Herbs that can help with Anxiety and Stress!Anxiety is a sense of fear or a feeling of impending doom. Anxiety disorder refers to a group of disorders that includes generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. A panic attack is an acute anxiety episode that may be accompanied by sweating, shortness of breath, hot or cold flashes, heart palpitations, and other forms of discomfort. Herbs can help with anxiety. Fairly common, anxiety disorders occur in people of all ages, but appear to be more common among women. The exact cause is complex, involving constitutional factors, emotional stress, biochemical imbalances, and environmental triggers. Symptoms can include excessive worry, sleep disturbances, shakiness, ritualistic behavior, fear of being alone or in public places, impatience, easy distraction, and great apprehension concerning the welfare of loved ones. Associated physical symptoms include racing pulse, heart palpitations, shortness or rapidity of breath, sweating, dry mouth, numbness and tingling of the hands and feet or cold/clammy hands, lightheadedness or dizziness, fatigue, trembling, indigestion, and diarrhea. Firstly assess the diet for excessive consumption of stressor foods such as: refined sugars, honey, maple syrup, or cow’s milk products. Consume vegetable soups, broths, and a wide variety of green and yellow vegetables. Add more complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, beans, seeds, and nuts. Flower essences can prove helpful. Aspen is for apprehension, foreboding, and fear of unknown origin while mimulus is for fear of known things, shyness, and timidity. Red chestnut is used for excessive anxiety and over caring for others. Rescue Remedy for general stress from anxiety; Rock Rose for terror and panic from known fear. Herbs to use include panax ginseng which has a nutritive or tonic effect on the adrenal glands, improving blood flow to the brain and reducing the stress associated with mental/emotional issues. Valerian root, an her/bal tranquilizer and muscle relaxant, is another good agent for calming the nervous system. It helps balance mood swings and is not habit forming. Valerian-hops combination formulas are good daytime sedatives because they don’t interfere with reflex actions.
Passionflower is another mild sedative that helps reduce anxiety, high blood pressure, nervous tension, and muscle tension, and encourages deep, restful sleep. Extract of the kava-kava plant, a herbal tranquilizer, can lower anxiety levels and alleviate panic disorder and general tension in as quickly as a week. St. John’s Wort, a popular remedy for depression, has proven effective for anxiety and mood swings as well. Damiana, jasmine, lemon balm, skullcap and sweet basil can also reduce symptoms and gradually restore health. Lemon balm, damiana, and skullcap are all calming herbs which ease physical tension, nand help maintain a balanced mental and emotional state. Our herbal tea "Balance" is good for anxiety. Lemon balm is good for stress allied digestive problems, skullcap fights panic attacks, and damiana is a gently pick-me-up. Both Ginseng and Siberian ginseng are good for coping with stressful events, and withania, or Indian ginseng, is a supportive herb. It’s very important to eat well, exercise regularly, and relax periodically. Yoga, Tai Chi, and Meditation are all very useful.
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