Maintaining your emotional health is key to sustaining your overall health and well-being. In this article, we discuss emotional wellness and offer tips for building a strong mind-body connection.
Emotional Health Defined
Emotional health is about your thoughts and feelings. Specifically:
- Your ability to cope with both positive and negative emotions
- Awareness of your emotions
- How external stimuli affect your emotions
We can all learn strategies to help us increase awareness of our emotions and manage the resulting feelings. But one of the best ways to maintain emotional well-being is to control, to the best of our abilities, the external stimuli that can lift us up or bring us down.
And one of the biggest external stimuli we all deal with on a daily basis (and can influence) is how our body feels. That’s the mind-body connection we mentioned at the beginning of this article.
In the next section, we’ll discuss ways you can take care of your body to benefit your emotional health.
Tips for Maintaining Your Emotional Well-Being Naturally
1) Strengthen Your Immune System
When you don’t feel well, it can add extra stress to your day and impact your emotional well-being (more on stress below).
So how can you support your immune system to stay feeling your best? With the right plants and herbs.* When it comes to immune health, Black Elderberry is one of our favorites.*
Black Elderberry has a natural concentration of anthocyanins (the antioxidants that give it that deep purple color) as well as other flavonoids, which provide both antioxidant and immune support.*
For best results, consume Black Elderberry daily. Our delicious, USDA Certified Organic Black Elderberry Syrup concentrates the juice from 14.5 grams of fresh Elderberries into just one teaspoon.
You can take Black Elderberry Syrup by the spoonful—we recommend one teaspoon daily for everyone ages four and up—or mix it in your favorite food or beverage. Get creative and try recipes from lemonade and freezer pops to energy balls and baked apples.
If you want an even simpler way to take Black Elderberry, try chewing a convenient gummy instead. We offer Adult Daily Black Elderberry Gummies and Extra Strength Black Elderberry Gummies, as well as a kids Elderberry gummy formula.
2) Reduce Stress
Stress is a natural part of life, and there are times when you simply can’t avoid it. But managing your response to stress is an important part of maintaining your emotional well-being.
When your body is focused on dealing with stress, it diverts attention and resources away from other normal bodily functions, including maintaining your emotions.
This is the mind-body connection in action. Your emotions affect your body; for instance, stress and the immune system are inextricably linked. But the interesting thing about the whole process is that it goes both ways: Not only do your emotions affect your body, the health of your body also impacts your emotional well-being.1
To calm your thoughts and emotions, maintain a healthy body, and nurture a healthy stress response, take a breath—literally and figuratively. Yoga, breath control, and meditation are great options. Find a relaxation activity that works for you and practice it often.
You can also stay mindful and reduce occasional anxiousness by getting outside to enjoy nature, laughing, spending time with loved ones, and exercising regularly.
Another way to help your body handle stress is to nourish your adrenals.* A supplement such as our Adrenal Health® Daily Support can support adrenal function to help your body cope with occasional stress.*
Finally, adaptogenic herbs, such as Ashwagandha, can also support your emotional well-being by helping your body adapt to and cope with life’s challenges.*
3) Improve Your Digestion
Your digestive system is responsible for breaking down and processing everything you eat and drink. But your gut also:
- Produces most of your body’s serotonin2
- Communicates with your brain through nerve cells2
- Has a significant impact on your immune system2
We’ve already discussed how your immune system affects your emotional health, so let’s focus on the other two items on that list.
Serotonin is a hormone that stabilizes mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness.3 Most of that serotonin is produced in response to healthy digestion.
Similarly, your gut communicates with your brain through nerve cells. So, if your gut is experiencing problems, your brain—and your mood—will be affected thanks to this close communication.
That’s why it’s important to take good care of your gut by adding prebiotics and probiotics into your diet.*
Not sure what those two things are? Here are the basic definitions:
- Probiotics are the microorganisms (good bacteria) that live in your gut
- Prebiotics are the nourishment those microorganisms need to thrive
In addition to consuming probiotics through fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, pickles, and kombucha, talk to your doctor about adding a high-quality probiotic supplement.4
And to nourish those probiotics, look for a high-quality prebiotic supplement that will support digestive health, function, and regularity as well as immune health.* Gaia Herbs Microbiome Food is the perfect example.*
Our Microbiome Food is made with Larch, Acacia, Acerola, Inulin, Fenugreek, Cinnamon, Ginger, and Marshmallow—without added fillers, flavors, or sweeteners.
