7 Natural Treatments For Depression
Living with depression can be hard. If you’re a victim of it like I am, there’s often no way to explain how you feel. Most of the time, you feel helpless to overcome it or don’t know where to start.
The photos above are both of me on a very down day when I am filled with anxiety and depression. With October being Depression Awareness month, I wanted to share how I cope with my chronic depression. Here are 10 ways you can use natural treatments for depression.
Get Into a Routine: Some psychiatrists suggest a routine can lower your depression. When I am depressed, even taking a shower seems like a huge task. With depression, one area that’s most affected is structure. For me, setting a schedule helps me stay on top of my day-to-day activities.
Set Goals: When I am depressed, I feel I can’t accomplish anything. This leads to beating myself up about not getting anything done. I start with setting short-term goals that are easy to accomplish. Even if this is to go to the grocery store, accomplishing a goal gives you a sense of purpose.
Exercise: Research has proven moving your body helps stimulate the release of those feel good hormones in the body. This can boost your mood in minutes.
Regular exercise also helps the brain rewire itself to think more positive thoughts. If you suffer from chronic depression, this can be a huge help.
Get Some Sleep: Depression and sleep disorders are directly linked to each other, and more often than not, depressed individuals hardly get enough sleep, which further worsens their problem.
Making some simple and actionable changes to your lifestyle such as following a regular bedtime routine, using calming and relaxing essential oils etc can help boost your sleep quality, which in turn, can help a lot when it comes to your depression.
Invest in Self Care: This is an area that is most difficult for me. Even when I am so low I don’t want to get out of bed, I will do it to take care of the kids, but myself? Not so much.
Sometimes you have to find the motivation hiding inside you and do something just for you. Maybe that is to spend a few hours at a local spa, a solo road trip, reading a book or having a cup of tea on the deck. Find whatever makes you feel happy and pampered, go for it!
Aromatherapy: I have recently started experimenting with essential oils. Did you know there are a slew of oils that when combined can lift your mood and calm anxiety? For instance, for depression, I will sometimes use Ylang Ylang, Bergamot and Grapefruit.
For my anxiety, I will use Lavender, Sandlewood and Basil. You can use a diffuser wear a bracelet made with oil or use it in a roller. Stay tuned for some DIY posts on my top roller combinations.
Therapy: This is an area of contention for many and I get that. My husband would rather cut off an arm than to go to therapy. I love to sit in my therapist’s office and just unload. His lemongrass essential oil calms me.
Talking about what worries me, scares me, angers me, etc. makes me feel better. I love his calm demeanor and how he can offer a suggestion that just resonates with me. If you have not tried therapy, start the journey with some research and go from there.
What does the face of depression look like to you? What natural treatments for depression have you tried that work for you? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
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