By Thomas Stearns Lee, NMD

Do you have stress in your life?  If left untreated, stress can be a serious health hazard that affects both mental and physical wellbeing.  Excessive stress robs the body of nutrients, harms the cardiovascular system, and lowers the effectiveness of the immune system.

Psychologically, stress can induce depression, anxiety, anger, fear, and other negative patterns.  How well do you deal with stress?  What can you do?

Herbs can reduce or even eliminate some of the negative effects that stress can cause.  Some herbs are the best treatment for physical ailments, while others work better for psychological problems.  Managing your emotions and mastering your reactions to stress will be the necessary steps you must take to “cure” stress, but meanwhile, herbs can definitely help.

For example, if you are under pressure and you feel your heart racing while your breathing becomes more rapid, you may feel better quickly with the use of Hawthorne berries and Linden flowers in capsules or as teas.

If the stress affects your digestive system, try Chamomile or Peppermint.  For tight shoulders, use Valerian, which will also help with occasional insomnia.  Feverfew and Willow bark will help with tension headaches and stress-related migraines.  If your nervous system has been stretched to the limit, use Oats.  As a food or in the form of oatstraw tea, oats will nourish the nervous system.

Herbs that will help the body achieve balance are said to have adaptogenic properties.  For example, Ginseng can help strengthen the body’s systems for handling stress.  The result is that you can train up to handle stress better next time, while a stimulant only gets you over a hurdle for the short term.

No amount of medicine is going to make the stress events different in our lives, but we can usually handle the physical effects of stress better with the intelligent use of herbal supplements.

If these tips don’t work well enough to help in your particular pressure-cooker of a life, do work with an experienced Naturopathic Physician to get things understood and changed for the better.  Ask if a good Magnesium and Vitamin B supplement would help.

Modern science is validating our older natural medicines as being just as effective today, and they usually turn out to be safer than modern drugs.  Head your problems off with gentle natural medicines before they rob you and your family of a good quality of life.