Best Plants for Depression and Anxiety (15+ List)

In this blog, we’re going to look at some of the best plants to help you deal with mental health issues like depression and anxiety. Readers will first learn about the benefits of growing plants in regards to such problems. Then, we’ll describe these plants in more detail.

What are the Best Plants for Depression and Anxiety?

• Aloe Vera
• Chrysanthemum
• Lavender
• Rhodiola rosea
• Holy Basil
• Areca Palm
• Spathiphyllum
• Jasmine
• Lemon Balm
• English Ivy
• Gerbera
• Aglaonema
• Weeping Fig
• Chamomile
• Lucky Bamboo
• Peppermint

How can Plants help with Depression and Anxiety?

Dealing with depression or anxiety is not at all easy. These disorders typically impair your functioning and cause you to suffer from persistent negativity. One way of dealing with them, besides professional help, is to grow plants in your home.

Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years. Plants lift your spirits by brightening up a room. They bring energy and vitality back to your living space.

Moreover, some specific plants are excellent for this purpose because of their appearance, smell, and medicinal properties. Research too supports the idea that growing plants at home can have a positive impact on individuals diagnosed with depression and anxiety.

16 Plants for Depression and Anxiety

In this section, we are going to describe sixteen plants in more detail, which can help you deal with your mental illness more holistically.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is a hardy low-maintenance plant that grows well in most climates. It has pointy sharp leaves with slight thorns. Once a year, mature Aloe Vera plants shoot out a long flowering stem with orange blossoms, which attract tiny birds.

It is a good houseplant for people with depression as it has numerous health benefits. Research has also shown that having Aloe Vera extracts regularly significantly reduces symptoms of depression.

Chrysanthemum

This is a flowering plant that grows gorgeous blossoms of varying colours. Unfortunately, these are seasonal so you can’t grow them year-round. Nevertheless, you can enjoy these flowers in hot summers and rainy months.

Seeing their bright colours fill up your home will help lighten your mood and lift your spirits. If you grow them abundantly in your garden, you can decorate your bedroom with a vase full of Chrysanthemums.

Lavender

The Lavender plant is known to have adaptogenic properties that can reduce stress and symptoms of depression. The smell of these flowers has a calming effect and Lavender extracts can be added to several body care products to enhance this effect.

There have been studies that show the effectiveness of Lavender aromatherapy in reducing insomnia and depression. More than anything else, these flowers are lovely to look at and will brighten up your home.

Rhodiola rosea

This 2016 publication calls Rhodiola rosea a putative botanical antidepressant. That’s because its purified constituent, salidroside, has been shown to produce a variety of mediator interactions with hormones and neurotransmitters likely to be involved in the pathophysiology of depression and anxiety.

In contrast to most conventional antidepressants, R. rosea extract appears to be well-tolerated in short-term studies with a favourable safety profile. So, why not grow some of this wonder plant at home when you’re fighting anxiety and depression!

Holy Basil

The Holy Basil plant is considered very auspicious and is commonly used in many Eastern healing practices. It’s great to grow this in your home because then, you can easily use a few leaves to increase the health factor of whatever food and drink you have.

Since depression is often accompanied by stress and body inflammation, Holy Basil can be of use. Its anti-inflammatory effects have been investigated in treatment studies for stress and depression and with positive results.

Areca Palm

The Areca Palm is also known as golden cane palm, yellow palm, butterfly palm, or bamboo palm. It is a common houseplant and grows taller than most indoor plants. It is one of the few palms that can tolerate trimming without serious harm, making it possible to keep mature plants indoors for their full lifespan of up to 10 years.

Growing this plant can be good for your mental health as it will add foliage to your home and won’t take up too much of your energy.

Spathiphyllum

Spathiphyllum, or Peace Lily, blooms with white lily-like flowers. The blossoms only have one petal and their stems can grow up to 6 ft tall. Because of its appearance, this plant is frequently associated with purity, prosperity, innocence, peace, and sympathy.

This makes it a good plant to have around your house if you’re battling depression or anxiety. It’s beautiful to look at and symbolises the state you want to embody.

Jasmine

The Jasmine plant is famous for its lovely scent and cute little white flowers. There are many varieties of Jasmine plants available, each with its slightly unique form or smell.

You can ease your depression with Jasmine flowers by either trying aromatherapy or by drinking Jasmine tea. These remedies are highly popular in Eastern cultures and have traditional roots.

Lemon Balm

You can recognise the Lemon Balm plant because of its bright yellowish-green leaves with ragged edges. Popularly used in self-care products, this plant is another good option for your home if you’re struggling with depression.

