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The responsibilities of work or study, taking care of the house and family, dedicating the right amount of time to friendships, and staying informed about what is happening in the world: from these daily habits, we derive a sense of personal gratification that makes us feel like protagonists of our lives.
Yet, at the end of the day, we may find ourselves feeling demotivated, tired, and sad. We would like to pursue our interests, but immediately we are overwhelmed by a sense of anguish.
Anxiety, stress, and irritability are symptoms of a profound discomfort that, if neglected, can turn into acute depressive forms. Immersed in the routine, we unknowingly increase the detachment from the most important part of ourselves: our soul.
The frenzy of the material world makes us deaf to the needs, desires, and emotions of our inner selves and hinders the reconnection with our intimacy. In this way, we find ourselves overwhelmed by duties yet lacking the enthusiasm and motivation to do anything.
Sometimes we can't even name what we feel, as told by Maite Mutuberria in her book Enorme suciedad ("Enormous dirt"), the illustrator who gifted us with the beautiful cover of this article: "I wanted to give it a name. How to call what has exhausted me so much? The pain that stained everything? What word to use for that blur? I only knew how to sketch it in my notebooks. And since I didn't know how to name it yet, I called it dirt."
But then we must realize that what torments us is called anxiety, burnout, depression, and seek a way to lift ourselves up.
Slowing down our pace, striving to make time for our passions, and the support of psychotherapy help restore a virtuous relationship with our intimacy. And Nature gives us botanicals useful for alleviating those anxiety states that compromise the well-being of our body, returning us the clear serenity we need.
Want to know natural remedies for anxiety? Keep reading!
Before discovering which herbs are effective for anxiety and depression, it is important to understand what is meant when we talk about "anxiety" and what its causes are.
According to the Korean philosopher Byung Chul-Han, anxiety is a symptom of a soul malaise induced by the "society of doing".
In the essay La società della stanchezza Han describes how, through the myth of the freedom to do anything, contemporary society actually precludes the freedom to do nothing. In this way, "the soul is exhausted and burned out by the society of doing."
Masters of our time, we feel compelled to make every part of our day productive and profitable. This leads to an amplification of the sense of duty and the tendency to turn free moments into opportunities to work more: washing dishes, answering emails, watching the news, and starting the washing machine. All without granting ourselves a single moment of rest. We maximize our strengths and accumulate tasks, depriving ourselves of the right to relax and be alone with ourselves.
The progressive and relentless detachment from our emotions is the consequence of this performance ideology. This distancing from our intimacy, the impossibility of dedicating quality time to ourselves, causes that soul fatigue that is the main cause of anxiety and depression.
Being aware of the impact of such social dynamics on our mental health allows us to understand that anxiety, panic attacks, or depression are not weaknesses. On the contrary, they are an extreme response of our body to stress, a way to force us to look inward and realize that we need to pay attention to our psychological well-being.
By "nervousness" we mean a state of irritability and tension characterized by hypersensitivity to certain stimuli. When we are "nervous" we tend to get angry over trivial matters and often this aggressiveness is accompanied by headaches, a feeling of a tight stomach, nausea, and mental confusion.
The sedative and nervine botanicals are the most suitable to quickly restore tranquility and mental clarity necessary to face our daily commitments and responsibilities in the right way.
Consumed in the morning and evening, these plants have a relaxing action, countering restlessness and filling us with a natural sense of calm.
Passionflower
The Passionflower is known for its anxiolytic, antispasmodic, and insomnia-healing effects. Thanks to the principle of passiflorine, an alkaloid that acts directly on the nervous system, it was used as a natural tranquilizer by the Aztecs. Perfect to take before going to sleep, in case of nervousness we can also drink a Passionflower herbal tea in the morning, to enjoy its relaxing properties throughout the day.
To prepare a Passionflower herbal tea, it will be enough to infuse the dried flowers and leaves in boiling water for fifteen minutes. After filtering, we can enjoy this tangy infusion at room temperature.
Hawthorn
Even Hawthorn, with its nervine properties, is an excellent natural remedy against nervous tension. Also known as the "plant of the heart", thanks to the active principle of vitexin, this botanical is exceptional for counteracting tachycardia, palpitations, and hypertension.
