Herbs for Stress & Anxiety: How to Make and Use Herbal Remedies to Strengthen the Nervous System

164 Pages·2014·3.27 MB·English

by  Rosemary Gladstar

Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One: Understanding the Nervous System
Chapter Two: Natural Remedies for Stress and Anxiety
Chapter Three: Strengthening the Nervous System
Chapter Four: The Herbal Home Medicine Chest
Chapter Five: Making and Using Herbal Remedies
Recommended Reading
Resources
Other Storey Titles You Will Enjoy
Copyright
Share Your Experience!
My life centers around 500 acres on a mountaintop in the
northeastern part of Vermont. There are endless helping hands that
make it all possible: the gardens, the trails, the small orchard, the
beehives, the woodlands, the wildflower meadows, and an office
that hums continuously, a hive of happy activity. There are so
many people who have helped over the years, but a few people who
have always been there, helping with their hearts as well as their
hands. This book is dedicated to them: Robert Chartier, Jason
Colvard, Melanie and Jeff Carpenter, Jennifer Temenski, Micki
Visten, Amy Goodman Kiefer, Donna Bryant Winston, Katie Pickens,
and Matthias and Andrea Reisen.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am sincerely indebted and grateful for the infinite support and
hard work of my editor and friend, Deborah Balmuth. Her patience
and caring have sustained me through endless deadlines amid a
schedule that was nothing less than chaotic. Due to her
understanding, the help of my favorite nervine teas, and the view
out my office window, I’m alive and well at the end of another
writing odyssey.
Introduction
Do you recall the last time you felt really peaceful? When you felt
truly, profoundly calm and content? When you woke up smiling
and the world smiled back? Can you say that you have ample time
for social events, get everything done in a day that you wanted to,
and feel like your “to do” list is under control? Do you sleep deeply
and soundly, so that waking up is a joy, not a chore?
If you’re like most of us, these feelings are pleasant but fleeting
experiences — or even distant memories. Far too many of us live in
a state of recurrent or chronic stress and anxiety. We’re
overscheduled with work and family obligations, oversaturated
with information, overwhelmed with social and personal
expectations — in short, overloaded. The natural response to that
overload is stress and anxiety. And for many of us, chronic stress
and anxiety lead down a precipitous path to depletion, chronic
fatigue, illness, and depression.
People have always experienced stress and anxiety. These
important biological responses are warning signals designed to
alert us of possible danger — that “fight or flight” response so
essential to survival. However, we have only to look at the
staggering number of nervous system disorders in our population
today to sense the magnitude of the problem of living under a
constant onslaught of stress and anxiety.
Modern medicine offers a variety of treatments for the
symptoms of excessive stress and anxiety, which range from
depression and insomnia to muscle tension, cardiac irregularities,
and gastrointestinal distress. However, it places little emphasis on
the need to build a strong and resilient nervous system. It may not
always be possible to make our lives or the world around us less
stressful, but we can create greater peace and inner calm by
changing how we respond to stress. Herbs, exercise, healthy eating
habits, meditation, and cultivating healthy relationships can all
fortify our nervous system and help correct any underlying
imbalances. As gentle, effective therapies, these practices are well
suited to relieving the symptoms of stress and anxiety and building
a more resilient, adaptable nervous system. And when a serious,
chronic disorder necessitates pharmaceutical intervention, these
natural therapies can play an important adjunct role in helping
restore balance and harmony.
This book outlines the simple steps I’ve found to be helpful in
relieving stress not only in my own life, but in the lives of hundreds
of other people as well. Stress is a fact of life, neither good nor bad;
it’s how we respond to it that matters. And how we respond to
stress is vitally dependent on the health and resiliency of our
nervous system. Greater joy is the goal!
C H A P T E R O N E