked of them and still feel flat, foggy and exhausted.
That is not a failure on their part. Often something physical is adding to the load. Nutrient levels that are low or borderline. Thyroid function that has not been checked in years. A diet that has quietly narrowed to toast and coffee because cooking feels impossible. A gut that has been unsettled for a long time. Sleep that is broken. Each of these can drag on mood, and each of them can be looked at.
It is not “all in your head”. We will always listen.
We don’t diagnose or treat depression; that stays with your doctor. Our part is the nutritional, herbal and lifestyle work that sits alongside their care.
Mood is shaped by more than brain chemistry. In research, depression travels with low-grade inflammation, with a poor-quality diet, with gut symptoms and with disrupted sleep, and each of those influences the others [1][2]. None of that replaces a diagnosis or a psychologist’s work. It is the physical ground mood stands on, and it is where we work.
Diet quality — a diet built around vegetables, legumes, fish, olive oil, nuts and whole grains is consistently associated with lower rates of depression in large population studies [2], and improving diet quality reduced depressive symptoms in randomised trials, including an Australian trial in people with major depression [3][4]. Food is not a treatment for depression. It is one of the few inputs you control every day.
Nutrient status — several common nutrient deficiencies affect energy and mood, and low levels are common in people who have lost their appetite or narrowed their diet. Measured, not assumed. We work from your GP’s bloods where they exist, and ask for or arrange what is missing.
Inflammation — a large body of research links depression with raised inflammatory markers [1]. That is not a diagnosis, and inflammation is not the cause for everyone. Where it is present, it usually points back to diet, gut, sleep, weight or an unrecognised medical condition, which we look for with your GP.
Gut health — gut and brain signal to each other constantly, and people with long-standing gut symptoms have higher rates of depression [5]. Our article on depression, anxiety and the gut-brain axis explains where the evidence sits.
Sleep — broken or short sleep and low mood feed each other. Sleep is worked on early.
Blood sugar and energy — skipped meals, a high-sugar diet and the 3pm crash all show up as fatigue and flatness. Regular meals with enough protein are often the first change we make.
Movement — physical activity reduces symptoms of depression across a large body of trials [6]. How much, and what kind, depends on how depleted you are.
Thyroid and hormones — an underactive thyroid, perimenopause and the months after a birth can all present as low mood. These are checked with your GP first. Our thyroid page explains what a full thyroid panel includes.
What needs a doctor — diagnosis, medication and any change to it, bipolar disorder, depression in pregnancy or after a birth, and any thoughts of self-harm all belong with your GP, psychologist or psychiatrist.
Your doctor diagnoses, prescribes and monitors. A psychologist works on thinking, behaviour and the patterns that keep depression going. We work on the physical inputs: food, nutrient status, gut, sleep and movement. The three fit together, and we would rather you had all three than any one of them.
We never ask anyone to stop or change antidepressant medication. Whether medication is right for you, and for how long, is a decision for you and your doctor. If you are taking medication, we check every recommendation against it with your GP or pharmacist before you start, because some herbal medicines interact with antidepressants.
Depending on what we find, a plan can include:
A realistic diet plan, built around what you can actually cook and eat on a low day, moving towards the vegetable, legume, fish and whole-grain pattern the research supports [3][4].
Correcting what is actually low, matched to your results and checked against your medication.
Gut work, where symptoms or testing point there.
A sleep routine that is possible for you, not a perfect one.
Movement matched to how much energy you have, starting smaller than you think.
Herbal and nutritional support, chosen in consultation and checked against anything you take. Some herbal medicines have been studied for low mood; we discuss the evidence and any interactions with your prescriber before anything is used.
Keeping your GP and psychologist in the loop, so everyone knows what you are doing.
We usually review at six to eight weeks, because mood changes over months, not days.
We are open 6 days per week, by appointment only. Book an appointment online via our online booking link.
Always for diagnosis, and always when medication is in the picture. Your GP is the right place to start; we are an addition to that care, not a substitute for it.
Some things need medical attention first. If you have thoughts of suicide or of harming yourself, call 000, or Lifeline on 13 11 14, now. Depression that stops you working, caring for your children or getting out of bed needs proper support, not a diet. Low mood in pregnancy or in the months after a birth needs your GP or midwife. Periods of unusually high energy, little sleep and racing thoughts alongside the lows need a doctor, because that is a different condition with different treatment. And any change to medication, including stopping, is between you and your doctor.
We don’t diagnose depression and we don’t treat it; medication and dosing decisions sit with your doctor. Seeing a naturopath is not a reason to stop medication or to try something you have picked up yourself, because both can do real harm. healthdirect’s depression guide and Beyond Blue set out the medical side plainly.
Not with the depression itself; diagnosis and treatment stay with your GP or psychologist. What a naturopath can do is work on the physical things that weigh on mood: diet quality, nutrient status, gut health, sleep and movement. That work sits alongside your medical and psychological care, never instead of it.
Only after it has been checked. Some herbal medicines interact with antidepressants, so we check every recommendation against what you take with your GP or pharmacist first, and we never ask anyone to stop or change medication. Our article on natural medicine alongside antidepressants explains how we go about that.
Not as a rule. Research links depression with raised inflammatory markers in many people, but not all, and inflammation is a signal rather than a diagnosis [1]. Where it is present, it usually points back to diet, gut, sleep, weight or a medical condition your GP can check for. That is what we look at.
Yes. Diets built around vegetables, legumes, fish, nuts and whole grains are associated with lower rates of depression, and improving diet quality reduced depressive symptoms in randomised trials [2][3][4]. Food is not a treatment for depression, and no single food changes mood. Over months, the overall pattern matters.
We listen first. Then we go through your history, your diet, your sleep, your gut and your recent bloods, and we ask about your GP’s and psychologist’s care so we can work with it. If something is missing from your results, we ask for it or arrange it. You leave with a plan you can actually do on a low day.
1. Köhler CA, Freitas TH, Maes M, et al. Peripheral cytokine and chemokine alterations in depression: a meta-analysis of 82 studies. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2017;135(5):373-387. doi:10.1111/acps.12698
2. Lassale C, Batty GD, Baghdadli A, et al. Healthy dietary indices and risk of depressive outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Mol Psychiatry. 2019;24(7):965-986. doi:10.1038/s41380-018-0237-8
3. Jacka FN, O’Neil A, Opie R, et al. A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial). BMC Med. 2017;15(1):23. doi:10.1186/s12916-017-0791-y
4. Firth J, Marx W, Dash S, et al. The effects of dietary improvement on symptoms of depression and anxiety: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Psychosom Med. 2019;81(3):265-280. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000673
5. Zamani M, Alizadeh-Tabari S, Zamani V. Systematic review with meta-analysis: the prevalence of anxiety and depression in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2019;50(2):132-143. doi:10.1111/apt.15325
6. Singh B, Olds T, Curtis R, et al. Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews. Br J Sports Med. 2023;57(18):1203-1209. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2022-106195
If you have care in place and still feel flat and worn out, it is worth having the physical side looked at by someone who works with your GP rather than around them. Our naturopaths and nutritionists consult from Geelong CBD and Drysdale, in person or by telehealth, six days a week. Bring your results and we will start by listening.
We are open 6 days per week, by appointment only. Book an appointment online via our online booking link.
