When you're living with stress, anxiety, and depression, it can feel hard to make it through the day. Thankfully, there is treatment available. In addition to working with a therapist or your primary care doctor, there are also natural remedies for depression, anxiety, and stress that can benefit your mental well-being. Here, we'll explore common causes of stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as natural methods you can use to complement your doctor's treatment protocol.
How are stress, anxiety, and depression different?
While various mental health concerns can have overlapping symptoms, there are distinct differences between stress, anxiety, and depression.
Stress is a normal physiological and emotional response to a difficult situation. While everyone experiences stress, there are several factors that can affect the role it plays in day-to-day life. Your coping mechanisms, genetics, physical health, and other factors can all increase or decrease the amount that stress affects your well-being.
Anxiety is a persistent sense of worry that everyone experiences from time to time in response to a challenge, such as going on a first date or taking a test. While situational anxiety is normal, some people experience anxiety that's excessive or persistent, creating mental health challenges.
Depression is a mental health condition that causes persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and disinterest in normal activities. Your thoughts, feelings, and behavior can all be affected by depression.
Top causes of stress, anxiety, and depression
Sometimes, mental health issues can occur without external factors due to chemical imbalances in the brain. In other cases, however, stressful life events can spur mental health concerns like anxiety and depression.
Stressors that can lead to mental health concerns like anxiety and depression include:
- Major life changes, like marriage, divorce, moving, starting a new job, or having a baby
- Financial issues, including job loss, debt, and unexpected bills
- Workplace problems, including work overload, conflicts with coworkers or supervisors, or job insecurity
- Relationship issues, including platonic, familial, and romantic relationships
Natural remedies for reducing stress
Stress is normal, and natural remedies can help many people manage stress more easily. Try these tips to lower stress levels, no matter what your day throws at you.
- Ashwagandha: Early studies have shown that ashwagandha—also known as Indian ginseng—may help reduce stress and anxiety, while also improving sleep quality.
- L-theanine: An amino acid found in green tea, research has shown that L-theanine can relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression, and can help resolve sleep issues.
- Lifestyle remedies: Exercise, meditation, yoga, and deep breathing can all effectively help you manage stress levels throughout the day.
Calming anxiety naturally
Anxiety can feel all-consuming, and natural remedies may help. Consider trying these options to provide relief.
- Valerian root: Some people find that valerian root supplements help to reduce anxiety and stress levels. Some important notes: this supplement isn't safe for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and it's important to watch out for side effects like dizziness and sleepiness.
- Chamomile: A warm cup of chamomile tea (or chamomile supplements) may help to ease anxiety symptoms. Stay away from chamomile tea if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you're taking blood-thinning medications.
- Lifestyle changes: Some lifestyle changes may be helpful to reduce anxiety symptoms, including avoiding alcohol, avoiding caffeine, practicing meditation, and exercising at a moderate to high intensity for at least 30 minutes, several days each week.
Holistic depression treatments
While some natural supplements and lifestyle changes can help to ease the symptoms of depression, it's still important to work with your doctor to ensure that you're safe as you work to ease your symptoms.
Some of the most popular natural remedies for depression include:
- SAMe: A synthetic form of a naturally occurring compound, SAMe has shown some promise for treating depression, but it has yet to be approved for therapeutic use in the United States. An important note: don't take SAMe if you're already taking antidepressants, as mixing the two can have dangerous side effects.
- St. John's wort: This herbal supplement may help to support mild and moderate depressive symptoms. St. John's wort is not yet FDA approved for the treatment of depression, and it may interfere with other medications, including birth control pills and medicines designed to stop the body from rejecting an organ after a transplant. It's important that you don't take St. John's wort if you have bipolar and related disorders or if you're already taking an antidepressant.
- Lifestyle changes: Certain lifestyle changes can calm your nervous system and help ease depressive symptoms. Healthy eating, exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, three days a week, and following a consistent sleep routine can all be helpful.
When to talk to your doctor about mental health concerns
While everyone experiences stress, anxiety, and low mood from time to time, mental health symptoms that don't go away or interfere with your day-to-day life need the attention of a medical professional. There's nothing wrong with reaching out for help with your mental health. Just like lifestyle changes and/or medicine can be imperative for clearing a physical illness, medical support can help you deal with a mental health issue as well.
Talk to your doctor if you experience:
- Physical symptoms of stress, such as ongoing headaches, stomachaches, or changes in appetite
- Difficulties at work, at home, or in your relationships due to high stress levels
- Anxiety symptoms like excessive worry, restlessness, or sleep disturbances that interfere with daily functioning
- Depression symptoms that last for two weeks or more, including feelings of hopelessness, fatigue, changes in sleep or appetite, sadness, or a loss of interest in your normal activities
If you're experiencing a crisis, be sure to call the crisis hotline at 988 for immediate assistance.
Your mental health matters, and we're here to help you feel your best
If you're living with anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues, you aren't alone. As we mentioned, there are many factors that can affect your mental health, and sometimes, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what lifestyle choices cause an increase in the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Using the Evidation app can help.
Here's how it works: when you download the Evidation app, you'll be prompted to share the health data you're already tracking (for example, information collected by your wearable fitness tracker, nutrition app data, etc.). We'll use this data, paired with information you share with us through in-app mood logs, to find connections and patterns. This allows us to provide you with actionable, personalized, content-based insights that can provide you with the information you need to support your mental and physical health. We believe in your ability to create positive change, and our reward system will provide you with cash prizes for staying on top of your healthy behaviors.
We're excited to support you, and we can't wait to start helping you feel your best. Click here to learn more about how Evidation works and start earning rewards today.
