Feeling blue? Check out these natural ways to feel better.
When you’re living with depression or anxiety, you’re always looking for ways to feel good. This is because both of these conditions can sap your energy and fill you with worry.
So, if depression and anxiety are getting in the way of living a happy life, here are a few natural remedies to try. They can help you start improving your mood and feel hopeful while healing.
Drink green tea instead of coffee
Experiencing intense, short bouts of anxiety can raise your blood pressure and stress your heart. This won’t hurt you once in a while, but over time it can damage your heart and blood vessels.
A compound called L-theanine, which is present in green tea, can help reduce anxiety and limit its effects on your heart and blood pressure. Instead of a morning cup of coffee, try a few cups of green tea to feel focused, energized and relaxed.
Exercise regularly
One of the best natural remedies for anxiety and depression is to get moving! From helping you build strong bones to boosting your happiness, there are plenty of benefits to exercise. Even just a brisk walk can produce brain chemicals that stabilize your moods and relieve anxiety as well as tension.
Try to get your heart rate up for at least 20 or 30 minutes a day to enjoy the depression-busting benefits of exercise. No time for exercise? Try some “non-exercise exercises” to help you get that daily boost of serotonin.
Try light therapy
Like its name suggests, light therapy uses special lamps that produce brightness that looks like sunlight. You sit in front of the lamp and absorb the spectrum of light it produces. This type of light can help your brain make the chemicals it needs to get you feeling less anxious, and it’s a safe way to find relief.
Be sure to discuss light therapy with your primary care provider before you head out and buy a lamp — it might not be the right option if you take medications that make you sensitive to sunlight.
Take time to meditate
When it comes to holistic ways to treat anxiety, meditation can be very effective. Meditating involves sitting quietly, breathing evenly and becoming more aware of your surroundings. It helps you focus on the present moment, not something in the future that’s making you worry. Try starting out with 10 minutes of meditation a day.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is a compound that helps keep your brain working and thinking well. When your body doesn’t get enough vitamin B12, you might experience anxiety, fatigue, depression or even hallucinations.
But your body can’t produce this vitamin on its own. You need to get more of it through the foods you eat — particularly dairy and meats — or by taking supplements. As always though, be sure to first talk with your primary care provider before starting a new diet or taking new supplements.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Fish oils, which contain compounds called omega-3s, may ease symptoms of depression and anxiety. Like vitamin B12, your body can’t produce omega-3s. So, you need to add them to your diet. You can take them as supplements, but it’s best to get them naturally through foods you eat. Try having more salmon, sardines, walnuts, brussels sprouts and spinach to increase your omega-3 consumption — and ease depression. Again, be sure to first talk with your primary care provider before starting a new diet or taking new supplements.
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