6. GET MORE SUN! Light early in the morning is highly effective on altering your mood positively. Natural sunshine and using light therapy have shown they can have a positive effect as well.7. BURN SOME INCENSE! A study (that can be found at The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) has shown that burning resin from the Boswellia plant activates ion channels in the brain that alleviate depression. Floracopeia provides high quality, organic frankincense available as incense and oil.
8. WATCH WHAT YOU EAT! Carbohydrates, alcohol - caffeine and dairy have been reported to cause your mood to plummet. Helpful Tip: Try keeping a food diary of the things you eat and the way you feel each day. (big help)
9. St. John's Wort! the wild yellow flower has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. St. John's Wort is helpful in treating mild to moderate depression. According to two large studies, one sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
10. GET MORE SLEEP! Irritability and mood swings can often be due to lack of sleep. You need about eight hours a night but most people get less! Stay healthy naturally!
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ReplyDeleteI found that the best things for me that helped a lot with depression and anxiety were:
ReplyDelete1-Getting enough sleep (but not way too much)
2- Getting sunshine (vitamin d)
3- High carb diet (80% of calories from carbs (fruits is best(potato,rice pasta second best)),10%protein, 10% fat(cronometer.com to check what you eating) (you don't have sugar rush on high carb diet because there is no fat in veins blocking sugar to be absorbed...)
4- Avoid meat and dairy because they are full of hormones and for me seem to really cause hormone imbalances and anxiety that comes from nowhere, that I can't really control no matter what I did (seeing through 10 different perceptions how it made no logical sense in anyway that I was feeling this way in this particular situation..) yet I could only ignore it and wait till it went away. (plus fatty foods like that always seem to give me brain fog, could not think straight plus other physical symptoms overall feeling bad. Now my mind is much calmer and happy, yet I have more energy and can focus/concentrate and think better.)
5 - Positive thinking (loved writing deep positive thoughts when i was happy enough to get them)and positive music.
6 - Doing your best not to care about what you can't change or what doesn't matter. The past is just a memory it no longer exist and the future has not yet arrive so relax and live in the only true moment. When feeling an emotion you dislike instead of trying to ignore it if it doesn't work say 'give me more of this, I want more' emotions are finite and with any luck they will go away pretty fast, don't however concentrate on the reason why you are feeling this way but the emotion alone.
7 - Exercise (can help a lot)
8 - When possible always push myself to accomplish things I never did before because I did not feel like doing for any reason and never give up. For me I found to really stay very happy I can't just do the same thing everyday I have to push myself higher consistently in the emotionally positive (empathy, compassion...losing the negative like greed, jealousy etc if i have any because those negative emotions can't make me happy and will cause no good.) and logical direction I want to go perfecting myself never giving up.
It's by following these things that I finally after 7 years came out of consistently having no desire to live, to actually wanting to leave and being happy almost all the time.
This is just what worked for me I never gave up before but no matter how hard I tried nothing worked for more than a week until I changed my diet. Most people don't seem to realize it but when you think about it, its pretty obvious that what you ingest will play the biggest role in your health and your mood. I also realized that it's not just one thing that would solve the problems but many changes and never giving up, but once you pick yourself up it becomes effortless.
Just a note regarding your comment on high carbs...sometimes high cravings for carbs is a sign of B6 deficiency... A great little book to reference is Dr Mendell's Vitamin Bible. And of course, the internet. High carbs can cause a few unpleasant side effects like water retention, sore joints... well, it did for me. I limit my starchy carbs like potatoes, rice, bread, grains and stick more to seeds like quinoa, flax, hemp, and try to mix my few grains with legumes to optimize my protein. Include nuts, they have healthy B vitamins too. Very nice suggestions! I enjoyed reading your post. Thank you for sharing! :)
DeleteThanks to both of you for posting--your suggestions are excellent and I will be using your advice!
DeleteRegarding #9: St-John's Wort: be careful when taking this supplement. It can cause photosensitive reactions (sensitive to sunlight). It did work for me, and in my case did also help with weight loss, but I try to take it mostly during the winter (I'm in Canada), along with Vitamin D3. Works wonders for the winter blues, when our sunlight is at its lowest.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you both for posting excellent advice! I will be following it :)
ReplyDeleteI have struggled with depression all of my life. I've learned that the smallest things tend to go the furthest. Eating healthy and not skipping any meals. Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. Our body is pretty good at telling is what it needs, we just have to listen.
ReplyDeleteI have struggled with depression all of my life. I've learned that the smallest things tend to go the furthest. Eating healthy and not skipping any meals. Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. Our body is pretty good at telling is what it needs, we just have to listen.
ReplyDeleteYou might want to add coffee to the list of foods that help with depression. Coffee has been proven to increase dopamine, a chemical in your brain which many people lack when dealing with depression. Here is an article which talks about it: http://coffeecupnews.org/3-reasons-why-coffee-is-the-best-beverage-ever/. Also, the naturally found caffeine in coffee is very different from caffeine found in other beverages and is much better for you. The unique combination of dopamine and adrenaline that coffee naturally has has been shown to help with depression, children with ADD, and an overall better mental state. The smell of coffee alone has even been linked to an elevated mood (well, in rats at least.)
ReplyDeleteA wonderful resource I've been using successfully for years now is Dr. Michael Lesser's book "The Brain Chemistry Plan." It contains a number of different biochemical "profiles" with recommended food lists (and foods to avoid) for each, along with supplements, dosages, and what to do if you move into an out of balance state. As always, especially if you're going to try this in lieu of medications, consult your prescribing physician first so you can wean yourself off any medications safely. Worked for me!
ReplyDeleteI had struggled with Depression for years at peaks and lows and ups and downs, some real down points and they would spiral out of control and lead to major anxiety also, at times I was an alcoholic as I drank everyday till I was drunk and also I was suicidal.
ReplyDeleteI had tried anti depressants such as cipral and others nothing worked they made me zombie like and killed all emotion and feelings I went numb.
What really helped is researching, understanding why and how we get depressed and then also a Natural approach, this is what has worked for me and changed my life
- detoxing my pineal gland - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92qmQFkYILM
I have followed everything she said
- Cutting out all chemical based foods and products such as cleaning products, shampoo, body gel and deodorant
- Eating all organic fresh food, fruit and veges and less red meat
- Filtering my drinking water - No fluoride at al, you can buy great water filters such as the ones that are jug based
- A swig of Apple cider vinegar, Turmeric in a glass of water with cracked pepper, Acai powder in glass of water, spirulina tablets, Chlorella tablets EVERYDAY !
- An Apple and a Banana everyday
- Exercise 4 hours a week
_-meditation a few times a week ( 5 mins or so ) plus Sun on my forehead when I can
This has no only killed all my depression and anxiety but its made me super healthy and I have not got sick once at all since, its made me feel alive and happy, I had results within 3 weeks tops and it gets better and better, I have also lost weight in a healthy way and I now consider food as the number one thing that you need to consider, as its fuel and needs to be a priority. It took work and research but if you are serious about being healthy and living long and killing your depression follow these methods and please please please trust me and do this, if you want it bad enough you will try this and it will work
Also a BIG MUST EAT ALL ORGANIC and DRINK GREEN TEA with LEMON ! A pot a day