"Having suffered from depression for most of my life, I had read all I could about the subject and had been to various therapists to try and remedy what seemed to be "just the way I was".

It would have been easier to have a complaint like a broken arm since from the outside everything looked normal.In fact I can be regarded as a having a life that a lot of people only dream of...a great husband, two gorgeous children, no health problems, I had everything I could possibly want but still I couldn't shake the emotional cloud that engulfed me for days, sometimes weeks, on end.

Only someone who has truly suffered from depression understands how isolating it is. No amount of rationalising helps, whether by others or yourself and so the guilt sets in, creating a cycle. And then as quickly as it sets in, it can lift for no apparent reason. I felt like it was always a time-bomb then, waiting for the next cloud to come.

I never took anti-depressants even though they were prescribed for me twice by doctors. In my desperation, I went as far as to buy the one lot and left them at the back of my cupboard while I tried to decide whether the good effects would outweigh the side-effects.I was quite concerned about having to wean myself off them one day and then what would happen? Would I be in a worse situation? That would be intolerable.

Having recovered from post natal depression after my first child, I was plunged into almost a permanent depression after having my second child, and after about two and a half years, my depression became more severe. I felt as though I was underwater or in a bubble, my body was incredibly heavy, my energy was the lowest it had ever been and my short term memory was non-existent. I could hardly get through the day and I was terrified that I would further deteriorate and would have to take to my bed and even worse, admit it!! I stopped alchohol completely, restricted sugar in my diet, took more excercise and led a really clean life.

I had heard about Mary Aspinwall from family members who had seen her for various ailments and took my daughter to see her for a chest complaint. I decided to ask her advice and after a consultation, she chose the most suitable homeopathic medicine for me. Of course, I expected to at least feel a bit better and what happened next was most unexpected...it seemed like a slippery slope down even further. I rang Mary after a further 8 weeks of deep depression and she advised me to hold on for as long as I could, although she would give me an antidote if I preferred. I decided to hold on and within the next two weeks the cloud lifted, my energy started returning and I could function as normal. To this day, which is now more than five years later, I have been entirely well.

It is almost beyond belief that I have not had a bout of depression once in the last 5 years. Along with that, my chronic sinus, which I have suffered from since I was 10, has disappeared - a rather pleasant side-effect!! It is amazing how bleak things were for me for years, and how one little tablet could change my life to this extent.

Hope this is of help to people who are suffering - my sincere gratitude to Homeopathy."

Find a qualified and experienced homeopath in your area using a search engine or even better get a word of mouth recommendation, by asking friends and family if they have seen a homeopath they found helpful. It is always best to have a face to face consultation, but if you can't find someone in your area who is suitable some homeopaths do online consultations.

Homeopathy is based on The Law of Similars. This means tests are done on human volunteers to see what symptoms, thoughts, dreams and feelings they have when they take a particular substance. All of this data is recorded and written up in books (Materia Medica) and specialised software programs.

When you attend a homeopath you will have a long detailed interview. Afterwards the homeopath will research this data to find a substance capable of causing the most similar suffering to what you are experiencing.

Homeopathic literally means the substance is able to cause (and so also cure)similar suffering. It is the accuracy of the prescription that makes a substance homeopathic.

As you will have seen from my client's story, people sometimes feel worse before they feel better with homeopathic treatment. My client's "aggravation" period was much longer than normal. In general people feel a little worse initially and then start to feel the benefits pretty quickly, generally within three - four weeks in my experience.

The "aggravation" is really your system having a clear out of all its internal "dis-ease". The equivalent of a Spring clean. With Homeopathy the old adage better out than in definitely applies!

The great news is that Homeopathy is an holistic medicine. It doesn't just manage or control your symptoms, but goes right to the heart of your "dis-ease" and removes it, so the warning symptoms you were experiencing just aren't needed any more.

The original substances are used in such a dilute form that there is no risk of side effects or dependency.

"Nearly 10 years ago I experienced some form of "nervous incident" whilst working in a rather stressful job. The immediate result was that I found myself getting tense in situations where before I'd have been perfectly calm such as when driving or meeting new people. I saw a doctor about it and he described the condition as being a form of "anxiety attack". The pills he gave me were used on people with high blood pressure which slowed the heart rate. I used them from time to time but wasn't happy to take such medicine. More often than not I learned how to live with the condition.

A few months ago I had a particularly bad time with the symptoms seeming stronger than usual and lasting for an extended period. It was then that I decided to look for some form of alternative medicine that might help and that's when I met Mary.

Our first meeting coincided with a lot of pain I'd been getting in both feet (possibly gout). We discussed the history of what I'd been going through as well as other ailments I suffered such as the foot pain. Mary also looked for something quite unique within these ailments and found it when I told that when the nervous condition is at its worst I fear that I'll swallow my tongue (though I know I won't). This provided her with enough information to go away and feed this information into her computer software.

She found what she considered to be an ideal solution considering the symptoms I'd described and she told me to take just one pill to be dissolved under the tongue at bedtime. The mental effect was noticeable within days and for the next fortnight I felt better than I'd done in a long time with no nervous symptoms and much improved concentration and understanding.

Mary had said that I'd know when it was time to take another pill and sure enough after 16 days I wasn't feeling quite as good so I took another and its impact seemed to last a similar amount of time. On a 3rd meeting with Mary I told her that I was very pleased with the mental results but that the initial foot pain had, if anything, got worse so she upped the dosage to 200 dilutions from 30 (I know that seems weaker in the non-homeopathic world) and I soon noticed a big improvement in the foot pain and within a week it had stopped entirely. It's now 5 months since the first meeting with Mary and apart from the occasional twinge I've had no problems with the pain.

I continue to take one homeopathic pill about every 3 weeks and haven't had to touch any anti-inflammatories or blood pressure pills for the initial symptoms at all. Hopefully this will allow me to enjoy the increased quality of life that has come from my discovery of homeopathy."

"I consulted Mary a couple of years ago as a last
resort, having been suffering from crippling anxiety,
self-doubt and various physical ailments. I say 'as a last resort' because I didn't believe that homeopathy worked. My friend dragged me in to see her, and I was too depressed to argue. To my surprise, Mary had a no-nonsense attitude. She was very supportive and encouraging, took plenty of time to listen to me and offer real and constructive advice, and what's more,the remedy she gave me worked like a dream. In fact, I have been feeling so well since then that I haven't needed make another appointment."

Lillian had also had a horrible reaction to her anti-depressant medication.There is no substitute for hearing about Homeopathy directly, follow this link to hear Lillian talk about her experience in detail: http://www.innerhealth.us/downloads/Radio/08/Depression_and_Homeopathy.mp3