Soothing Your Soul: Harnessing the Calming Power of Herbal Remedies for Anxiety with Demetria Clark

Unlock the secrets of nature's pharmacy as I, Demetria Clark, guide you through the calming world of herbal remedies for anxiety. Imagine sipping a warm cup of chamomile tea or enjoying the soothing scent of lavender oil diffusing in your room, all while knowing you're tapping into centuries-old traditions for modern relief. Explore the gentle yet powerful effects of apigenin and linalool, the active components in chamomile and lavender, and learn how these accessible herbs can seamlessly integrate into your daily rituals. Whether you're brewing a calming cup of tea or winding down with the scent of lavender, discover how these natural wonders can support your journey to mental well-being.

In this episode, we also embark on a fascinating exploration of valerian root, a potent herb known for its anxiety-reducing properties. Uncover the best ways to incorporate valerian into your routine, with tips on preparing it safely as a tea or tincture, while understanding the essential precautions needed when using it. I share a delightful personal story about valerian's amusing effect on cats and stress the importance of consulting healthcare professionals before adding any herb to your wellness arsenal. Emphasizing quality and safety, we dive into the critical aspects of sourcing your herbs from reputable suppliers. Join us in embracing these natural solutions that beautifully complement other anxiety management methods, creating a holistic approach to alleviating stress and fostering inner peace.

Heart of Herbs Herbal School 
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Welcome to the Heart of Herbs Herbal School Podcast, www.heartofherbs.com where we explore the world of herbal remedies and natural health solutions. Before we dive into today's episode, If you want to enroll, use code PODCAST to save 20%.

The content provided in this podcast is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition. It is always recommended to consult with a qualified healthcare professional

Chapters

• 0:00 Herbs for Anxiety Relief
• 18:30 Valerian Root
• 25:08 Selecting Quality Herbal Sources

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:37

Hi, this is Demetria Clark, the director of Heart of Herbs Herbal School, and today I'm going to be talking about some great herbs for anxiety. So, look, anxiety is something we hear about all the time. It is something that is becoming almost an epidemic in our country and in our culture and the way that we live our lives. There's so many anxiety inducing events and activities and just even if you look at the way we talk to ourselves and how we talk to each other, those are all anxiety inducing. I always tell people look, nobody could say anything meaner about me than I could say to and about myself. As human beings, we are naturally already geared up to be as nasty to ourselves as times as possible. Unfortunately, we also seem to be using that behavior to be nasty to one another, especially just commenting about things that really don't have anything to do with us. But we definitely all want to be armchair experts and no, I'm not being negative against the armchair expert podcast or anything like that. I'm just saying like individuals really really find a way to be nasty to each other. Even if you look at the way people talk about each other online or talk about people who are famous, and when push comes to shove in the back of our heads, we're thinking is that how people talk about us? Is that how my friends are talking about me, or the people that I think love me? Are they talking nasty about me first? You know, there used to be this, this saying used to be like oh, she's nasty, nice, and that is not a compliment.

Speaker 1: 2:28

So, while professional help is crucial for managing anxiety and anxiety disorders, many individuals find relief through natural remedies, including herbs. So obviously, at Heart of Herbs Herbal School, we believe in the power of nature to support mental wellbeing, but that does not mean that, if you need professional or pharmacological or other kinds of help to get through your anxiety, that you shouldn't take it. Look, the goal, I think, for everyone is for everyone to be well and for people to be supported in the way that they need to be supported. So I'm going to talk about some wonderful herbs that are effective for anxiety relief, but I also want you to remember that there's other things you can do too. There's breathing exercises, there's physical exercises, there's talk therapy, there's art therapy, there's music. There's all kinds of things that you can do to help you with your anxiety. These herbs are lovely because these herbs can also help. So we're going to go over six herbs that are commonly used for anxiety and I'll tell you a little bit more about each one.

Speaker 1: 3:51

Okay, the first step we're going to talk about is chamomile, matricaria chamomilla. So chamomile contains apigenin, a flavonoid that binds to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain, producing a calming effect. It also has mild sedative properties, which can help with sleep disturbances linked to anxiety. It's often best consumed as a tea. You can also get it in capsule or tincture form, but a tea is really super easy it's one to two teaspoons of dried flowers steeped in hot water for about 15 to 20 minutes. It can also be taken in other forms, and you'll want to follow the dosage guidelines on that. A study published in phytomedicine found that chamomile extract significantly reduced symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder compared to a placebo, and this was in 2009. If you're allergic to plants in the estuary family, you will want to avoid chamomile, because chamomile is from that family.

