One of the most common mood disorders worldwide that people deal with is anxiety. Anxiety can affect you, whether you’re a stay-at-home, busy young professional, or a senior living out their golden years. While it’s tempting to run straight to a psychiatrist and get prescribed pharmaceuticals that will instantly take your worries away, there are natural methods that could work just as well for you – not to mention are non-addictive. Self-help tips to beat anxiety abound online and from well-meaning loved ones worth heading. At the same time, if your anxiety is affecting you on a daily basis, it’s worth adding supplements that have been shown to reduce anxiety to help get you over the hump. Let’s look at these supplements and how they can help you. [Read more…] about 5 Supplements That May Help Your Anxiety
Fighting the Stigma around Mental Health and Addiction
Discrimination of any kind is reprehensible. Pigeon-holing people based on this or that trait or condition is unethical on every level. When it comes to the bias that exists around those suffering from a mental health disorder or addiction, the end result can be nothing short of devastating.
Those battling these afflictions are often branded in a pejorative light, leading to feelings of shame, self-loathing, and isolation. This can cause the condition to worsen as the individual resists getting the help they need.
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Understanding the Importance of Empathy in Mental Illness
More and more people nowadays struggle with mental illness in varying degrees of intensity and severity. One reason for this has to do with the very nature of modern life, which is stressful, demanding and fast-paced. While this can be beneficial when it keeps you on your feet and focused on success, it is also detrimental once it turns into a burden.
A lot of us crack under pressure from time to time. Some have a harder time bouncing back from it though, and it’s time everyone understood that that’s perfectly fine. Mental illness shouldn’t come with a stigma attached to it and it shouldn’t be a reason to belittle or dismiss others off the bat.
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Quick Ways to Calm Yourself Down When You Feel Overwhelmed
These days, it seems that overwhelmed is the only feeling I know. There is just so much going on all on fronts that I have to admit sometimes, I do not know how to handle everything on my plate. I won’t go into the details, but suffice it to say that I feel like a person who has been cast adrift for what seems like an eternity.
You probably feel the same way — we are all in the same boat in a sense.
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A Simple Guide to Overcoming Melancholy
Melancholy as an emotion is distinct from depression or grief. It has its own singular nature that is characterized by a certain vague sadness, an unexplainable tenuous sorrow that is baffling because you can’t quite put a finger on its cause. Changing circumstances in life allow melancholy to creep in insidiously and catch you unawares so that you experience moments of profound bleakness or intense yearning for no one or nothing in particular.
“My melancholy is the most faithful mistress I have known; what wonder, then, that I love her in return.”
Søren Kierkegaard
A melancholic phase can actually be good for you. It increases mindfulness, raising your awareness of the present. It can also make you more intuitive and empathetic towards other people. But prolonged melancholy can have a significant negative effect on your mental and physical health. Seventeenth-century Puritan theologian Richard Baxter writes that “overmuch sorrow” can pollute one’s judgment, overthrow logical reasoning and hinder hope. Modern medicine says it leads to anhedonia, the inability to find pleasure, and eventually to clinical depression.
If you find yourself languishing in a state of chronic melancholy, it’s time to take control of your moods. Don’t ask your doctor for a Prozac prescription…yet. Here are non-medical treatments that work on both your body and your mind to distract you from your sadness and lift up your spirits, so that you can gradually return to your normal self.
Start color therapy.
Colors prompt a physiological reaction from us. The “red stimulates, blue soothes” is a basic theory. But colors can be deeply personal and evoke fond memories, so choose those that cheer you up.
Overhaul your wardrobe and redo your house. Pick clothes in happy and fun colors. A bit of orange, yellow and red can elevate your mood and give you self-confidence. Paint your living room and kitchen in brighter hues. Beige and brown with warm shades of reds and oranges can stimulate conversations and create a connection when you have guests around. Blues and greens are sedating and best used in the bedroom. If a total paint job is beyond your budget, buy new throw pillows, rugs and carpets, and other accents in cheerful colors.
Keep a journal.
A journal is different from a diary or a to-do list in that journaling is writing down your thoughts, feelings, and reflections of a certain event or meeting. When you write, whether it’s on old-fashioned paper or on a device, there is no censorship. The advantage of journaling is, in reviewing it, you see your reaction in those moments and you can reflect on them and analyze your own feelings. It’s also a great way to let off steam without getting embroiled in an unpleasant encounter.
Believe in a Higher Being.
Separate studies done by researchers at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and McLean Hospital, a psychiatric affiliate of Harvard University found that depressed people who had a strong faith in their God, regardless of religion, had about 75% better response to treatment than the nonbelievers. Their faith in a God who cares for them combined with scientific forms of treatment helped speed up their recovery.
Take vitamins and minerals.
The B-complex vitamins and Vitamins C and D help your body fight against the symptoms of melancholy, depression, and stress. The B-complex vitamins are B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B12. They provide the body with energy to combat fatigue and stress and help in the production of the happy hormones serotonin and dopamine. A deficiency of some B vitamins can lead to diseases that cause depression.
Vitamin C is important for people with low levels of serotonin. Inadequate serotonin is associated with depressive mood disorders. Your body produces Vitamin D by exposing the skin to sunlight. Lack of this vitamin is linked to winter’s Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Your body needs the following minerals: magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron, manganese, and potassium. Deficiency in these minerals can also cause depression.
Avoid negative lines of thought.
Melancholy can be a result of certain lines of thought that are narrow and self-focused. These unhealthy thinking patterns can become habits that will subtly sink into your mind and cause sadness and despair.
Comparing yourself to others – your friends, co-workers, and neighbors have bigger houses and better-paying jobs, are smarter and more attractive, have brighter kids, etc., etc.
The all or nothing – events and outcomes are black or white, good or bad. There is no room for mistakes. A small flaw makes the whole imperfect and a complete failure.
Not counting your blessings – dwelling on the negatives when there are so many things to be thankful for. You’re like the man who cried because he had no shoes until he met a man who had no feet.
Catastrophizing – always anticipating and thinking of the worst that can happen.
You may also like:
4 Ways to Bounce Back from Life’s Disappointments
First published in April 2016; updated March 2022
Self-Care for Empaths: 6 Ways to Help Protect Your Energy
Empaths are “emotional sponges.” They absorb the stresses and joys of the people around them. They don’t really possess the kinds of filters that other people might use to shield themselves from excessive stimuli, and they take in all the world’s energies and emotions. And while there’s nothing wrong with being a big-hearted empath, it can be overwhelming to care deeply for everyone and everything. This can lead to extremely stressful situations, anxiety, burnout, and even depression.
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