Exercise

Endorphins are hormones that are chemically related to the drug morphine! When you exercise regularly and for a prolonged period of time, endorphins are secreted by the pituitary gland.These hormones are known to block pain, decrease appetite, decrease anxiety and induce feelings of euphoria. In a recent article on YogaJournal.com, Dr. Timothy McCall states,
“Studies have found that it (yoga) reduces levels of cortisol (a stress hormone that’s also secreted by the adrenals), which is often elevated in people with the disease (depression). And astudy in India found that a Yoga program that included asana, pranayama (breathing exercises), and meditation raised levels of serotonin and lowered levels of monoamine oxidase – two neurochemicals involved in depression. ” There are several types of Yoga. Some are more focused on raw exercise, whereas some are more meditative in nature. The five points of Yoga, according to the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, include proper exercise, proper breathing, proper relaxation, proper diet, and finally, positive thinking and meditation. Thatshould be enough proof for you. Get out your Yoga mat. Go jogging. Dance. Or just breathe!

Get a Massage

Massage helps the energy flow through the body and eliminates toxins, decreasing stress, anxiety and symptoms of depression. Touch is soooo healing. Why? Because it helps the body release many mood enhancing chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin and reduces the stress hormone cortisol and adrenaline. It alsoincreases endorphin levels, which helps alleviate pain. Massage lowers noradrenaline and lowers the stress hormone ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone), boosts the immune system, stabilizes blood sugar levels, improves lung function andpeak air flow, and is something YOU SHOULD BE DOING ONCE OR TWICE WEEKLY. This is health care right here, at your fingertips. If you don’t like people touching you, which is quite common, then try a Thai Massage – you are fully clothed for this one, but it will still have your serotonin flowing like a river!

Meditate and Do Inner Work

There is so much more to you than meets the eye. Half of your reactions to things are due to childhood programming. Some of this programming is healthy and some of it is not. Sometimes depression can be a symptom of deeply embedded negative childhood beliefs that you don’t even know you have. Self-knowledge and self-awareness are key to freedom from depressionin this case. While you will always have good and bad days, the more we know ourselves, the more we are free to make positivechoices in our lives. Meditation is key, and spending quiet time monitoring your feelings and just observing them is a wonderful way to understand the way you think. Once you dothat, you can change it. You just might change your very perception.

Eat for Happiness

You are what you eat, what you breathe, what you think, what you do. It makes sense that what you put into your body you then put out. So filling yourself up with empty calories may besatisfying at the time, but it will be like a quick, meaningless fling. If you take a look at the foods being hailed as “super foods,” it becomes evident that you can change your mental outlook by changing your diet. The body and mind are interconnected. Among other benefits, foods such as beans, berries, broccoli, salmon, soy and spinach, for example, help boost brain power and immunity.

Aromatherapy

This is a great natural mood enhancer. Not just a nice-smelling candle here or there, but using true essential oils in combination with massage. Fragrance molecules move from the skin into the bloodstream due to the fat-soluble nature of the oils. Sensors at the back of the nostrils then translate the information for the neurons in the brain. Essential oils remain in the body for four to 24 hours before being eliminated through the lungs and kidneys. Since the oils are natural, they leave behind no toxicity. It’s obvious that massage feels great, but a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that a 20-minute evening back massage,when done with pain meds, not only relieves pain, but also reduces anxiety for post-operative patients. Uplifting aromas include sandalwood, ylang-ylang, bergamot, jasmine, lavender, geranium, rose and peppermint.

Color Therapy

Color therapy is a holistic therapy, thousands of years old dating back to Egypt, China and India. This is how it works: Color, being a form of light, is also a form of energy. Color therapy utilizes the vibrations to balance the body’s energy centers and to stimulate the body’s healing process. The energy relating to each of the seven spectrum colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet) resonates with the energy of each of the seven main chakras/energy centers of thebody. Happy colors include pink (for the heart, to evoke love) and green (also for the heart, for growth and creativity) and red for passion (the root color) – so long as your depression isn’t combined with anger!

Talk. Talk. Talk.

Taking time for oneself is yet another effective means for discovering happiness. Try setting aside an hour each week to bounce thoughts off an independent person, an expert listener with no direct ties to your life. Psychotherapy is a popular option for those who desire an impartial sounding board. A psychotherapist’s job is not to tell a patient what to do, but rather to direct the conversation, in a non-judgmental way, so that the patient remains focused on bettering him or herself.

Acupuncture

Another treatment for depression, acupuncture, has been proven to increase serotonin and endorphin levels, and recommended for use with Chinese Herbal Medicine. The herbs work at a root level – addressing disharmony within the body. When combined with Chinese Herbal Supplements, acupuncture has been known to evoke a smile or two!

Get your vitamin D

The sun gets a bad wrap… but, taking sunlight exposure away causes problems of its own. Depression being one of them. Sunlight provides people with the much needed nutrient, Vitamin D. Feeling like your not seeing the light? Increasing your ingested Vitamin D will do the trick. The Institute of medicine recommends 200 IU (international units) of Vitamin D a day forpeople up to 50 years old. 400 IU for people between 51-70 and about 600 IU for people over 70. Foods rich in Vitamin D include milk, salmon, Vitamin D fortified orange juice.

Herbal Supplements

If you are down in the dumps, then combine herbal remedies with your daily meditation, Yoga practice, healthy diet and walks in the park. These whole food supplements are non-addictiveand yet have been used for centuries to uplift your perspective. Obviously, if you are on medication, check with your doctor, but whole food herbs are exactly that, dried leaves and roots, so they are a very natural supplement.

Keeping Perspective

Ever been on an airplane and looked down through the tiny window to the planet below? Everything looked small and certainly of less consequence than when you are on the ground, right? Well, communing with nature is based on the same principal. Trees, mountains, oceans, flowers, and beautiful sunsets—these free gifts are waiting for you. Enjoy them. And, in order to enjoy these gifts, all you have to do is be alive and open to them. After all, we are not here to spend all our time bottled-up inside, hunched over a computer keyboard.

It’s all about love, love, love.

Love what you do, who you are, and whom you are with. Relationships are key to happiness. This is why it can be very traumatic when you move to a location where you don’t know anyone. Some people deal with this well, but others find this isolation too much to bear and become depressed. Therefore, if you are relocating, go out of your way to meet people and reach out to them.

Make your happiness a priority.

Perhaps it sounds selfish, but actually it is the most generous thing you can do for the world. When you’re less than happy and you can’t give of yourself, then you aren’t serving anyone, evenyourself. On the other hand, if you feel good, you can give of yourself and express yourself in the world. From happiness springs generosity and all those other virtuous qualities we know we should have, but often don’t. So start by being generous with yourself. Allow yourself to do what you want (go hiking for the weekend, buy new clothes, go for that full-day spa retreat…) and ask for what it is you want from others. Askyourself daily, “What do I want?” and wait for an epiphany. Then go get it. After all, happiness is just a muscle. Work it out.

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