Burnout. Most of us at one time or another have felt fatigue, jumpiness, irritability, lack of concentration, hopelessness, occasional digestive and bowel disruptions, difficulty sleeping, headaches, and muscle soreness to name a few. It feels like we are always working to keep it at bay. Adopting nourishing nervines and adaptogens into our lives can be immensely helpful to support and balance our nervous systems.* And when I say adopt the herb, I really mean embrace them and they will embrace you back! They work best when used daily over time. If your life includes a lot of stress and/or discomfort, these herbs can help you increase your capacity and resiliency. I’ll share the ones I use most in my work as a community herbalist.
This is one of my most beloved herbs. Because it aids digestion, it helps those who feel stress in their gut and experience digestive discomfort as a result. Likewise, poor digestion can lead to increased feelings of anxiousness, so tending to what and how we eat will complement our path toward easing stress. Many of us either under or overeat when we have emotional tension. Bitter herbs help with digestion and gut health, and chamomile really shines here as a bitter nervine. Chamomile promotes calmness and restful sleep in children, adults, and even dogs. Prepare chamomile as a strong tea, alcohol extract, glycerite, syrup, or topical oil. Humans have used this plant since the Paleolithic era, so don’t miss out on the possibility to connect deeply with chamomile.
Skullcap is another favorite. Also a calming bitter, skullcap is wonderful for the person who is frazzled, frayed, and on edge. Someone who has difficulty pushing away negative thoughts and circular thinking that affect sleep and concentration. Someone who is worried and anxious. It can help a person who experiences sound, smell, visual overstimulation, and other hypersensitivities when stressed. I prefer to prepare a fresh plant extract or syrup. Common skullcap, Scutellaria lateriflora, can be grown in your garden. It is one of the main ingredients in my meltdown formula.
And then there is lemon balm. Oh, lemon balm! It is notably calming and can help improve mood. I use it for the person who has tension related to stress, including the emotional symptoms of menopause. As a mint, it is easy to grow, but use caution as it can take over a garden. There isn’t a place I have lived that doesn’t have lemon balm volunteers growing in the yard or nearby. Lemon balm is gentle and most people enjoy the flavor, which makes it a great herb for compliance. Guests look forward to a glass of lemon balm lemonade when they visit my house and it is a staple at family gatherings.
Linden is a lovely tree that is famously enjoyed by bees and humans alike. The honeybees in our yard led me to several neighborhood linden trees, and I’ve counted up to 15 different pollinator species sipping the flower nectar. Linden is cooling and moistening and will work better for the hot and dry person who feels frazzled, short-nerved, and tense. Linden is great for relieving muscle tension like menstrual cramps and headaches. Linden is safe for all ages and tastes delicious so is another good herb to use for folks who do not find bitter herbs tasty (yet).
I could spend hours staring into the flower of Passiflora and it is another plant to bring into the garden. This calming and barely bitter nervine is best for children or adults who are on the fragile, nervous side. Passionflower helps to support sleep and many of the folks I share it with report that it brings a sweetness to their dreams. A client once told me they woke up with a smile for the first time in decades after using passionflower.
Tulsi is another uplifting relaxing nervine that is also an adaptogen. Adaptogens help the body adapt to stress and increase resiliency. Using tulsi is like looking through a filter that highlights the things we love rather than what annoys us. It smells and tastes amazing, so most people will readily drink tulsi tea. A daily dose of adaptogenic herbs like tulsi will support the nervous system and increase our ability to deal with stress. A relative of garden basil, tulsi is grown similarly. Pinch off the flowering tops so the plant will continue to grow, and steep those delicate flowers and leaves as tea or add to your daily infusion.
There are also many adaptogens in the mushroom kingdom. Find the herbs that work well with you, use them in combination, and continue to build your relationship with them. Just because someone says one herb is the best nervine or adaptogen doesn’t mean that it will be a magic bullet or that you should force yourself to take a plant daily that you don’t enjoy. Our relationship with our bodies and the foods and herbal remedies we use are everything.
May you have increased resiliency and easefulness in your life.
You may also be interested in:
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications. For educational purposes only.
Topics: Herbalism
Jet connected with plants as a child with her mother and sisters as they foraged and farmed the midwest prairies. She can be found tending, gathering, and learning from plants in a variety of settings. She loves to unwind in the kitchen, preparing herbal remedies and foods. She completed a three-year apprenticeship with the Columbines School of Botanical Studies and worked as a volunteer clinical herbalist in a busy free clinic. She is one of the education coordinators for the OSU Extension Master Gardener™ program and is a volunteer community herbalist with Herbalists Without Borders-Eugene Chapter.