Speaker 1: 4:56

The next one is lavender, lavender and gustafolia. So the mechanism by which lavender works is its primary active components. Linalool and linalool acetate have been found to show that they influence the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing stress and anxiety by lowering heart rate and blood pressure. So lavender is known. It has a long history of being calming, soothing, sleep-inducing, offering relaxation, antispasmodic, like it's just known for being really, really calming and effective, and this is as an herb and as an essential oil. So lavender essential oil in a diffuser five to ten drops. Add a few drops to carrier oil for topical application, or dried flowers for tea or to add to bath water is a very, very common way for it to be used. You can find lavender in all kinds of topical applications lotions, creams, salves.

Speaker 1: 6:03

It's great to make a dream pillow out of. For little children you can even put some lavender flower in, just like a tube sock with some rice, and they can sleep, you know, have that under their pillow. I used to sprinkle lavender flower under our bed sheets. We all slept together as a family, so I would put that under, like I would have a sheet protector and then I had uh, I would sprinkle lavender flowers every time I changed the sheets and so they would just kind of slightly crush when we would roll around and would just make the bedroom smell very slightly of lavender. But my boys really liked it and it really worked for them. It really helped them calm down and relax at night. A systematic review in mental health clinician in 2017 concluded that lavender oil capsules significantly reduced anxiety symptoms, and this was in multiple clinical trials and some were done in 2014.

Speaker 1: 7:10

You're not going to want to ingest the essential oil. Many, many places or many different kinds of companies and I'm not going to name names will be like drink essential oil. You don't want to do that. Don't listen to that. If you want to intake lavender directly, use it in the format of a tea or a tincture. You want to make sure that you use all essential oils and herbs safely and do not drink essential oils. That is just good blanket advice.

Speaker 1: 7:44

The next one is passionflower Passiflora incarnata. The mechanism by which it works is passionflower increases gamma-amnio-butyric acid levels, so GABA levels. You'll see GABA everywhere. Now listen, don't come at me for pronouncing things wrong. I have been doing this work literally for a gazillion years, like since I was a teenager. I've been working with plants in one way or another and I still stumble over the different Latin names and other kinds of names. Listen, nobody's speech is perfect, so let that go If it bothers you. I'm sorry. I always try to be better, but don't stress out about me pronouncing a name wrong. So this works by reducing overactivity and promoting relaxation. So passionflower has a long history of being helpful with stress and anxiety issues and disorders.

Speaker 1: 8:51

You can use as a tincture so one to two mils up to three times a day, or as a tea one teaspoon dried herbs steeped in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes. I usually like to do mine a little bit longer. I always kind of like I always do 20 minutes minimum, but that's really up to you. This is a common number, you know 10 to 15 minutes. Obviously, look, we're not doctors. We're just passing on information. You'll need to find what works for you. We're not telling you how to you know. This isn't a prescription. This isn't any of that stuff. This is just really trying to help connect you with information.

Speaker 1: 9:34

A study in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics showed that passionflower was as effective as oxazepam, a prescription for anti-anxiety, for managing generalized anxiety disorders, with fewer side effects. I know that a lot of parents that I've worked with over the years have found that a little bit of passion flower can really assist their children with anxiety disorders. It works really good at the end of the day. So if you want to use it for tomorrow. You would use it before bed today because it can cause some drowsiness and you should not use it with sedatives or alcohol.

Speaker 1: 10:27

The next is lemon balm, and lemon balm is great, right? Lemon balm besides the fact that it's generally safe and it can interact with thyroid medications usually I wait till the end to tell you the cautions Can interact with thyroid medications. Usually I wait till the end to tell you the cautions. But if you have a thyroid issue, I don't want you to get too excited over lemon balm, because lemon balm is awesome. It is so generally like easy to use. It works so good by modulating GABA receptors and enhancing the calming effects of neurotransmitters.

Speaker 1: 10:58

I mean, I would use lemon balm leaves fresh. I would just give a few to my kids to just like calm them down. Right, and that was just them holding it in the hand and crushing it and releasing the essential oil as a tea. It works fabulous and the good thing is is it tastes absolutely delicious. So people who are not like really tea people or they don't like, oh, I don't want it. That's gross. I'm not going to take any mud brew, or that was what a client said her kids used to call their stuff a mud brew, anything like that. It isn't like that. Lemon balm is not like that. Lemon balm can also be made into like a mocktail. It just has such a great taste, all right. So you would want to remember that. It is calming and gentle and it has a calming effect on neurotransmitters in the brain. It also contains rosminaric acid, which may have mild sedative effects. So you really want to try to use lemon balm leaves as fresh as possible, because they do have such high essential oil content that if they're not like made into a tincture, you will find that as they dry, it really isn't as strong. It just really doesn't have the same benefit.

