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How we feel has a profound impact on our overall wellness. Often undervalued, emotional wellness is a critical component of our Eight Dimensions of Wellness.
Negative emotions can weigh us down, and they are difficult to shake off. A bad day can quickly turn into a bad week or month. We all want to be happier and healthier, and one of the best ways to do that is by increasing our emotional wellness.
While there are several treatment options for mood disorders and negative emotions, there are also many 100% natural and proven helpful methods.
Try these 7 natural mood enhancers to help boost your mood and overall emotional wellness.
Exercise is an excellent natural mood enhancer that can significantly help you manage your emotions. Moving your muscles is vital more than just your physical health; it is critical for your mind as well. Exercise produces endorphins, which are the brain’s natural “feel good” chemical. Exercise can also help alleviate depressive feelings by increasing serotonin and helping to regulate sleep, which protects the brain from negative emotions¹.
You do not need a one-hour strenuous session to obtain benefits from exercise. According to Michael Otto, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Boston University, “the link between exercise and mood is pretty strong. Usually, within five minutes after moderate exercise, you get a mood-enhancement effect."
Exercise is especially helpful when done outside. Even a simple morning walk exposes you to sunlight and greenery. It also provides your body with enough Vitamin D. Outdoor exercise can increase your mood and emotional well-being within even just a few minutes.
There are many forms of exercise, so it is easy to find one that suits your lifestyle and interests. It’s most important to find an activity that you enjoy and can stick to regularly. Some ideas include:
Walks or hikes
Running
Biking
Swimming
Group classes
Yoga
High-intensity interval training
boxing/kickboxing
Dance/ Zumba
Gardening
Trampolining
Obstacle courses
Playing sports (soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, golf, etc.)
Meditating can help you manage negative feelings and emotions. There are many different types of meditation, but meditation's primary purpose is to facilitate relaxation and inner peace, which will help you improve your emotional health.
Multiple studies point to the effectiveness of meditation. For example, one study in the Psychiatry Review journal found that participating in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program significantly helped the group reduce stress markers².
An extensive review in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal analyzed over 18,000 studies that examined the relationship between meditation and depression and anxiety³. The study found that mindful meditation over an 8-week period helped reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Meditation surely has some benefits for our emotional health, but practicing meditation can be confusing and challenging. Luckily, there are many ways to get started. To practice meditation, you can:
Follow a free guided meditation session from an online platform.
Join an in-person meditation class
Set the scene by facilitating relaxation with dim lights, candles or incents, and calm/soothing ambient noise or instrumental music.
Focus on the present moment and let go of the past and future concerns.
Comparison is the fuel for negative emotions. It is easy to get caught up in how much better other people are doing that you, which can lead to negative feelings and poor emotional health. Instead, it’s important to practice gratitude. Gratitude is all about remembering the positive aspects of your life and picking out things to be thankful for.
According to Harvard, “gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”
Several studies have shown that gratitude has positive effects on well-functioning individuals. A recent study went a step further and investigated the link between practicing gratitude as a psychological intervention⁴. They found that the participants in the gratitude group reported better mental health than the other groups.
When you notice that you are struggling with your mood and emotional health, practicing a few minutes of gratitude can significantly help you reset your mind. There are simple ways to practice gratitude. Some ideas include:
Write out the things that went well and that you are grateful for. Set a number of gratitude pieces you want to write down each day or each week (3-5). Reflect on your gratitude journal in times of distress.
Thank someone. Write a thank-you note, send a thank-you email, or thank someone mentally that has helped you. It will help nurture your relationships and remember the value of people in your life.
Meditate. You may use meditation as your time for gratitude. Focus on the present moment and what you are grateful for in that moment.
Your diet plays a crucial role in not only your physical health but also for your mental health. While treating yourself to that greasy pizza and breadsticks may make you feel great, they will leave you feeling not very good in the long run.
The key is to focus your diet on the whole, unprocessed foods. Doing so helps to keep you feeling full while feeding your brain with the necessary nutrients to operate optimally. However, you should also give yourself leeway to enjoy life and indulge occasionally. Your diet should be a way of life, not a set of constraints that leave you miserable.