A tasty herbal tea with a enveloping and delicate flavor can be obtained from the flowers and leaves of Hawthorn: just let them infuse for about ten minutes, filter, and slowly savor it hot or at room temperature.
Ashwagandha
Sedative plants like Passionflower and nervine plants like Hawthorn provide temporary help against nervousness. Despite their effectiveness in the short term, with the exhaustion of their calming effect, we risk experiencing anxiety and bad mood again.
To prevent the onset of anxiety and nervousness, it is preferable to rely on the properties of adaptogenic herbs. Their active principles, in fact, guarantee a prolonged relaxing efficacy and are able to act directly on the hormonal causes of nervousness.
Ashwagandha is the most famous adaptogenic and anti-stress herb thanks to the relaxing and invigorating properties of its active principles, the withanolides. Capable of regulating cortisol production, the stress hormone, Ashwagandha helps our body to counteract the onset of anxiety and nervousness in situations of particular fatigue.
Like all adaptogenic herbal teas, Ashwagandha can be taken at any time of the day. However, due to its particular relaxing and calming properties, it is recommended to drink a herbal tea based on Ashwagandha in the evening, before going to bed.
For the preparation of this infusion, it will be enough to dissolve 2-3 grams of Ashwagandha powder in a glass of hot water. Alternatively, Ashwagandha powder can be used at breakfast to enrich fruit smoothies, porridge, or simple Greek yogurt.
Another recipe that can help us in promoting calm during mild anxiety states and the onset of insomnia is a vegan cappuccino to be prepared by boiling a glass of coconut drink to which add a teaspoon of lavender flowers and another of Butterfly Pea during boiling. Then boil for another 5 minutes and then filter everything into a cup to which add 1 teaspoon of Ashwagandha, a teaspoon of ghee, and 1/2 teaspoon of honey.
Try the Butterfly Pea
The prolonged action of the rebalancing active ingredients of adaptogenic botanicals allows us to improve our body's response to situations that cause strong stress. Supplements, infusions, or herbal teas based on adaptogenic plants work not only on the effects of anxiety but also - and above all - on its causes.
When we talk about stress, we refer to all those situations that produce a harmful stimulus on our body: prolonged efforts, incessant work, an unbalanced diet, spending too much time indoors or in front of a screen.
The effects of stress are latent in their initial stages and erupt violently in our daily lives when we persist in habits that are harmful to our mental health.
An effective remedy against stress must be based on prevention. This is why adaptogenic botanicals are the main ingredient in natural herbal teas recommended to combat stress: by increasing our body's resistance to physical or mental fatigue, these herbs constitute a natural defense against the somatization of anxiety.
Let's discover which herbal teas against stress we can make with our herbal friends!
Maca
The Maca is the ultimate stress-relieving plant, a root rich in amino acids and minerals with exceptional adaptogenic effects. Capable of balancing its action based on the constitution of the person taking it, this botanical helps to balance mood, support the body in situations of high stress, and allow for rapid energy recovery, making it an excellent supplement for those engaged in competitive physical activities.
When combined with tonic action, if taken in the evening, it may cause insomnia or disturbed sleep. Among the herbal teas against stress, it is therefore recommended to consume Maca in the morning, especially at breakfast.
Maca powder can be added to tea or milk, or used in the preparation of a wide variety of sweet or savory recipes: smoothies, soups, bread or focaccia dough, or to make oatmeal more nutritious.
Cacao
Rich in theobromine, antioxidants, and alkaloids, Cacao is recognized as a natural antidepressant thanks to its tonic and adaptogenic virtues. Used as medicine by pre-Columbian populations of the American continent, Cacao is the most functional ingredient in our diet.
By stimulating the release of serotonin, the happiness hormone, this botanical acts as a mood tonic and ensures concentration and mental clarity. The presence of caffeine gives Cacao its exciting and energizing properties, making it perfect to consume in the morning.
Versatile and delicious, Cacao powder is mainly used for making pastry products. However, from the infusion of Cacao beans, we can obtain sweet and enveloping herbal teas for a tasty alternative to coffee at breakfast.
