Herbs for Anxiety and Back to School Stress
Anticipatory anxiety is a common experience among young and old alike. Whether we are excited or scared makes no difference to our body’s response. And we all react to it in our own unique way. The butterflies in the stomach, breakouts on the skin, not sleeping good, upset digestion, grouchy and impatient with others, shallow breathing, nervous chatter, clenched teeth and/or any number of other symptoms can crop up.
How can we support ourselves and our loved ones when navigating new experiences and new worries? They are a part of life guaranteed to happen! Starting a new year in school can be a big one. If we can signal our body that we are safe, we generally will respond better when anxiety comes along.
Knowing yourself and your personal stress triggers helps immensely. Paying attention to how it shows up in your body gives you the opportunity to address the stress before it becomes a bigger problem. I can get an anxious tummy, I start walking in circles, not being effective, and my jaw tightens up. What are your signals?
Tools I have found to help relieve stress:
- Taking some deep breaths helps me.
- Not letting myself get too hungry. Protein signals my stomach that it is safe.
- Preparing for upcoming events helps me feel more confident facing what’s to come. Cleaning and clearing.
- Movement outside is my biggest stress reliever. Exercise calms the fight or flight signals in the vagus nerve that runs throughout the body. Even if it’s only a short walk, that works. And the fresh air is part of the calming effect.
- A dunk in water, even if it’s only by washing hands in cold water, signals change. The river works even better when available. Drinking a glass of water helps too!
Being calm yourself signals those around you that it is safe and okay; especially kids.
If your kids are experiencing a lot of anxiety, talk to them about it. See what kind of stress it is, what exactly creates it, and how it is expressed in their body and actions. You can then find tools to help support them and teach them how to calm themselves.
Homeopathic remedies can be a quick and easy way to help young children. They are available in many health stores for around $8 a vial. Safe for all ages, they work differently than vitamins and other actions.
What are they? Basically, an herbal compound is diluted down to energy form, activated and dispensed onto sugar tablets so that it is entirely safe yet quick acting. They dissolve under the tongue and signal the body to heal itself by supporting the body’s own healing pathways. It’s much more complicated than that but simple to use.
Some good ones for going back to school anxiety:
Gelsemium: “targeted toward anticipation or performance dread like test jitters”
Arsenicum Album: “For children who show perfectionism, restlessness or fear of being alone.”
Aconite: “For sudden panic, fright, or intense acute fear.”
Chamomilla: “tummy aches or sleeplessness linked to stress, irritability”
Find the best match for your child.
Here at T’s Tonics we offer a Tension Tonic which is a combination of herbs in tincture form to help with stress. Here are the herbs it contains:
- lemon balm, Excellent for soothing the nerves and “lifting the spirits”, strengthens the digestive system and helpful to stress related digestive problems.
- chamomile, well known for it’s calming effect of the nervous system, calms the stomach and digestive tract, uplifting to the mind and spirits.
- linden flowers, popular in Europe as a calming tea for stomach and mind, promotes sleep.
- passionflower, one of the best herbs for chronic insomnia, mild sedative, used to treat pain and imbalances in nervous system
- lemon verbena, used to help ease muscle and stomach spasms, mild sedative and stress reducer.
- lavender, has relaxing effect on mind and body. Good for anxiety, nervousness and stress related symptoms, sleep.
- St. John’s wort flowers. Used to lift depression as well as menopausal triggered anxiety, has a sedative and pain-reducing effect, helpful for calming muscle spasms and nerve injuries.
These can also be gotten and put in any combination for a lovely cup of tea. Also available as our Mellow Yellow calming tea.
There are many natural, healthy tools and herbs to help with stress and school anxiety. Here’s to health for you and yours!