Foods and herbs to fight stress and anxiety naturally

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@Rosa C Herbs that help with anxiety and stress are in a class of plants called “adaptogens”. There are over 200 species of plants around the world that are adaptogens.

One of the worlds foremost experts on this subject is David Winston.

Bio from one of his websites… David Winston is an internationally known lecturer, author and ethnobotanist. For over 45 years, David has been studying, practicing, teaching and researching Chinese, Western/Eclectic and Southeastern American herbal traditions. David’s world-renowned two-year herbal studies program, the David Winston Center for Herbal Studies, has been educating Herbalists, Physicians, Nurses, Naturopathic Physicians, Veterinarians, and Nutritionists in the art and science of clinical herbal medicine since 1980.

I listed David’s book on adaptogens here… Herbal Medicine Books - Peanut recommends

His school’s website… David Winston's Center for Herbal Studies

Many of the world’s adaptogens grow wild. I wrote about one of them here.

Crossvine
 
@SouthCentralUS I know little about postherpetic neuralgia other than it is triggered by the varicella zoster virus. That said the only natural treatment I personally know for shingles that forces it into dormancy is a combination of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and self-heal (Prunella vulgaris).

Both are nervines (mints). Mints have some remarkable effects on nerves. If your down they will perk you up, if over excited they will calm you down. Another way of saying it is they bring balance to nerves and their functions.

Postherpetic neuralgia is basically a single nerve not behaving or functioning properly. The two mints above remove the trigger for PN. They should also calm the misbehaving nerve.

I speak in generalities here. You need a really good herbalist to customize the mixture of self-heal and lemonbalm for shingles and to find the right mint for PN. PM me your general area. I might know someone near you that can help.

A reminder about all mints… care should be taken for ladies in the first trimester of pregnancy. Mints have been known to cause issues, nothing specific, just be aware. Some mints, like skullcap, should never be used in the first trimester, again, the reference matierial only gives the warning, nothing specific.
 
SouthCentralUS said:
I guess Im showing my age but when I was a kid you could buy something at the pharmacy called Nervine. I haven't thought of that in years.
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They have a product on amazon named "Nervine"... funny, the only two "Nervines" or mints in it are skullcap and spearmint. Several of the plants have muscle relaxing properties. I have no idea why they would put cayenne in it! 🤪 Cayenne is medicine, highly stimulating, used to move blood in the circulatory system. Samuel Thomson (father of american herbalism) used it to treat acute heart attacks. There is nothing relaxing about cayenne.

https://www.amazon.com/Nervine-Herbal-Remedy-Tension-Capsules/dp/B003HNAIWW
Question:
What are the ingredients?
Answer:
Skullcap, St John's wort, Blue Vervain, Valerian root, Hops, Spearmint leaf, Wood Betony, Mistleto, Lady's Slipper, Bladder Pod and Cayenne Pepper- This product is great for relieving muscle tension!
 
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I took a class a few years ago and took some notes. This is what I have written from that class....

Mothers Wort - good for anxiety and very safe. It's in the mint family. It's good if you're worrying about things that might happen. Good for calming if public speaking and it's good for the heart muscle. Use a dropper full. It's like a mothers hug.

Perhaps Peanut or someone familiar with it can chime in??
 
angie_nrs said:
I took a class a few years ago and took some notes. This is what I have written from that class....

Mothers Wort - good for anxiety and very safe. It's in the mint family. It's good if you're worrying about things that might happen. Good for calming if public speaking and it's good for the heart muscle. Use a dropper full. It's like a mothers hug.

Perhaps Peanut or someone familiar with it can chime in??
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I Grew it and use it as a tincture as needed for women's cramping, anxiety, pain or sleep issues.
It works really, really well.
Even though it's in the mint family it's very bitter so I tend to chase it with a spoonful of honey or jam.
There is no high and when taken for anxiety the angst just disappears.
I don't take antidepressants anymore because I take Motherwort as needed.
Motherwort is a Nervine.
 
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Tank-Girl said:
I Grew it and use it as a tincture as needed for women's cramping, anxiety, pain or sleep issues.
It works really, really well.
Even though it's in the mint family it's very bitter so I tend to chase it with a spoonful of honey or jam.
There is no high and when taken for anxiety the angst just disappears.
I don't take antidepressants anymore because I take Motherwort as needed.
Motherwort is a Nervine.
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Very interesting. How much do you take? Where did you get the seeds to grow it? Is it easy to grow? Does it come up every year? I don't even know if it grows naturally in my area. I need to check into that herbalist again and see if she is offering another class.
 
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angie_nrs said:
Very interesting. How much do you take? Where did you get the seeds to grow it? Is it easy to grow? Does it come up every year? I don't even know if it grows naturally in my area. I need to check into that herbalist again and see if she is offering another class.
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For me I pack a pint jar with whole chopped dried flower spikes - leaves stems and dried flowers and I fill it with 80 proof vodka. Put the lid on tight and give it a good hard shake and put it in the cupboard in the dark for 8 weeks.
I don't flaff about. I take 10mls at a time and that does the trick.
I've found extremely had to get the seeds to germinate and to keep the plants alive because my climate is so hot and humid. Other climates I have no idea how it would go but I think it would like a milder climate.
I'm not giving up though. I'm buying more plants even though they are extremely expensive to buy here in this country as only a few rare herb nurseries grow them.
You can buy dried organic Motherwort and make your own tincture while you're trying to locate plants and or seeds and getting them established.
It'll work out a lot cheaper than buying a standardized tincture from iHerb.
On that note it would be good to try a iherb tincture to see if it has the effect you're chasing before investing in plants and dried product.
 
Thanks TankGirl for the information. I'd like to give it a try. I don't typically get anxiety, but hormonal fluctuations these days can be challenging to deal with and perhaps this might help with that on those 'cranky' days. You are right.....best to try it first before going thru the process of growing it. I'll check my source here locally to see if she sells it.
 
A good list of herbs to add

Ginseng
Maca
Ashwangadha
Saffron
Holy Basil
 
Tequila is a darn good muscle relaxer.
Chocolate is good for fighting pain,depression and anxiety.
 
I don't use it but it is all-natural and it helps you relax.
Legal in Washington.
marijuana-plant-cannabis-pot-weed-legalization-getty.jpg
 
It may be legal in Washington but they won't let you have a CPL or CDL if you use it.
 
kd4ulw said:
Tequila has been known to fight anxiety in a natural plant-based way… just sayin.
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ya think so? As a former tequila user/worm eater, I can say that combined with other naturally occurring anti-anxiety chemicals found in some plants/fungi/cacti family there are others as well. YMMV
Not that I neccesarily endorse such things but I have heard that the medical/scientific community is studying the effects of some possibly illegal naturally occurring plants/fungi/cacti for use in those with anxiety and depression.
There are other plants used for stress and anxiety which have been covered here on the forum before. Wash, rinse, repeat. This is an old thread.
 
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