4) Get Better Sleep
A good night’s sleep isn’t always easy to come by, especially when you’re stressed. Sleeping well, however, is extremely important for emotional well-being and physical health.
Research suggests that a lack of sleep produces a chain reaction that causes a downswing in the overall health of your body.5 And, as we’ve discussed throughout this article, the way your body feels can have a profound effect on your emotional health and well-being.
For sleep support, consider taking an herbal supplement, such as Gaia Herbs Sound Sleep®, to help your body relax and prepare for restful sleep or our SleepThru® to help prevent occasional restless nights.*
For more information on falling asleep or staying asleep longer, check out this article on the Gaia Herbs blog: Tips for Sound Sleep from Ayurvedic Wellness Coach Anna Levesque.
5) Address Specific Issues
Women
As a woman ages, her body becomes very good at adapting to the changes and hormone shifts it undergoes. Yet, menopause can be particularly challenging.
Symptoms include:
- Mood changes
- Dry skin
- Chills
- Hot flashes
- Problems sleeping
- Weight gain
- Thinning hair
- Slow metabolism
- Irregular periods
Gaia Herbs Women’s Balance helps maintain healthy female hormone balance and well-being.* In addition, this supplement features herbs traditionally used for the relief of occasional hot flashes, including Red Clover, Alfalfa, Black Cohosh, and St. John’s Wort, as well as Chaste Tree, Vervain, and Oats.*
What’s more, a woman’s libido is connected to her overall physical health and emotional well-being. But, as she ages, hormone production can drop, causing sex drive to decrease. Our Women’s Libido is formulated to help you maintain a healthy drive.*
Men
Likewise, a man’s libido is connected to his overall wellness. But age-related drops in certain hormones can cause a dip in sex drive.
Our Male Libido formula—a blend of Maca and other herbs—supports stamina and vitality for a healthy drive.* Consistently nourishing your prostate and hormones can help you access the energy and endurance for a healthy sex life.*
Recently, studies have shown that Maca can help maintain normal reproductive hormone levels as well as promote healthy energy levels.* There is also evidence that Maca can help sustain sperm count and movement.*6
In addition to Male Libido, you can add this herb into your routine via our Maca powders.
Gaia Herbs Maca Powder is made with organic Maca root that is ethically harvested by our trusted partners high in the Peruvian Andes.*
Another great option includes Maca Boost® Cacao Ginger, which blends nicely into recipes such as Maca Matcha Lattes, Maca Chocolate Crackle, No-BakeChewy Granola Bars, and Maca Coladas.
Enjoy Your Emotional Health
Take control of your emotional well-being by maintaining a healthy body and practicing self-care whenever possible. Stay active, get plenty of sleep, and take Gaia Herbs supplements as part of a nutritious diet.*
For more help developing a strong mind-body connection, check out these articles from the Gaia Herbs blog:
- Feeling Stressed? Try These 3 Calming Herbs and Daily Self-Care Routines to Enhance Your Well-Being
- Forest Bathing: Let the Forest In
- 14 Self-Care Ideas to Manage Stress and Maintain Your Well-Being
- Time to Relax! Natural Herbs & Tips for Calming the Mind and Body to Restore Balance
- Stress Relief, Anxiousness & Exhaustion: Herbs and Tips to Help You Cope During These Troubled Times
REFERENCES:
1. Abe, M., Akaishi, T., Ishii, T., Ishizawa, K., Masaura, A., Numata, T., Ohsawa, M., Onodera, K., Suzuki, S., Tanaka, J., “Somatic Symptoms with Psychogenic or Psychiatric Background: Characteristics and Pitfalls,” Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8138407
2. Carabotti, Marilia, et. al. “The Gut-Brain Axis: Interactions Between Enteric Microbiota, Central and Enteric Nervous System,” Annals of Gastroenterology,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4367209/
3. Young, S. N. “How to Increase Serotonin in the Human Brain without Drugs,” Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2077351.
4. “How to Get More Probiotics,” Harvard Health Publishing,
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-get-more-probiotics.
5. Besedovsky, L., Born, J., Lange, T. “Sleep and Immune Function,” Pflugers Archiv,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3256323.
6. Gonzales, G. “Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacology of Lepidium Meyenii (Maca), A Plant from the Peruvian Highlands,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3184420.