anxiety Archives - Carson Natural

How to Naturally Cure Depression

Whether you have been clinically diagnosed with depression, or you simply feel unhappy with yourself or your situation in life, there is a way to overcome your perpetual feelings of discontent. I have dealt with some of these feelings myself, and I put a lot of time into building a method for helping people get rid of their anxiety, stress, and mental anguish. I call it The Seven Keys to Living Happy, Healthy, and Whole.

If you follow the seven keys, you can:

Increase your happiness
Learn how to get rid of negative emotions
Improve your diet
Build a regular exercise program that fits your needs and your personality
Discover a restorative sleep pattern tailored to your schedule
Alleviate pre-existing physical conditions that can contribute to—or stem from—depression

My book How to Live Until You Die outlines each of the seven keys and goes into detail on how to take the proper steps to implement each key into your own life. While each of the keys contributes to overall health and happiness, they also individually promote significant improvement in specific areas. For example: Having the right diet will help greatly in maintaining a healthy weight, but did you know that it can actually boost mental health as well?

Research has proven there is a direct correlation between depression and an unhealthy diet. Do you eat a lot of sweets and other processed foods? That can cause unhappiness. While it may seem like fast food is your only option in the middle of a busy day, it can be a major instigator to feelings of depression, poor eating habits, and obesity. There are plenty of healthier options that take less time to prepare than you think.

Raw fruits and vegetables are a great snack because not only do they require little to no preparation, they are a natural source of vitality. Instead of consuming empty calories which can also act as depressants, consider snacking on raw fruits and vegetables. Some fruits and vegetables even have properties known to boost energy, fight disease, and put you in a good mood. Other foods to consider in your depression-defeating diet are scallops and salmon, which both have been found to improve mood and reduce depression.

In addition to a good diet, having a regular exercise routine will do wonders for your mental health. If you don’t already exercise regularly, finding a good routine can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be. Three tips that I like to give my clients and friends are:

Start with walking
Find something you love
Do more than you did yesterday

Walking is very therapeutic and can help to relieve stress. Finding an exercise that you love can give you great peace and add to the defining characteristics that make you who you are. You can also expand your social interactions by joining a group centered on a certain activity that you enjoy (runners, bikers, swimmers, etc.). One of the best ways to get started with any exercise is to set a goal of doing more than you did yesterday. No one is going to get off the couch after months of not exercising and complete one of the rigorous home-video workouts from the “As Seen on TV” workout plans. Keep it simple. Pick a fun activity that provides exercise, and start slow. Once you’re comfortable with a certain volume, add in personal challenges to push yourself and make it even more fun.

When it is possible, try to get 30 minutes of sunlight each day. Doing so will increase your Vitamin D levels and you will benefit from the fresh air and the feeling of the sun itself. Low Vitamin D can cause memory deficiency, general health risks, and is also linked to depression.

Another thing that can help you overcome heartache, depression, and emotional pain is to acknowledge your spiritual side. I personally read the Bible and spend time in regular prayer and meditation. Knowing that God is in control, that He loves you, and that He wants to spend time with you can lighten any burden and bring peace and gratitude to your life in unparalleled ways.

For more advice on how to overcome depression naturally, get your copy of How to Live Until You Die today. Each of these topics and more are covered in detail, and each of the seven keys has concrete steps laid out so that you can build your own successful blueprint to living happy, healthy, and whole. Also, please check out my website for free resources to help you live, really live.

Healthy Blessings,

Dr. Phil

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Are You Living Your Life to the Fullest?

No matter what occupation you have, there are daily stresses with which you deal. The only difference is that some of us are better at dealing with stress than others. Letting stress get to you can be one of the biggest obstacles to truly enjoying your life. Another big obstacle is feeling like you don’t have enough time for enjoyable things.

Being a hard worker is both an admirable and necessary trait for reaching new levels in business. But in order to live life to its fullest, we need to find a healthy balance. As an entrepreneur, I am constantly striving for success. As a result of that, there were times when I worked around the clock without so much as a thought about exercise or sleep. Those were not good times.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, rest and relaxation actually enable us to be more productive during the hours that we work. Working around the clock doesn’t increase your efficiency. Proper sleep enhances your memory and improves your cognitive processes. Although it may seem like we don’t have time for sleep, proper rest is essential to a productive day. To get proper sleep, we must respect our circadian rhythms.

In my book How to Live Until You Die I explain that we all sleep in 90-minute cycles that repeat themselves throughout the night, alternating between REM, (rapid-eye-movement) and NREM (non-rapid-eye-movement) sleep. I give further details on REM and NREM sleep and how to get the best sleep for waking up energized and being productive, using sources from the Mayo Clinic, National Sleep Foundation, and Harvard Business Review to corroborate my advice.

If you aren’t getting proper sleep, you are going to be more susceptible to illness, and you are going to be weary all the time. Pretty soon, you’ll literally become sick and tired of being sick and tired. That’s certainly not living life to its fullest. To truly enjoy your life, you need to get regular rest and not feel guilty about sleeping.

In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport talks about the necessary balance between work and other activities, like exercise. He encourages people to take a break during the day to go for a walk or run in order to re-energize and balance exercise and work. He especially encourages people to spend time outdoors, saying “Spending time in nature can improve your ability to concentrate.” Newport elaborates on how spending time walking through nature can help you focus on solving problems. I myself have often walked my problems out and it has greatly helped to ease the daily stresses of being an entrepreneur.

The thing that matters most in living your life to the fullest is balance. There is nothing wrong with hard work, but you can’t allow your work to take the place of spending time with your family, sleeping, or exercising. There is a balance you can achieve which allows you to enjoy activities that you love and still accomplish the things you need to do to make money.

In fact, there are seven keys to living happy, healthy, and whole. Each of these plays an important part in living life to its fullest and finding satisfaction along the way. To learn more about the seven keys, get your copy of How to Live Until You Die today.

Healthy Blessings,

Dr. Phil

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