First Tier: Self

Bloom

Adaptogens + Amino Acids

Effective and easy. Seriously, you should be taking adaptogens and/or amino acids.

Some ideas: Prepare Your Mind gummies, Apothekary Chill The F* Out tea, capsules.

doooo it.

Why? Adaptogens are a classification of plants proven to calm the nervous system which reduces symptoms of anxiety. They also reduce the stress hormone cortisol. There are many start-up businesses making customized blends, some including amino acids which help the process of seratonin and dopamine production.

During my “acute” healing stage, I took PYM gummies three times a day. Today, I take them once daily as maintenance/preventative tool. Treating my anxiety also helped treat my depression so it’s been a double whammy tool. Awesome.

the sun

Not up for debate: sunshine increases serotonin and vitamin D, helps regulate your sleep cycle

You’re right: the sun will not in and of itself eliminate all symptoms of depression and anxiety.

But!: sunshine should absolutely be part of your formula for feeling better

Explore your way of getting sunshine
Identify ways for different seasons
It’s absolutely okay if one week you do it and the next week you don’t

I keep it simple - I go on walks, sit outside, eat outside, etc. In the summer I layout (for 8-10 minutes) because walking in 99 degree weather makes me miserable. Some people sit in their car with the window down. It doesn’t really matter how you get sunshine just get some.

Movement (exercise, blech).

It’s been proven again and again that exercise lessens depression and anxiety. Seriously. It’s not like maybe or maybe not or depends. It is PROVEN to help. Despite this, whenever I would read how great exercise was for depression or anxiety, I would literally roll my eyes. I think the part that was most frustrating was knowing that it wasn’t a cure and then trying to decide if the energy it took to actually do it would have enough of a positive impact to make the stress of it all worth it. Yikes, that’s a lot of thinking lol. But I finally stopped being stubborn and just did it… and it does help.

Exercise regulates sleep, reduces the stress hormone cortisol, increases the feel good hormones and neurotransmitters seratonin and dopamine, and much more.

Strive for 150 minutes a week, but start small if you need to. This isn’t a race haha
Do what works for you
Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.
Change it up when you feel like.

Evidence: BlackDog Institute,

Depending on where you are in your depression/anxiety, it can be very difficult to exercise because of the physical symptoms of depression such as extreme fatigue, not to mention the mental anguish.

I decided to imagine my depression like this: I’d gotten into a really bad accident and I now had to do physical therapy in order to walk again. Maybe a strange visual, but it helped me. Physical therapy is painful, exhausting - mentally and physically. So for me, this visual worked. I told myself it doesn’t matter how hard it is, if I want to get better, I have to do it. So I started by hiding under a hat and sunglasses - anxiety about people seeing me - and just walked a few blocks. I was not in a great place. But, it doesn’t matter where you start. Don’t give up. It will help, I promise.

sleep

being IN nature

Being in nature is healing. It just is. The key is to find YOUR Nature. What gives you that sense of peace and awe and comfort. What makes it easy to breathe, to relax, to just be. And also understand HOW being in Your Nature is most healing for you- photographing, walking, sitting, eating on a patio, watching, looking at while driving, etc. For my older sister, it’s just being near the mountains and being able to look at them all the time. For me, it’s walking amongst the trees, listening to all the birds, and feeling the humidity. For some, it’s the ocean, listening to the waves, sitting on the beach. It is really important that where you decide to call home includes the Nature that speaks to you. It may seem silly to think about how impactful this is, but it just is. And if who you are is mismatched with where you are, in terms of Nature, it’ll be harder for you to feel that innate sense of peace and calm and comfort.