In this article I share with you 11 free, natural ways to help you overcome your battle with depression or anxiety.
In fact, these free medicines are not just for people suffering from these conditions. They can also be considered as part of a healthy lifestyle and self-care routine, to maintain good mental and physical health and to help prevent conditions.
1. THE SUN The sun is the source of life on our planet. Without light and warmth, life is not possible. The amount of sunlight we absorb daily affects our mood and condition. Too little sunlight leads to an imbalance of our biological clock, due to the increase of melatonin, the hormone we need to fall asleep. When we have too much melatonin, it leads to feeling down and drowsy during the day.
Under the influence of sunlight, our pineal gland is also activated. The pineal gland is connected to the Third Eye chakra, and when we get enough sunlight, it stimulates our intuition, our creativity and our empathic abilities.
The sun also activates the production of serotonin, a so-called 'happy chemical'. This hormone is an important mood stabilizer.
The production of vitamin D is also stimulated by sunlight. This vitamin is good for our overall health, because it helps to heal and prevent inflammation, and strengthens our entire immune system.
2. LAUGH Did you know that scientific research has shown that laughter is good for our overall health and well-being? It increases the activity of our respiratory system, stimulates our cardiovascular system and triggers the production of endorphins, a natural painkiller and feel-good chemical. When we laugh, our fascial muscles have a positive effect on our blood flow and the temperature of our brain, which leads to the release of endorphins. Just try this once and see for yourself; whenever you are feeling sad or down and your facial expression is alike, just bring a smile to your face. Even only faking it, you will still feel the effect immediately! Also, when you are feeling down and depressed, a great way to relax your body and mind is to watch a comedy or laugh with friends. It really helps to boost your mood and relax your body and mind!
3. SLEEP When you sleep, you not only physically rest from the day, but also mentally you rest and rejuvenate, processing your daily experiences and emotions. The amount and quality of sleep you get have a huge impact on your physical and mental health. Both too much and too little sleep can cause serious hormonal imbalances, which negatively impact your mood. To improve the quality of your sleep, having a daily routine of self-care practices like breathing exercises and yoga before bed is very helpful in relaxing your body and mind. The more relaxed your system is, the better and deeper your sleep will be.
4.MUSIC Isn’t it the best feeling when you hear your favorite song? Listening to music increases blood flow to the areas of the brain that generate and control emotions. Listening to your favorite music releases dopamine, the chemical that creates feelings of happiness, excitement, and joy.
Have you ever heard of the healing power of sound therapy? The use of healing frequencies goes back to ancient civilizations, who already knew how to use them to heal all kinds of conditions. Solfeggio sound frequencies have also gained immense popularity in our western society over the past few decades, as an effective form of therapy that helps improve various aspects of our well-being. Many have found these frequencies to have many benefits. For example, the 174Hz frequency is said to relieve stress and physical pain. The 417Hz frequency is said to stimulate trauma healing, 528Hz is said to promote relaxation and improve sleep. The 639Hz frequency is said to lead to improved mental balance and help strenghten interpersonal relations, and music with the 852Hz frequency helps with nervousness and anxiety , and is said to stimulate spiritual awakening.
5. NATURE We receive a lot of information and stimuli on a daily basis. Through TV, social media and everyone we come into contact with. Some of this information can be uplifting and joyful, but a lot of it is about the dramas in the world. These low vibrational messages affect our state of mind. Spending enough time in nature is a perfect antidote to this. The beauty and purity of nature helps to calm the mind and relax the body. This raises your energetic vibration and brings you back in touch with your own nature. In other words, it helps you heal from mental and physical imbalances and improves your overall well-being.
6. EXERCISE Everything in nature, everything in life is always in motion. Energy is always in motion. Therefore, it is our natural state to move with it, in the right balance between action and rest, effort and relaxation. When we are feeling down and depressed, it can be difficult to motivate ourselves to be active. We may want to hide from the world, stay on the couch or in bed, hidden under the covers. However, as challenging as it may feel, it is vital that you keep moving and exercising. Not exercising for too long will only cause your energy levels to drop even further and your mental and physical condition to deteriorate, making it increasingly difficult to motivate yourself to take action. However, when you start exercising, you will start to feel better almost immediately, due to the production of happy hormones endorphins and dopamine.
