What the evidence actually supports for depression, in order: test for the deficiencies that are common in Pakistan first, then the three supplements with the best trials behind them, and the one that works but interacts dangerously with other medicines.
It is exhausting to feel like this all the time, and looking for something that might help is a completely reasonable thing to do. Here is an honest answer rather than a careful one: supplements are not a treatment for depression, but a few have real evidence behind them, and one group of them matters more than the rest.
Start with a blood test, not a shop. Vitamin D, vitamin B12 and iron deficiency are all common in Pakistan, and all three produce exactly what you are describing - flat mood, no energy, poor concentration, broken sleep. If one of those is low, correcting it can change how you feel in a way no herb on the shelf will, and if they are all normal you have saved yourself the money. Ask your doctor for vitamin D (the 25-hydroxy test), vitamin B12, and a full blood count with ferritin. They are inexpensive at most labs here. depression.pk/supplements/vitamin-d and depression.pk/supplements/iron explain what the numbers mean.
If your bloods come back fine, three things have the most trial evidence behind them. Omega-3 works best in formulas where EPA outweighs DHA, which most bottles are not - check the back label, not the front: depression.pk/supplements/omega-3. Saffron has a run of small trials that came out surprisingly well, and it is already in Pakistani kitchens, though the market is full of dyed safflower sold as the real thing: depression.pk/supplements/saffron. Curcumin has some positive add-on trials, but almost none of it is absorbed from ordinary haldi in food: depression.pk/supplements/curcumin. None of these is a replacement for treatment. All three are best thought of as something added alongside.
One warning worth more than the rest. St John's Wort genuinely works for mild to moderate depression - and it is the single most dangerous thing on this list, because it stops other medicines working. Hormonal contraception has failed because of it. Taken with an antidepressant it can cause serotonin syndrome, which is a medical emergency. Never combine it with anything without asking a pharmacist first, and never stop a prescribed antidepressant to try it instead: depression.pk/supplements/st-johns-wort. The full list, with what each one interacts with, is at depression.pk/supplements-for-depression.
And the part that is harder to sell than a bottle: if this has gone on for weeks or months, the thing most likely to shift it is not a supplement. Talking to someone, and being properly assessed, does more than everything above put together. That is free here and you do not have to give your name.
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