Everyone has had times when things just seemed out of whack and bleak. Job performance, relationships, health, and/or plans have suffered. Depression robs us of happiness.

Elisha Goldstein, author of the book Uncovering Happiness: Overcoming Depression with Mindfulness and Self-Compassion, has studied what helps create more resilience and happiness within us and has found it is within us a core set of natural antidperessants.  Here are 5 suggestions to shift our brain activity in ways that can lend itself to shaping an antidepressant brain.

1.) Mindfulness could reduce depression.

Mindfulness is defined as the quality of state of being conscious or aware of the present moment and how you feel and accepting how you feel. Mindfulness practice is connected to lower depression scores, and we can actually see why in the brain. When people practice mindfulness they spend less time in the part of the brain that ruminates on the old stories that keep us stuck in the past. Instead, they spend more time connecting to the area of the brain responsible for sensing the world.

2.) Self-compassion can powerfully fight anxiety.

Self-compassion reduces rumination (spending time rehearsing those unhelpful stories from the past) and increases well-being. This is inversely correlated with anxiety and depression.

3.) Compassion practices can increase empathy.

Compassion practices can shift activity to the left prefrontal cortex, and that has been more associated with positive emotions and resiliency. We can also grow the areas of the brain associated with empathy and compassion.

4.) Play can be a natural anti-depressant.

Studies reveal that the act of play as well as creating more enriching environments can give us energy, make us more efficient, and serve as a natural anti-depressant.

5.) Living with purpose could reduce inflammation.

Living with greater purpose has been shown to reduce the expression of genes associated with cellular inflammation. Cellular inflammation is associated with many diseases and depression.

The science that continues to come out about mindfulness, self-compassion, purpose, compassion, play and confidence and their neurological benefits is incredibly motivating.

But don’t take my word for it – begin to bring these natural antidepressants into your life, and see what you notice. Of course, this list just scratches the surface of how to naturally create a more antidepressant brain.

*Disclaimer: these suggestions are not meant to substitute for medical treatment of depression.