'St John’s wort got me out of wanting to hide under the bed'

When Shirley Lief, now a 41-year-old massage therapist living in London, moved from South Africa to Australia she was overcome with the blues --- so much so that she didn’t feel like leaving her house. Then she discovered St John’s wort and things started to look up again. This is her story.

‘It was around five years ago when I moved to Australia from South Africa with my husband that I started to feel blue. Perhaps what I was experiencing was the aftermath of growing up in a violent country but I was also missing my family and friends.

‘I went to see a doctor for flu and my feelings of loneliness and missing my family came flooding out and I just burst in to tears. Shockingly he put me straight on antidepressants. Looking back I think I would probably have benefited more from a session with a counselor - it would have given me the chance to talk through my feelings.

‘It wasn’t long after this that I started to have panic attacks for which I was given more prescription drugs to calm me down. I became like a zombie and didn’t want to go anywhere.

‘Then two years ago I decided enough was enough. I did feel better but everything in my life seemed “dulled” and I realized that the anti depressants were just suppressing my feelings.

‘It was hard coming off the pills and I went through three days of cold turkey. I experienced night sweats, high anxiety and terrifying dreams – it was awful. I gradually came through it and although I did not feel as bad as before I still felt depressed.

‘I tried to be as positive as I could and took up regular exercise and booked in a course of treatments with an acupuncturist. Then a friend suggested I try St John’s wort. I decided to give it a go and have never looked back.

‘It took around six weeks of taking it morning and night before I started to feel the benefits. My anxious moments became fewer and I actually started to feel less tired and drained all the time. My feelings of sadness and loss didn’t disappear overnight but at last I felt I was able to deal with them. Best of all I rediscovered my libido, which I thought, had disappeared forever!

‘Life is definitely on the up. I feel more relaxed, less irritated and much happier. I would definitely recommend anyone who is going through a down patch in their life to give St John’s wort a go.’