The effects of unresolved stress are cumulative and can negatively affect your emotional and physical health. If you don't already have a way to deal with stress each and every day, I urge you to start as soon as possible. Here are my recommendations for naturally easing anxiety and promoting a positive mental outlook.

Supplement your emotional health

There are a variety of herbal ingredients that may help improve your mood. Among the ones I find most impressive are:

• St. John's Wort: can help ease anxiety, enhances a positive mental outlook and promotes healthy sleep patterns. I recommend taking 900 mg daily.
• Vitamin B3 in the form of niacinamide: helps ease stress (recommended dose 1,000 mg daily). [The B vitamin inositol (3,000 mg daily) and the amino acid gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) will increase niacinamide's effects (200 mg taken 4 times a day).] Dosages of all these supplements should be spread out through the day.
• Kava: contains several compounds that relax the central nervous system (50 mg 3 times a day). Although valerian root is often cited along with Kava for its role in supporting healthy emotional response, I have found that long-term use of it weakens the adrenal glands. Anyone taking valerian root for extended periods will begin to experience fatigue, dizziness upon standing, headaches, and other symptoms commonly associated with hypoadrenia.

Eat well, stay well

Eat natural, unprocessed foods. In particular, for more energy I recommend foods rich in these nutrients:

• Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10): enhances your heart energy production and the immune system. Foods include: almonds, broccoli, potatoes, eggs, rice, spinach, and wheat.
• Magnesium: Along with malic acid (a natural substance extracted from apples), it is one of the components in the energy-producing Krebs cycle in which fats and sugars are converted to energy. Foods include: bananas, corn, soybeans, grains, and wheat germ.
• Vitamin E: promotes cardiovascular and immune system health. Foods include: Brussels sprouts, whole wheat, flour (enriched), eggs, and cereals (grain).
• Selenium: can help stabilize mood swings and lift the spirits. Foods include: fish, Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, poultry, and shellfish.

If you can't seem to get enough of these nutrients from food in your daily diet, you may want to consider adding a nutrient supplement.

Take a walk for well-being

Taking a walk is not only good physical exercise but a refreshing way for you to get away from life's stressors for a while.

A large component of emotional well-being is your perception. When was the last time you actually got away by yourself and seriously thought about what you needed to be happy? Maybe it's time to do so.

Try Visualization

Visualization can be a very positive tool in restoring a healthier, happier perception of yourself and the world. There are endless methods and sequences for visualization and you can easily modify these to suit your needs. For an outline of five simple visualization steps I use, click here.

Don't worry, be happy

Happiness is a powerful healing force and is just as important to good health as proper nutrition and adequate exercise, if not more so.

As hectic as life has become, we often see happiness as a luxury. However, less happiness leads to more stress. And stress can be an extremely powerful destructive force.

Probably more than any other single factor, discovering and acting on what makes you happy can improve both the quality of and length of your life.

Over the next few hours, days and weeks, I urge you to invest some time in seriously deciding what you want out of life. What would make you happy, not just for a moment or a day, but for the long term?

Discovering what it would take for you to be happy is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful tools you'll ever possess. It gives you a purpose and a basis for living. It almost miraculously provides direction at each of life's crossroads.

I can assure it will be one of the most productive things you will ever do.