22 Sep Visualise a happier frame of mind

As the days get shorter and the evenings darker, many people are prone to feeling a bit blue, but there are natural anti-depressants you can use to help make yourself feel better.

A combination of less sunlight, gloomier weather and returning to your regular routine following a summer break can all be factors that contribute to a low mood.

There are steps you can take to help lift your mood naturally, including making simple changes to your diet, taking regular exercise and taking a herbal remedy for stress which combine to act as natural anti-depressants.

A popular strategy to help improve low mood and reduce anxiety is visualisation.

What is visualisation?

Visualisation is the use of your imagination to conjure images in your mind that can help you achieve something. To make the visualisation as vivid as possible, you need to also engage all your other senses such as smell and touch. This technique has been used by many cultures for thousands of years for various purposes, including stress reduction, improving confidence, boosting mood and achieving goals.

Research shows that using visualisation techniques can reduce symptoms of mild depression and improve your general mental health. It’s a great tool to help boost your mood, manage stress and help you feel better about yourself.

Natural anti-depressants

There are many different techniques to use as natural anti-depressants and the one you choose depends on what you want to achieve. Here’s a simple visualisation technique to improve your mood and feel more relaxed and calm:

• Find a private and quiet space.
• Make yourself comfortable in a seated position.
• Close your eyes.
• Imagine yourself in a place you would ideally love to be, for example, a beach, your home, a garden.
• Think about how the place looks and notice the colours, sounds and smells – the more you use your senses the richer and more effective the exercise will be.
• Notice yourself feeling more relaxed and positive.
• Stay in your imagined place for five to ten minutes and know that you can return anytime you want to.
• Open your eyes and reconnect to your immediate surroundings.

You can use this visualisation technique wherever you are and whenever you need it. The more you practice, the easier it will become to visualise your ideal place and feel calmer and more in control of your feelings.

Natural mood boosters

Visualisation is just one tool to help improve your mood naturally. You can also lift your spirits naturally by eating a healthy diet with a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, sticking to a regular sleep routine, exercising for at least 30 minutes a day and by taking a mood-boosting herbal medicine.

Foods rich in omega-3 such as oily fish are great for boosting your mood. Bananas and oats provide slow-releasing energy, helping to keep your mood stable and the munchies at bay. It’s best to avoid caffeinated drinks and foods high in sugar as these can cause a surge in energy that falls quickly.

Try HRI Good Mood

St John’s Wort has been used for centuries as a natural anti-depressant remedy for stress and mild depression and it remains one of the most popular traditional remedies. Two tablets of HRI Good Mood provide the strongest dose of St John’s Wort available on the UK market.

HRI Good Mood is licensed under the Traditional Herbal Registration (THR) scheme to guarantee the highest standards of quality and safety in Europe, as approved by the government regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

St John’s Wort can interact with other medications, always read the patient information leaflet.

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