Speaker 1: 12:30

Now, pro tip, go to the grocery store. You can get it fresh, usually in the areas that have fresh herbs. You can often find lemon balm even in the little salad size containers. So that could give you enough for a few glasses of tea a week, or growing it inside. It grows really well. It just likes being around you, if that makes any sense. So you can make a tea with the fresh leaves I would steep it for 20-25 minutes or you can take it as a tincture or a capsule. Now, that being said, I'm not a huge fan of this in capsule format because it just loses so much of its potency as it dries and the essential oils evaporate. So if you have a freeze dryer, that could be like an excellent way to preserve it for a long time. Use A randomized and controlled trial published in Nutrients found that lemon balm extract significantly reduced anxiety and improved mood in participants. So lemon balm is, as I'll repeat, is generally safe, but it may interact with thyroid medications, not medifications, all right.

Speaker 1: 13:53

Ashwagandha so ashwagandha is an adaptogen and you've probably been hearing about Ashwagandha. So ashwagandha is an adaptogen and you've probably been hearing about ashwagandha. It's like one of the hot, hot herbs of the years. It regulates cortisol levels, reducing stress and improving the body's resistance to stressors. So let's just repeat that it helps improve the butt is resistance to stressors. So there are some herbs that I like to think of like as action herbs and herbs that really like do stuff, and they're supportive when I kind of think of like ashwagandha as your lineman. So if you're playing football, you need your lineman to like hold the wall, to take it to the next end, to make a hole to fill in. You know where there is a need and a necessary, and so I really feel like ashwagandha is one of those things that just really helps regulate cortisol levels, reduces stress and improves the body's resistance to stress, and it also supports adrenal, overall adrenal health. So one of the great things with this herb is that it just really I feel like this herb is working to help you. You know what I mean. Like it's like all right, what's my job? Okay, I'm going to do it.

Speaker 1: 15:19

It's typically taken in capsule or powder form.

Speaker 1: 15:24

You could do it as a tincture.

Speaker 1: 15:26

You can. You know you can take it in a lot, you know any of the herbal formats, but most people take it in as a tincture or capsule and it's the extract of the root that you would be taking. A study in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology found that ashwagandha significantly reduced cortisol levels and symptoms of stress and anxiety in participants. So the thing is is that a lot of people who suffer from you know, just fight or flight constantly or you know they always feel like you know they're being chased by a tiger. They can't seem to regulate and bring themselves down. This herb can be an excellent herb for them, though I will say it's not recommended during pregnancy or for individuals with autoimmune diseases. So if you have an autoimmune disease, you're probably going to find that this herb is not good for you at all. It can work in a way that can make that almost worse. So you really want to make sure that, if you're using ashwagandha, that you understand why you're using it and what you want it to do, and you need to make sure, obviously, that you're not pregnant or that you have an autoimmune disease.

Speaker 1: 16:50

So the next one is valerian, and and valerian is great. Valerian root increases GABA levels in the brain, promoting relaxation and reducing anxiety. It's often commonly used for insomnia and associated with anxiety. Okay, note to all the parents out there it's great for promoting sleep. But in some children, especially children who maybe are a little bit more rambunctious or maybe have some ADD or ADHD, valerian may actually make them a lot more hyper, and I'm finding that this is true in adults who have this similar types of personalities. So if you are an ADD adult, you give it a try, you know, but you may find that it actually may make you a little bit more, you know, moving around and less able to settle, and the point of this is to help you relax and reduce anxiety. So you'll want to make sure that you feel like you're a good candidate for valerian Now. Valerian can be excellent. It can really really work for people who are suffering from different kinds of insomnia. It's a lot of people like it, especially going through menopause, who are dealing with insomnia and anxiety. Um, those are things that can increase during menopause and perimenopause. So, definitely, like if those are things that you're dealing with, you may want to give this a try.

Speaker 1: 18:30

You use the dried root in a tea or tincture capsule. You brew it as a tea. Most roots are brewed as a decoction, and a decoction means that you add the herb to simmering water and you allow it to simmer for 20 minutes or so. Simmer for 20 minutes or so. An infusion means that you brew, you boil the water or simmer the water and pour it over the plant material like you're making a tea. Valerian is not usually because it often is just so rich with volatile oils that it doesn't need to be, and it works really well this way. It is often taken as a tea or tincture capsules. I have even put valerian in salves after I have infused the root and oil, because it's a great pain relieving mechanism too. Meta-analysis published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found valerian effective in reducing anxiety symptoms, though more research was called for in that study.