7. CONNECTIONS Although, as mentioned, it can be tempting to withdraw when you are feeling anxious or depressed, social interaction is crucial for your mental health. As humans, we are programmed for connection, we thrive on healthy relationships. Sufficient alone time is also very important, but again, it is all about the right balance. We can have all kinds of connections. Romantic relationships, friendships, as colleagues or just acquaintances, the social circle of your community or town. When we socialize, when we feel part of a group, helping or being helped by others, we activate the happiness hormone oxytocin. This hormone is also called the love hormone or the bonding hormone. This hormone is also released when we hug or kiss, make love or when a mother breastfeeds her child. And also when we cuddle and play with our pets. When we have fun together and laugh, we release endorphins. Achieving goals is linked to the release of dopamine, so any community work, group project or team challenge we participate in has this effect.
8. STARGAZING Spending time outside after dark looking at the stars has a very calming effect on us. Not only is connecting with nature and the universe linked to the release of serotonin, the mood stabilizing hormone, when we look at the stars we relax and detach from our daily stories, we can see things more clearly and from a broader perspective. Stargazing helps us to connect more with our true inner nature, our cosmic higher Self, our intuition.
9. CONSCIOUS BREATHING When we are feeling stressed about something that is happening in our lives, we can easily help ourselves by taking a moment to connect with our body and our breathing. When we keep running around in circles in our minds, constantly replaying the story of what is going on, in our head, we increase our stress levels, which in turn lowers our energy. In order to regain control over ourselves, calm our minds and regulate our emotions, we need to shift our focus. Away from the story, and onto our breathing. There are many different breathing techniques for different purposes. But even if you are not familiar with these techniques, by refocusing on your breathing you will immediately feel your system calm down.
10. PLAY Life can be very demanding, full of challenges and responsibilities. This can sometimes be very overwhelming. Especially when we are sensitive to the expectations of others, or easily pick up negative vibes from others, or care deeply about everything that happens in the world around us, it can often be very difficult to stay optimistic and energized. That is why it is important to find the right balance between caring and letting go. To not take everything so seriously, but to stay playful and light-hearted. It is not only children who like to play, as adults our inner child needs to play and have fun too!
11. HERBS AND FOOD Okay, this one may not be completely free, but it's still worth mentioning because many of them are easy to find and use, and low-budget too.
In nature we can find numerous herbs that have natural healing properties. Many scientific researches are supporting this claim. Herbs that can help with depression and anxiety, such as St. John's wort, Chamomile, Lavender, Passion flower, Rosemary, Lemon balm and Turmeric. The use of herbs for medicinal purposes goes back thousands of years. Nowadays this use is becoming more and more popular, because many people are dealing with some form of depression, anxiety, sleep problems or other mental health issues. Many regular pharmaceutical drugs can have unwanted side effects, such as feeling numb and not really 'yourself' anymore, and people also often experience that they may help you feel less anxious on the surface, but that they do not really help you heal on a deeper level. In essence, you become dependent on these drugs to feel a little less anxious or depressed.
DISCLAIMER: The suggestion to use medicinal herbs is however not advice against regular medicine or therapy. Always use your own intuition and decide what feels best for you. Regular and natural medicines can also be used simultaneously in many cases. The advice here is to inform yourself well and seek professional advice from both regular and alternative doctors and therapists before using regular or natural medicines!
There are also many foods that help with stress, anxiety and depression. Of course, these aren’t exactly free either, but since we all have to buy food anyway, why not spend money on foods that support our health and well-being? Magnesium has a positive effect on our nervous system and helps relax muscles. This improves your sleep and overall energy levels. Examples of foods rich in magnesium include almonds, seeds, bananas, many leafy greens, legumes, avocado, raw cacao and whole grains. There are many more examples of foods that help improve our mental and physical health. Eating natural instead of processed foods is generally advised to stay balanced. According to various studies, a diet with antidepressant components such as folic acid, iron, Omega 3 (EPA & DHA), magnesium, potassium, selenium, vitamin B1, B6, B12, C, A and zinc can help prevent or cure depression and anxiety.
I hope this helps!