.jpg?width=1080&name=2023%20(1).jpg "Mountain Rose Herbs 2023 Impact Report")
Burnout. Most of us at one time or another have felt fatigue, jumpiness, irritability, lack of concentration, hopelessness, occasional digestive and bowel disruptions, difficulty sleeping, headaches, and muscle soreness to name a few. It feels like we are always working to keep it at bay. Adopting nourishing nervines and adaptogens into our lives can be immensely helpful to support and balance our nervous systems.* And when I say adopt the herb, I really mean embrace them and they will embrace you back! They work best when used daily over time. If your life includes a lot of stress and/or discomfort, these herbs can help you increase your capacity and resiliency. I’ll share the ones I use most in my work as a community herbalist.
This is one of my most beloved herbs. Because it aids digestion, it helps those who feel stress in their gut and experience digestive discomfort as a result. Likewise, poor digestion can lead to increased feelings of anxiousness, so tending to what and how we eat will complement our path toward easing stress. Many of us either under or overeat when we have emotional tension. Bitter herbs help with digestion and gut health, and chamomile really shines here as a bitter nervine. Chamomile promotes calmness and restful sleep in children, adults, and even dogs. Prepare chamomile as a strong tea, alcohol extract, glycerite, syrup, or topical oil. Humans have used this plant since the Paleolithic era, so don’t miss out on the possibility to connect deeply with chamomile.
Skullcap is another favorite. Also a calming bitter, skullcap is wonderful for the person who is frazzled, frayed, and on edge. Someone who has difficulty pushing away negative thoughts and circular thinking that affect sleep and concentration. Someone who is worried and anxious. It can help a person who experiences sound, smell, visual overstimulation, and other hypersensitivities when stressed. I prefer to prepare a fresh plant extract or syrup. Common skullcap, Scutellaria lateriflora, can be grown in your garden. It is one of the main ingredients in my meltdown formula.
And then there is lemon balm. Oh, lemon balm! It is notably calming and can help improve mood. I use it for the person who has tension related to stress, including the emotional symptoms of menopause. As a mint, it is easy to grow, but use caution as it can take over a garden. There isn’t a place I have lived that doesn’t have lemon balm volunteers growing in the yard or nearby. Lemon balm is gentle and most people enjoy the flavor, which makes it a great herb for compliance. Guests look forward to a glass of lemon balm lemonade when they visit my house and it is a staple at family gatherings.
Linden is a lovely tree that is famously enjoyed by bees and humans alike. The honeybees in our yard led me to several neighborhood linden trees, and I’ve counted up to 15 different pollinator species sipping the flower nectar. Linden is cooling and moistening and will work better for the hot and dry person who feels frazzled, short-nerved, and tense. Linden is great for relieving muscle tension like menstrual cramps and headaches. Linden is safe for all ages and tastes delicious so is another good herb to use for folks who do not find bitter herbs tasty (yet).
I could spend hours staring into the flower of Passiflora and it is another plant to bring into the garden. This calming and barely bitter nervine is best for children or adults who are on the fragile, nervous side. Passionflower helps to support sleep and many of the folks I share it with report that it brings a sweetness to their dreams. A client once told me they woke up with a smile for the first time in decades after using passionflower.
Tulsi is another uplifting relaxing nervine that is also an adaptogen. Adaptogens help the body adapt to stress and increase resiliency. Using tulsi is like looking through a filter that highlights the things we love rather than what annoys us. It smells and tastes amazing, so most people will readily drink tulsi tea. A daily dose of adaptogenic herbs like tulsi will support the nervous system and increase our ability to deal with stress. A relative of garden basil, tulsi is grown similarly. Pinch off the flowering tops so the plant will continue to grow, and steep those delicate flowers and leaves as tea or add to your daily infusion.
There are also many adaptogens in the mushroom kingdom. Find the herbs that work well with you, use them in combination, and continue to build your relationship with them. Just because someone says one herb is the best nervine or adaptogen doesn’t mean that it will be a magic bullet or that you should force yourself to take a plant daily that you don’t enjoy. Our relationship with our bodies and the foods and herbal remedies we use are everything.
May you have increased resiliency and easefulness in your life.
You may also be interested in:
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications. For educational purposes only.
Topics: Herbalism
Jet connected with plants as a child with her mother and sisters as they foraged and farmed the midwest prairies. She can be found tending, gathering, and learning from plants in a variety of settings. She loves to unwind in the kitchen, preparing herbal remedies and foods. She completed a three-year apprenticeship with the Columbines School of Botanical Studies and worked as a volunteer clinical herbalist in a busy free clinic. She is one of the education coordinators for the OSU Extension Master Gardener™ program and is a volunteer community herbalist with Herbalists Without Borders-Eugene Chapter.
