Feeling blue occasionally is a normal reaction to life. There are periods when things are stressful, don’t go as we like, or come up unexpectedly and we are left to deal with the fallout. Being temporarily depressed can also be triggered by changes in weather and season. Often the shorter, darker days of fall and winter, as well as the holiday season, can leave people feeling less like themselves.

Although the blues can be trigged by a set of environmental factors, there are steps you can take to blunt its effect, and lighten your load. Although severe depression is a medical condition you should seek professional help for, if you are suffering from a lack of emotional well being there are some supplements that can help brighten your day and help you deal with stress more effectively.

St. John’s Wort is an herbal supplement that works to help the body produce seratonin and adrenaline, the feel good chemicals in our brains. It works by stimulating the central nervous system to produce more adrenaline, and gives the heart stimuli to speed up slightly and pump more blood through the body, increasing the distribution of nutrients and oxygen in the blood stream. The increased blood flow can lead to an increased feeling of energy.

SAM-e provides many of the same benefits and can also be effective in protecting a body from the effects of aging. Long known as a treatment for sadness and joint pain in Europe, it is now being studied for its ability to improve liver health. B Vitamins are another good source for helping your body produce and maintain energy effectively.

If weather and the shorter days of the winter season are bringing your mood down, it might be due to a lack of exposure to light. Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is often helped by exposure to bright lights. Light is thought to increase production of melatonin, a hormone that helps to regulate sleeping patterns and feelings of happiness. Exposure to bright lights for a prolonged period of time may help increase melatonin in the blood stream, producing more stable feelings of well being.

Also, it can be an enormous comfort to find someone to talk out your problems with. If a good friend you trust is available, make some time to sit and talk over a cup of tea. Ask for help if you need it—it can be surprising how much our stress levels go down if we have a person to delegate responsibilities to. Professional therapists are also a good option to help with emotional feelings that seem overwhelming.