This systematic review summarises the vast research done on the effects of Lemon Balm on anxiety and depression. Current evidence suggests that lemon balm may be effective in improving anxiety and depressive symptoms, particularly in the acute setting.

English Ivy

You’ve probably seen English Ivy covering up the walls it grows near. It is a species of flowering plant of the ivy genus in the family Araliaceae, native to most of Europe and western Asia.

If you want to make your living space greener and do it quick, the English Ivy is the perfect plant for you. Create a sanctuary of your own with this hardy plant to escape into when you need to calm yourself.

Gerbera

Here is another flowering plant that will cheer you up when you’re feeling low and negative. The Gerbera flower has a long stem that may need support to keep it upright. The flowers can be orange, yellow, red, maroon, pink, and more!

It is indigenous to South Eastern Africa and is commonly known as the Barberton daisy or the Transvaal daisy. 

Aglaonema

The Aglaonema plant is a beautiful indoor plant that comes in many attractive colours. Mainly grown for its foliage, it can have multicoloured leaves in hues of pink, white, and yellow besides the expected green.

It is a very low maintenance plant that keeps growing without fail for years. Also known as Chinese Evergreen, this plant is good for purifying the air. That way, it can make it easier for you to sleep when anxiety and depression keep you up at night.

Weeping Fig

Weeping Fig, popularly known as Ficus, is a common houseplant in many households. It is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Asia and Australia. Interestingly, Weeping Fig is the official tree of Bangkok.

This plant can help with depression by cycling toxins and irritants out of the air. In cleaner airspace, you’ll feel more at peace. Pick the right spot in your home for this plant because it doesn’t do well when relocated.

Chamomile

What’s fantastic about the Chamomile plant is the flower. It too has adaptogenic properties that make it a brilliant home remedy for people fighting stress, depression, and anxiety. You can use these for aromatherapy, to brew a cup of hot tea, or simply to look at for leisure.

A 2012 explorative study established that the Chamomile plant has a positive impact on individuals who are anxious and/or depressed. So, it makes perfect sense for you to invest in this houseplant.

Lucky Bamboo

There are various kinds of Bamboo and not all of them can grow at home, especially in apartments. However, the Lucky Bamboo is much smaller, super easy to care for, and can be used to decorate your house.

It’s called “Lucky” because it’s not really bamboo but resembles it a lot. This peculiarity established the plant as an equivalent symbol of fortune, hence the popular name, “Lucky Bamboo.”

Peppermint

Akbari, Rezaei, and Khatony looked at the effect of peppermint aroma on pain and anxiety in hospital patients. Their results show that the smell of Peppermint has a positive impact on the subjective experience of discomfort and anxiety.

The Peppermint plant is incredibly adaptable, but ideally, it prefers a cool, moist climate with well-draining, loose, organically rich soil. The leaves are tiny and bright green. 

Conclusion

In this blog, we looked at some of the best plants to help you deal with mental health issues like depression and anxiety. Readers first learned about the benefits of growing plants in regards to such problems. Then, we described these plants in more detail.

The plants mentioned here included Aloe Vera, Chrysanthemum, Lavender, Rhodiola rosea, Holy Basil, Areca Palm, Spathiphyllum, Jasmine, Lemon Balm, English Ivy, Gerbera, Aglaonema, Weeping Fig, Chamomile, Lucky Bamboo, and Peppermint.

FAQs (Plants for Depression and Anxiety)

What flower helps with depression?

Any flower with bright-coloured petals or scented blossoms can do wonders to lift your spirits. If you’re struggling with depression, try growing some lilacs, pansies, jasmine, or lavender flowers as a coping strategy.

Do flowers cure depression?

Flowers cannot cure depression alone but they do contribute to the process of healing. They brighten the environment and fill it with sweet smells. Moreover, taking care of them is like a reminder for self-care, which often gets neglected when you have depression.

What is the flower for mental health?

In Australia, the Flannel flower is considered a symbol for the promotion of mental health awareness. It is the flower from an Australian bush that is known for its inherent strength and beauty. Because of this, it is seen as a metaphor for the beautiful struggle it takes to build resilience from mental health problems.

References

• https://scholar.archive.org/work/37p5zu4mffctjacf7lo4ml5np4/access/wayback/https://mcj.kowsarpub.com/cdn/dl/47a55ec8-9f3d-11ea-9468-23b27a2126d8
• https://synapse.koreamed.org/articles/1063474
• https://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=CN2014002418 
• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fcp.12186