Many studies have compared traditional whole food diets to the typical Western diet that is chock-full of processed, fatty foods. The research has found that people who eat a traditional diet are at a 25-35% less risk of depression than those with a Western diet⁵.
A randomized control trial in the PLOS ONE journal found that young adults who followed a Mediterranean-style diet for three weeks reduced depression scores from moderate to normal⁶. They also experience less anxiety and stress.
Focus on increasing your whole foods intake by consuming more vegetables, fruits, and lean meats.
Isolation and loneliness lead to sadness and negative emotions. One of the easiest ways to improve your mood is to socialize with people. Social support strongly connects with mental health⁷.
One study, Enabling Recovery: The Benefits of Supporting Socialisation Report of a Randomised Control Trial examined how socialization can help people with depressive symptoms and mental health problems⁸. The study demonstrated the powerful effects of social support, “by the end of the study, all of the participants reported feeling better about themselves, having more confidence to socialize in their community, and experiencing fewer symptoms of depression.”
As social beings, we need regular socialization and a sense of social support to function correctly. To set yourself up for happiness, you should take steps to avoid isolation. Set plans with a friend, family member, or group at least once a month. Make a point to leave your house and get social. Even from home, you can video chat and interact with others. Some fun socialization ideas include:
Join a group class or activity that meets regularly.
Go with another person to the movies, museum, or dinner.
Stay connected by reaching out to others.
Don’t be afraid to ask for the support you need.
A sense of meaning and importance is vital for emotional health. Spending time and effort on activities that you find meaningful helps to improve your mood and reduce stress. An article in PLOS ONE found that ”purpose in life predicts both health and longevity suggesting that the ability to find meaning from life’s experiences, especially when confronting life’s challenges, may be a mechanism underlying resilience.”⁹
Feeling a sense of purpose in life helps people reframe stressful events and manage the negative feelings that typically result from stress and trauma. Having a goal allows a person to have greater resilience and emotional recovery.
Finding purpose is not always easy, but it is essential. Figure out the activities that make you feel fulfilled and full of meaning. Consider volunteering your time to others through a church, charity, hospital, school, daycare, or humane society. Mentor others. Take up a new hobby that lifts you up. Often, we must experiment with different activities to find the ones that give us purpose.
Your general diet is critical to your emotional wellness, and the right supplements can help even more. It’s not always easy (or pleasant) to get a balanced diet. Supplements can help fill in the gaps and ensure that you are getting the vitamins and minerals you need. Amoryn’s formula contains some of the top mood-boosting supplements, including:
Extracted from the St.John’s Wort, Hyperforin offers an incredible mood-enhancing effect.
One review recommends using it as the first step in resolving feelings of depression¹⁰. By preventing the brain from “re-uptake” of the mood-regulating neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, Hyperforin can boost mood and facilitate emotional well-being¹¹.
By increasing serotonin activity, the adaptogenic herb, Rhodiola Rosea, offers quick effects for your mood. After only a few days, you can experience a boost in energy and motivation, greater optimism, and less worrying¹². Several double-blind studies have demonstrated the powerful effects Rhodiola can have on overall emotional wellbeing, including better memory and learning and reduced mental fatigue¹³.
B Vitamins, especially B12, B6, and B9 (folate), are crucial for your emotional health. They are vitamins that many people do not get enough. According to a nutrition review, a lack of folate or B12 will create psychiatric issues like depression ¹⁴,¹⁵. B vitamins help your brain regulate emotions and its wellbeing by safeguarding it against stress.
Found in seafood and whole grains, selenium is a mineral that is essential for optimal emotional wellbeing. One trial with selenium found that the group of men with adequate selenium levels reported fewer feelings of sadness, confusion, and anxiety and more confidence than the selenium-deficient group¹⁶. Another double-blind study also uncovered the value of selenium for emotional wellbeing¹⁷. The group that received a 100 mcg selenium supplement felt an evident boost in mood, including less worry, sadness, and fatigue.
