There are many natural remedies for anxiety and depression. These natural methods of increasing your energy and bettering your mood can often help you get unstuck and even help change your brain chemistry.
What’s great about these methods is that they can also be used while you are on your medication and following your counseling session. These are great side boosters that will help you achieve even better results faster.
- Exercise and Physical activities
Regular physical activity is a great way of boosting your energy and having your body release endorphins. In general, regular exercise is a great way of relieving symptoms of depression and breaking outside your regular patterns. What’s more, if you choose a physical activity, you enjoy then you will also find happiness in doing the activity, thus helping you break out of your depressive cycles in the short term.
- Relaxation and doing things you enjoy
One of the main problems with suffering from depression is that often you might feel too tired to even carry on with the things you love. Fatigue and insomnia are also commonly associated with depression, so typically the will to do things you love or used to enjoy is no longer there. This is why it is very important to find things you enjoy that help you relax. These could include watching a film, listening to an audiobook, or laying down and hearing a guided meditation.
Other relaxation techniques include exercises that promote progressive muscle relaxation, looking at imagery that helps you relax, and even just listening to music. Finding the relaxation techniques that work for you is completely personal and might involve trial and error but overall, it should help with reducing symptoms.
- Start meditating
Meditation is an excellent form of relaxation which can help ease the mind, and provide anxiety and depression relief. Meditation is all about practice so learning how to focus your mind on your breath might take some time. This is why often the use of a mantra or a single word can help improve your meditation practices at the start.
- Go outside
The benefits of going outside are plentiful, and especially when there is a lot of suns outside, not enjoying it can often be a waste. Apart from helping improve your mood because the sun increases your serotonin, there are also other benefits to getting more sun exposure.
Serotonin has been linked with better quality sleep, so by going outside daily you will be able to more easily fall asleep at night. Whenever possible you can also combine your favorite physical activities or relaxation activities with being outside for maximum effects.
- Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an incredibly important vitamin for the body as it helps promote healthy growth. While the sun is your best natural source of this vitamin, there are also many supplements available to boost your Vitamin D. In general, high levels of vitamin D will help you instantly feel better and be in a better mood.
- Try Yoga
Yoga is a mind-body exercise, thus combining both the benefits of meditation and physical exercise. Yoga is specifically designed to increase flexibility and straighten the spine. All of the exercises are built to increase the focus of the mind and reduce the stress on the body. Thus, this can be an excellent way of bringing some more mindful exercises into your daily routine.
- Guided meditation
For those struggling with meditation, guided meditation is a great way of familiarising yourself with goal envisioning and imagery practices. This is great for those who have a hard time using positive thinking to picture the future and even envision happiness.
- St. John’s wort
St. John’s wort is a herbal treatment commonly used for treating depression. While there is limited proof about it is effective in the treatment of major depression, those with milder forms of depression tend to benefit from using these herbal supplements.
- SAM-e
S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM-e) is a naturally occurring chemical found in the body. It is mainly involved in improving bodily functions, but there is evidence to suggest its effectiveness in the treatment of depression symptoms.
SAM-e pills should be avoided by those with bipolar disorder or manic depression as they might lead to mood swings and manic episodes.
10.5-HTP
5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is another naturally occurring chemical, that is directly responsible for the increased production of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is important for feeling happier and even being able to relax and sleep better.
5-HTP should always be used after consultation with a physician.
Conclusion:
When it comes to depression small daily natural activities like the ones mentioned above can help alter the way you feel. However, therapy and medication may still be necessary which is why communication with your physician is extremely important for proper treatment.
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