How to Improve Your Mood Naturally and Without Pharmaceuticals

Do you ever feel like you can’t control your own mood?

If you answered yes, well, that’s where most of us are. But if your moods tend to sway towards anger, anxiety or sadness, you’re definitely going to want to turn things around.

And if you don’t like the idea of turning to drugs with dangerous side effects, you’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of natural options that may be just as effective.

It all starts with what you’re putting into your body. When you’re eating clean, you’ll find there are fewer problems that might require medication.

Eat Clean to Improve Your Health

You might be starting to feel like eating clean is the catchall answer for everything. But the reason you see it popping up so often is that food is vital to your health, mood and wellbeing. If your body is starving for nutrients, this will affect your mood, and this means more than just being hangry. Nutrients like magnesium, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids all contribute to a healthy mind and mood.

Avoid Drugs and Alcohol

While you’re eating clean, make sure you’re not putting any toxins in your body in the form of drugs or alcohol. Many people mistakenly use these things to self-medicate an undesirable mood, but it can definitely have the opposite effect of what you’re intending.

Drugs and alcohol may seem effective at improving your mood in the short term, but you have to keep using them to keep it effective. And the more dependent you become, the worse you’ll feel. If you’re struggling with addiction already, get help finding treatment. It’s important to fix the addiction problem before addressing your mood.

Exercise Regularly

You’ve undoubtedly heard this advice before, so this section will be brief. If you’re still struggling to find time or motivation for exercise, think of it as a natural remedy for depression and anxiety. Many studies have shown that exercise can help alleviate symptoms of these mental health disorders. Even 30 minutes of exercise daily can make an impact. When you exercise, your body releases stress-relieving hormones that make you feel great.

Try Herbal Remedies

After you clean up your diet and start an exercise plan, you can expand to one of the various herbal remedies available to help regulate your mood.

Just be sure to check with your doctor before trying any of the remedies listed here, especially if you’re taking any medications.

And avoid trying multiple remedies at once, so you can evaluate how each is working and whether there are any side effects.

Here are a few remedies to try:

  • John’s Wort — This is probably the most studied herbal remedy for mood regulation, and it has been found to work better than placebo and almost as well as anti-depressant medication. But this remedy can interfere with other anti-depressant medications, so be sure to talk to your doctor if you’re taking other medications.
  • Ginseng — Ginseng has been used for thousands of years in Chinese Medicine to help improve mental clarity and relieve stress.
  • Chamomile — Chamomile is known to help promote relaxation, but in doing so, it can help manage depression and anxiety.

If you’re feeling depressed or anxious, pharmaceuticals aren’t your only option. There are many ways to address your issues naturally with limited side effects.

And, in some cases, the natural route works better than prescription medication. When you take a holistic natural approach, you can bring the entire body into balance and create more of a long-term solution than any medication will provide.