Buy Raw Cacao Beans
A panic attack presents itself with the onset of intense anxiety, accompanied by a sense of suffocation, nausea, and dizziness, which can be of short or medium duration. It is an extreme body response to deep emotional distress, from which the mind tries to defend itself by alerting all our senses and increasing the breathing rate.
The inability or difficulty to fall asleep at night is one of the most serious and debilitating symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Resulting from excessive worries and work schedules that interfere with the natural sleep-wake cycle, insomnia has deleterious effects on our health when prolonged for long periods. Fatigue, poor concentration, decreased cognitive abilities, irritability, gastrointestinal problems, and weight loss are just some of the consequences of sleep deprivation.
Three forms of insomnia can be identified:
- Initial insomnia, which is the difficulty falling asleep that leads to staying awake until the early hours of the morning;
- Intermittent insomnia, disturbed and interrupted sleep with frequent awakenings in the middle of the night, leading to morning drowsiness;
- Terminal insomnia, which is early awakening during sleep, with difficulty or inability to fall back asleep.
For all these cases, it is recommended to take relaxing sedative herbal teas to help you sleep at night, at least half an hour before going to bed.
Among all the herbs with sedative properties for sleep, St. John's Wort is certainly the most effective for treating the most severe and debilitating forms of insomnia.
Also known as St. John's Wort or "Devil's Scourge," St. John's Wort derives its sedative action from its ability to regulate the production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating the sleep-wake cycle in mammals. By infusing the dried St. John's Wort flowers in hot water for a few minutes, you get a bittersweet tasting herbal tea, which can be enriched by combining it with other sedative botanicals such as Passionflower and Valerian.
However, it is important to note that St. John's Wort may interfere with the action of hormonal contraceptives and antidepressant medications. If you are undergoing pharmacological therapy, it is preferable to treat insomnia with other sedative herbal teas.
Enjoy an Organic St. John's Wort Herbal Tea
Ignoring the symptoms of anxiety by insisting on maintaining high work performance can seriously disrupt the natural balance of our body, leading our soul to complete exhaustion of its forces and triggering the onset of depression.
Depression is spoken of when sadness, bad mood, and abulia interfere with daily life to the point of making any activity difficult or impossible for the suffering individual. A condition of severe psychological and physical distress, depression is a pain of the soul that needs to be treated with humanity, professionalism, and delicacy.
Psychotherapy is the most suitable support for dealing with depression: relying on the help of experienced individuals is an act of self-love through which we will be able to reconnect with our intimacy, rediscovering the wonderful depth of our inner self.
If we wish to support our therapy with natural remedies, we can turn to herbs for anxiety and depression such as St. John's Wort, Passionflower, Melissa, and Cocoa, known for their antidepressant effects.
All these herbs share the ability to intervene in the regulation of hormone release. In this way, they promote the increase in the production of oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine, responsible for good mood, and decrease the concentration of adversary hormones, such as cortisol.
We can enjoy the active ingredients of these botanicals in the form of herbal tea or, as in the case of St. John's Wort, in the form of mother tincture. Prepared by macerating the active ingredient of the plant with distilled water and solvent, the mother tincture is a herbal remedy ready to use and easily assimilated by our body. Its use is therefore recommended to provide immediate relief from the most severe symptoms of depression.
Like Nature, our body relies on the wonderful and delicate balance of all its elements. Physical health, a proper diet, and a good amount of physical activity certainly produce important benefits, but they are not enough to ensure serenity to enjoy the joys that life has to offer us. Taking care of ourselves means knowing how to listen to our inner self, appreciating our limits, and allowing ourselves time to recharge when necessary.
Our herbs to face anxiety and depression not only offer themselves as a generous support in the journey of reconnecting with ourselves, but also teach an important lesson: just as their beauty is the result of nourishment from the Earth, where they firmly sink their roots, our external life reflects the light of our soul.
Therefore, we must nurture our inner self with affection and dedication, helping our soul to bloom splendid, lush, and ready to face with determination the challenges offered to us by material life.