Mood Booster: An Herbal Extract for the Winter Blues

Tinctures and herbs gathered together to make an herbal extract for the winter blues.

Here in the Coast Range and Willamette Valley of western Oregon, we know our foggy, rainy winters are responsible for the stunningly gorgeous, green landscapes we love so much. But, wow, it’s been cold and gray this winter! As a born-and-raised Oregonian, I’m one of the weirdos who loves rain, who adds extra blankets to my bed so I can sleep with the windows open to hear and smell the winter weather. I love sloshing around in rubber boots, and taking drizzly forest walks in the fog, and struggling against the cold rain to plant a super-early garden. There is a name for people like me: pluviophile (someone who finds joy and peace of mind on rainy days). However, for most people, the combination of dark, wet, and cold is incredibly challenging. It grieves me to watch my sun-loving, light-deprived friends and family sink into annual winter doldrums, which is why I love to make this mood-boosting herbal extract with its blend of warming, uplifting, relaxing herbs to help alleviate those seasonal blues and give a little relief to my favorite people.

This extract is a lovely support recipe for occasional bouts of the doldrums, but it works better if you combine it with day-to-day lifestyle actions that get you some natural vitamin D. Bundle up and take a walk, or set yourself up in front of a big window with a good story or a lap-project and let your body soak in some full spectrum lighting; even half an hour can make a world of difference! 

Also, if you don’t have time or inclination to make your own tinctures, you can purchase the individual extracts to blend as needed, or take a look at our pre-blended Mood Care Extract.

Pouring winter mood booster extract into a jar for use.

Winter Mood Booster Extract

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Mix all tinctures together in a dropper bottle and shake well.
  2. Take about 30 drops 1-2 times a day for up to 1 week or less, as needed.

Pro Tip

  • It is always a good idea to take a small amount first, and then sit quietly and feel how the herbs affect your body before taking a larger amount.

 

Want to know more about mood-boosting herbs?

Read about Herbs to Ease Heartache and Beat the Blues

 

You may also enjoy:

Mood Booster: An Herbal Extract for the Winter Blues Pinterest pin for Mountain Rose Herbs

 


Topics: Recipes, Herbalism

Heidi

Written by Heidi on January 5, 2022

Heidi is an award winning freelance writer with a passion for urban homesteading. She has been honored to receive a number of literary prizes including the esteemed Pushcart Prize and an Individual Artists Award in Creative Writing from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is proud to have earned a certificate of completion for the Herbal Medicine Making Course at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine. When she isn’t working in the garden, cleaning the henhouse, preserving food, crafting herbal formulations, or writing and editing content for really fantastic small businesses, you’ll likely find her with her nose in a book.


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Mood Booster: An Herbal Extract for the Winter Blues

Tinctures and herbs gathered together to make an herbal extract for the winter blues.

Here in the Coast Range and Willamette Valley of western Oregon, we know our foggy, rainy winters are responsible for the stunningly gorgeous, green landscapes we love so much. But, wow, it’s been cold and gray this winter! As a born-and-raised Oregonian, I’m one of the weirdos who loves rain, who adds extra blankets to my bed so I can sleep with the windows open to hear and smell the winter weather. I love sloshing around in rubber boots, and taking drizzly forest walks in the fog, and struggling against the cold rain to plant a super-early garden. There is a name for people like me: pluviophile (someone who finds joy and peace of mind on rainy days). However, for most people, the combination of dark, wet, and cold is incredibly challenging. It grieves me to watch my sun-loving, light-deprived friends and family sink into annual winter doldrums, which is why I love to make this mood-boosting herbal extract with its blend of warming, uplifting, relaxing herbs to help alleviate those seasonal blues and give a little relief to my favorite people.

This extract is a lovely support recipe for occasional bouts of the doldrums, but it works better if you combine it with day-to-day lifestyle actions that get you some natural vitamin D. Bundle up and take a walk, or set yourself up in front of a big window with a good story or a lap-project and let your body soak in some full spectrum lighting; even half an hour can make a world of difference! 

Also, if you don’t have time or inclination to make your own tinctures, you can purchase the individual extracts to blend as needed, or take a look at our pre-blended Mood Care Extract.

Pouring winter mood booster extract into a jar for use.

Winter Mood Booster Extract

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Mix all tinctures together in a dropper bottle and shake well.
  2. Take about 30 drops 1-2 times a day for up to 1 week or less, as needed.

Pro Tip

  • It is always a good idea to take a small amount first, and then sit quietly and feel how the herbs affect your body before taking a larger amount.

 

Want to know more about mood-boosting herbs?

Read about Herbs to Ease Heartache and Beat the Blues

 

You may also enjoy:

Mood Booster: An Herbal Extract for the Winter Blues Pinterest pin for Mountain Rose Herbs

 


Topics: Recipes, Herbalism

Heidi

Written by Heidi on January 5, 2022

Heidi is an award winning freelance writer with a passion for urban homesteading. She has been honored to receive a number of literary prizes including the esteemed Pushcart Prize and an Individual Artists Award in Creative Writing from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is proud to have earned a certificate of completion for the Herbal Medicine Making Course at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine. When she isn’t working in the garden, cleaning the henhouse, preserving food, crafting herbal formulations, or writing and editing content for really fantastic small businesses, you’ll likely find her with her nose in a book.