Serotonin is the brain’s “feel-good” neurotransmitter, and 5-HTP from the Griffonia simplicifolia plant boosts serotonin levels. 5-HTP is a serotonin precursor, as your brain converts it to serotonin, which helps you maintain emotional wellness. Better serotonin levels are associated with sleep, anxiety, depression, aggression, and appetite levels. Managing your serotonin levels is crucial for managing several emotional functions¹⁸.
Vitamin D3 is also critical for helping the brain create serotonin. Lack of Vitamin D, which is very common during winter months, is associated with negative emotions and poorer wellbeing. A double-blind trial found that the group taking Vitamin D experienced positive mood enhancement and quickly felt better after only five days of receiving the supplement¹⁹.
To see optimal results from supplements, you should get as many as possible into your diet. The best way to get all of the natural mood-boosting supplements above is with the Amoryn formula. This formula was specially formulated as a natural mood booster to support your emotional health. It is a natural mood enhancer with all of the powerful supplements above to help you reduce stress, promote focus, and enhance your mood. Learn more about Amoryn Formula or get yours today HERE
Your emotional wellbeing is a critical part of your overall health, and you should do everything possible to achieve happiness. The natural mood enhancers listed above are simple ways to better your emotional health and protect your mind from negativity. It is easy to tailor the strategies above to your lifestyle, as they are great for any person at any stage of life. Boost your emotional wellness today with the seven natural mood enhancers.
(1) Weir, K (December 2011) The exercise effect
(2) Hoge EA; Bui E; Palitz SA; et al. (January 2017) The effect of mindfulness meditation training on biological acute stress responses in generalized anxiety disorder
(3) Goyal M, MD, MPH; Singh S, MD, MPH; Sibinga E, MD, MHS; (March 2014) Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being
(4) Wong, YJ; Owen, J; Gabana, NT; Brown, J; McInnis, S; Toth, P; Gilman, L (May 2016) Does gratitude writing improve the mental health of psychotherapy clients? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial
(5) Selhub, E (November 2015) Nutritional psychiatry: Your brain on food
(6) Francis HM, Stevenson RJ, Chambers JR, Gupta D, Newey B, et al. (October 2019) A brief diet intervention can reduce symptoms of depression in young adults – A randomised controlled trial
(7) Harandi, TF; Taghinasab, MM; Nayeri, TD (September 2017). The correlation of social support with mental health: A meta-analysis
(8) University College Dublin (June 2012) Socialising helps to alleviate symptoms of depression
(9) Schaefer, SM; Morozink Boylan, J; van Reekum, CM; Lapate, RC; Norris, CJ; Ryff, CD; Davidson, RJ (November 2013). Purpose in life predicts better emotional recovery from negative stimuli
(10) Di Carlo G; Borrelli F; Ernst E; Izzo AA (June 2001) St John's wort: Prozac from the plant kingdom
(11) Muruganandam AV; Bhattacharya SK; Ghosal S (December 2001) Antidepressant activity of hyperforin conjugates of the St. John's wort, Hypericum perforatum Linn.: an experimental study
(12) Brown, RP; Gerbarg, PL; Ramazanov, P; Rhodiola rosea:
A Phytomedicinal Overview
(13) Spasov AA; Wikman GK; Mandrikov VB; Mironova IA; Neumoin VV (April 2000) A double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of the stimulating and adaptogenic effect of Rhodiola rosea SHR-5 extract on the fatigue of students caused by stress during an examination period with a repeated low-dose regimen
(14) Bottiglieri T (December 1996) Folate, vitamin B12, and neuropsychiatric disorders
(15) Tiemeier H; van Tuijl HR; Hofman A; Meijer J; Kiliaan AJ; Breteler MM (December 2002) Vitamin B12, folate, and homocysteine in depression: the Rotterdam Study
(16) Finley, JW; Penland, JG (December 1998) Adequacy or deprivation of dietary selenium in healthy men: Clinical and psychological findings
(17) Benton D; Cook R (1990) Selenium supplementation improves mood in a double-blind crossover trial
(18) Birdsall TC (August 1998) 5-Hydroxytryptophan: a clinically-effective serotonin precursor
(19) Lansdowne AT; Provost SC (February 1998) Vitamin D3 enhances mood in healthy subjects during winter