Several remedies can help correct mood disorders in children without any side effects. Mood disorders are defined as extreme mood swings involving emotional highs and lows, known as mania and depression, respectively. These mood swings affect various aspects, including energy, activity, sleep, behavior, and judgment.
Although there are several medications available to treat these mood disorders, they come with many side effects. You can also choose to use natural remedies at home.
Here is a list of several home remedies to help correct mood disorders.
1. Magnesium
Magnesium is one of the essential nutrients your child needs to grow up healthy and strong. Magnesium for kids is necessary as their little bodies are going through so much intense development.
And its benefits go way beyond the physical, too. If your child is misbehaving or is depressed or anxious — which, let’s face it, is never fun for anyone — the solution might be as simple as a magnesium supplement.
Magnesium works as a mood balancer and combats the symptoms of anxiety and depression. It works by promoting a good night’s sleep.
2. Valerian Root
Valerian root helps to relax the nervous system. It is also commonly used as an alternative medicine for sleep problems, anxiety, and mood disorders by promoting a feeling of calmness and reducing nervous stress and tension as well as restlessness, anxiety, and mild to moderate mood swings. You can quickly obtain it through tea bags, liquid extracts, and capsules. It is suggested to speak to your health care provider first before starting this herb.
3. Fish Oil
Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids that help to combat mood swings. It improves the brain’s functionality, thus helping control mood disorders. Fish oil supplements are also beneficial for this purpose.
4. Passionflower
Passionflower contains soothing properties that help to combat excitability and anxiety experienced during manic episodes of mood disorders. Even though this herb doesn’t pose any severe side effects to the body, it might upset the stomach at times.
5. Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is considered a fantastic tonic for the nervous system. For children suffering from mood disorders, Ashwagandha helps to improve three different cognitive functions – reaction time, auditory-verbal working memory, and social cognition.
Give your child Ashwagandha daily for a few weeks and check the results.
6. L-Theanine
L-Theanine is a naturally occurring amino acid found in green tea and is a derivative of glutamic acid, a major neurotransmitter in the brain. It is known for its calming effects on the brain and has been shown to support concentration and focus while reducing irritability and low mood states.
It directly stimulates the production of alpha brain waves, giving the body a sense of deep relaxation and mental alertness without drowsiness. L-Theanine enables the body to produce other calming amino acids, such as dopamine, GABA, and Tryptophan, and helps with concentration, focus, deep muscle relaxation, and improved sleep.
7. B Vitamins
B Vitamins are helpful to treat mood disorders in children because they help to regulate the mood. Vitamins B1, B6, B9, and B12 are essential to reduce symptoms like irritability, anxiety, mood swings, depression, and fatigue.
Vitamin B1 helps to improve blood circulation through the body and the brain. At the same time, B6 fights irritability, B9 maintains proper brain function, and B12 helps to manufacture certain neurotransmitters to combat irritability, depression, and fatigue.
8. Balanced Diet
Make sure to give your child a healthy diet with a balanced amount of all the essential nutrients from fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, keep your child away from artificial sweeteners and colors since they can intensify mood swings and all junk food, especially sugar and high-carb starchy foods. Try to find out trigger foods and eliminate them from the diet. In addition, introduce the habit of adequate sleep and exercise.
9. GABA
In children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, the typical treatment is stimulant medication. However, some parents prefer to use natural treatments for their children. Gamma-aminobutyric acid, GABA, can be used as a dietary supplement and has been suggested for use with children with ADHD.
GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and has been associated with positive mood. A recent study indicates that GABA also enhances alpha wave production in the brain to promote relaxation and moderate occasional stress.
For use with children, natural forms of GABA are recommended to be taken up to three times each day with a dosage of 100 mg each.
To learn more about what supplements you can give your child to help their mood disorder, get a FREE Consultation with one of our doctors (D.C) here
