10 NATURAL REMEDIES FOR DEPRESSION (EFFECTIVE) - ARTE - 2025

There are many natural remedies for depression that can help you fight it, especially if it is mild or moderate. Although psychotropic drugs can work in some cases, in others they are not necessary and it is better to use other treatments.

These home remedies will serve you for depressive stages due to breakdowns, job failures, family problems and other situations that cause you sadness.

They then work especially for exogenous depression, that is, that caused by external events. For endogenous depression, you can also try these remedies, although they often require psychiatric and psychological intervention.

Natural remedies for depression

In addition to the drugs prescribed by psychiatrists, there are a number of natural remedies that can be very helpful. The effectiveness of each of them is variable, depending mainly on the degree of depression you have.

These are some of the natural alternatives that you can use:

Sleep well

Did you know that people who don't sleep well have an increased risk of depression?

Also, patients with insomnia and depression recover more quickly when their insomnia is treated appropriately, for example, with cognitive behavioral therapy and medications.

If you take certain measures to improve the quality and quantity of sleep, your nervous system will work better and you will avoid depression, or you will improve more quickly.

To sleep better, remember the following tips:

• Go to bed and get up around the same time, every day.
• The environment where you sleep should be dark, quiet, without noise.
• The bedroom temperature should not be too hot or too cold.
• A couple of hours before going to sleep do not watch TV or sit in front of the computer.
• Avoid drinking coffee or alcohol before going to sleep.

St John's wort extract

St. John's wort, also known as St. John's wort, has been shown to have a very positive effect in patients with symptoms of depression.

Although it is not known exactly what are the components of the herb responsible for this effect, it has been seen in numerous scientific studies that the administration of 150 to 300 mg daily of St. John's wort extract for 4 weeks reduces anxiety and helps relieve symptoms. of depression.

St. John's wort is generally well tolerated and has very few adverse side effects. Therefore, it is an ideal complement for the treatment of depression.

On the other hand, there are a series of herbs and infusions that will help you relieve anxiety, which is often found together with depression: passionflower, basil, lavender, chamomile, ginseng, linden, hawthorn or lemon balm.

Healthy nutrition

It should no longer be news to anyone that diet directly influences the way you feel, physically and mentally.

But what you surely do not imagine is that there are certain foods that are capable of preventing depression, and there is a lot of scientific research that supports this claim.

For example, two recent studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet is capable of preventing depression.

In the countries surrounding the Mediterranean there are far fewer cases of depression than in other countries and scientists believe that this may be due to the eating habits of the population of these countries.

A diet rich in fresh vegetables, whole grains and olive oil helps maintain mental health, scientists say.

Although depression is a multifactorial disease, eating healthy will undoubtedly help you improve the symptoms of depression and of course it will be a perfect complement to any treatment you follow.

In addition to following a Mediterranean diet, pay attention to the following list of nutrients that will help you get out of depression:

• Selenium. Various studies have associated low selenium levels with symptoms of depression. This mineral is found in whole grains, meats and eggs, among others.
• Tryptophan It is the precursor to serotonin, the neurotransmitter that typically lowers its levels in patients with depression. Foods such as chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon, beans, and seeds can help improve your tryptophan and serotonin levels, thereby helping to prevent depression.
• Omega 3. Several studies have shown that omega 3, present in foods such as tuna, sardines, flax and pumpkin seeds
• Vitamin B Complex. These nutrients are also known to be critical to maintaining good mental health. Remember to include a good amount of green vegetables, yeast extract, and beans in your diet to get an adequate amount of these vitamins.

Other foods that can help you are those that increase the production of serotonin, such as: oily fish, meat, eggs, dairy products, cereals, nuts, fruits, vegetables and chocolate.

Sunbathe

This natural "remedy" is well known, since it is known that in countries with less sunlight, suicides are more frequent.

On the other hand, it is also known that during the winter some people suffer what is called 'seasonal affective disorder', a kind of depression that appears when the days are shorter. '

The sun is a medium that allows to fix and absorb certain types of vitamins, including vitamin B. It also promotes the generation of vitamin D, responsible for the fixation of calcium in our bones.

Research has linked vitamin D deficiency to higher levels of depression and other mental disorders, which may explain why exposure to sunlight is able to improve symptoms in depressed people.

To write a diary

This exercise can help you release negative thoughts related to your depression.

The simple fact of writing day by day what you feel will help you to organize your ideas and they will no longer spin in your mind all the time. Visit this article to learn how to keep a personal journal.

When depression is relatively mild, the person can have a more or less finished perspective of what is happening to him. When you write and later read what you have written, you can identify causes or circumstances that aggravate or improve the picture.

The journal can also become a tool for collecting ideas and setting goals. Both of these things help the person feel more oriented.

Playing sports or exercising

Exercising can also help prevent depression, possibly thanks to regulation of mood-related neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and serotonin.

In addition, exercising also stimulates the secretion of other chemicals in the brain, called endorphins, which cause a feeling of general well-being.

You don't have to kill yourself in the gym for long hours to get positive effects. Exercising moderately five times a week for twenty to thirty minutes should be enough to make you feel better.

Scientific studies on this topic show that exercising has a similar effect to psychotherapy or medication for depression. Here you can know the benefits of physical exercise.

Practice yoga

If you are one of those people who are somewhat skeptical about these types of alternatives, it is time to do some more research. Yoga is one of the most widespread and advanced meditation and relaxation techniques in the world.

When a person begins to practice yoga, he begins to have a greater control of his body and his mind. Begins to be more aware of how human beings can control their mind, and with it certain diseases.

Yoga also generates certain benefits on a physical level, since stretching exercises and spinal hygiene are practiced. Greater physical well-being contributes to greater mental well-being.

Even if you are a beginner, yoga classes can be very useful when it comes to controlling anxiety, achieving greater relaxation and thus avoiding depression.

Scientific studies that have been conducted show that classes of any type of yoga are useful in reducing anxiety and therefore depression.

If you have never done yoga, go ahead and take some classes, they will surely come in handy for you.

Psychotherapy

There are different types of psychotherapy that can be very useful in the treatment of depression, a good example of this is cognitive-behavioral therapy, gestalt or group therapy.

Going to therapy can be an excellent complement to treatment with medication or other natural remedies for depression, because it can help you:

• Adapt to the complicated situations you are experiencing.
• Identify negative beliefs or behaviors and replace them with positive behaviors.
• Explore new experiences and develop positive interactions with other people.
• Find new ways to solve your problems.
• Identify the factors that contribute to making your depression worse.
• Rediscover the feeling of satisfaction and control in your life
• Manage the feelings of anguish and hopelessness, typical of depression.
• Learn to set realistic goals for your life.

So if you have been diagnosed with depression, do not hesitate to resort to psychotherapy as part of your treatment.

Join a group

Participating in a self-help group has several benefits for a person who is depressed.

That way you can verify that you are not alone in this fight and through the testimonies of those who have overcome the disease you will feel socially supported, reducing the feeling of isolation.

You can also freely express everything that torments or saddens you, something that you may not be able to do in your everyday environment.

Therapeutic massages

When a person receives a massage session, they feel more relaxed and with a sense of "peace". This state can certainly help you improve your depression symptoms.

A scientific study carried out on this topic showed that massage sessions carried out for 12 weeks were able to improve anxiety and relieve depression in some people.

If you are already receiving some type of treatment for your depression, do not hesitate to complement it with these 10 natural remedies, which will undoubtedly help you recover more quickly.