Speaker 1: 19:58

Now, valerian can cause drowsiness. It's not really suggested to be used if you're going to be operating heavy machinery. You're not supposed to use it with sedatives or alcohol. Not supposed to use it with sedatives or alcohol. For some people, valerian can cause them to like get to sleep pretty quickly. So you definitely you know, look, you're not going to be like falling asleep like you're under the influence of a drug, necessarily, but you want to make sure that when you take it you're ready for bed. Now, valerian is interesting. Depending upon how old the root is, it can have a variety of scents, and so one of the scents is often described as dirty feet.

Speaker 1: 20:43

Now, if you have cats, my cautionary tale to heart Picture this Vermont, after a snowstorm, needing to go to the grocery store. Ding dong, the door opens and it's a delivery from your favorite herbal company. Oh my gosh, my delivery of herbs is coming in, but I have two children in snowsuits ready to go to the grocery store with me in the freezing cold, because the roads have been cleared and we need to go get food. And so what do I do? I put the box by the pantry door. I don't bother to unpack it, I'll get it later.

Speaker 1: 21:32

Upon coming home, my two cats had chewed through the box to get to the valerian root inside and my whole house was covered with the scattering. Okay, to be fair, it wasn't the upstairs, it was just the downstairs. You know where all my soft furnishing is, with about a pound of dried valerian root, it was spread everywhere. My whole house smelled like valerian and I had the world's highest cats. Now, once they went to valerian, catnip never did the job for them again.

Speaker 1: 22:17

Cats love valerian. If you have it growing in the garden, they they went to Valerian. Catnip never did the job for them again. Cats love Valerian. If you have it growing in the garden, they're going to go dig it up. I mean, cats love Valerian. So just take my cautionary tale to heart and understand that you may not want to have your living room furniture covered with Valerian roots. So if it comes in, put it up where they can't get it. Get it in a glass jar right away, because cats do truly, truly love valerian. And it's so funny. I will often tell students this and I'll tell people this and they're just kind of like, okay, okay, until they have their valerian experience, and then they're like, oh my gosh, I should have listened to you.

Speaker 1: 22:54

So some general notes on herbal use. Understand that this is a podcast. We're not telling you how to do anything with your health or your well-being. We're just sharing information. Anything you do with your health and your well-being is up to you and under your purview. If you want to do something, talk to your health care provider. I am not your health care provider. I am just sharing information. Use herbs under the guidance of a qualified herbalist or healthcare provider, especially if you're pregnant, nursing, taking medications or have a medical condition. Combine herbal approaches with other stress management techniques, such as mindfulness therapy and other kinds of movement and activity.

Speaker 1: 23:34

Don't act like herbs are going to have the same effect as drugs, because guess what? They don't. They work differently. You may need to take an herb for a while before you start getting its overall effects, but here listen to this If an herb makes you feel bad, don't take it. There's no such thing as a healing crisis If you are doing something with an herb and it causes some kind of rash, or it causes your throat to itch or it makes you feel bad, or it gives you some kind of outcome you don't like. Don't take it. That means it's not meant for you.

Speaker 1: 24:15

Always make sure that you know what you're taking to. If you are going to buy a product and it doesn't have the Latin name listed and you can't verify what that plant is by the common name, don't buy it. We need to have better labeling, and how we get better labeling is by you shopping with your dollar, and if you buy herbs in bulk, buy them from places that you trust, places that can give you a source for your drugs or your herbs. Sorry, where does it come from? And the only reason why I said drugs is that we have a huge problem in our country with being able to source where our pharmaceutical drugs come from and where their ingredients come from. And often where their ingredients come from, and often where their ingredients come from is not places that you necessarily want to get ingredients from, because of this, as we've seen this lately with recalls and all this kind of stuff.

Speaker 1: 25:08

Well, same can happen with herbs, and so you want to make sure that you're purchasing from companies that work really, really hard to have good sources, clean sources and that they can follow things back to the source. So definitely pay attention to that and definitely try to do your very best. If you can't grow herbs yourself, don't worry, there's plenty of good people out there selling herbs. Just make it an effort to connect with them and make sure that you understand what you're buying from the beginning, so you know with all confidence that this chamomile that I'm buying is actually chamomile. Thank you so much for listening and have a wonderful, wonderful day.