Sometimes, stress & overwhelm hit when you’re least prepared to deal with them. Even if you have a full toolkit of herbs, guided meditations, and supportive people to lean on when you’re at home, there are going to be times when stress hits you like an avalanche and you can’t access those tools.
Today’s episode is all about what to do when your first-line remedies for stress, anxiety, and overwhelm aren’t available. (If you want to learn about some of my favorite remedies for stress & anxiety, check out this episode from July of 2013. I won’t be covering any of those remedies today, and you certainly want to know about them!)
Community Tips
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Make some Sage Tea
You may not think of sage as a medicinal plant at all, let alone one that can help with stress and overwhelm—but it is. And lucky for us that it’s often hanging around in our kitchens & gardens during this time of year! Of course, Sage is a wonderful remedy for upper respiratory complaints, but it’s also very helpful for the nervous system.
Kiva Rose writes that Sage is helpful for:
Nervous exhaustion with shaking, tremors and a sense of chronic inner trembling. Panic attacks with heart palpitations, nervous headaches and a feeling of shaking loose from the body. An excellent nervous system restorative on par with Skullcap and Milky Oats, but quite underused. Also wonderful for waking up the mind, increasing memory and awareness while staying grounded and calm. Even the smell of Sage infused oil is deeply calming and healing for me.
A Pinch of Salt
This might be my weirdest suggestion of all—but hear me out. First, there’s a lot of interesting research going on related to salt and anxiety, but the results are still mixed. My suggestion would still be to eat a diet that’s low in salt overall (unless you have very low blood pressure or tend toward dryness/Yin Deficiency), but there are specific moments when having something salty might be helpful. A moment of feeling anxiety or nervousness in a place where you don’t have access to any other herbal remedies is one of them.
Salt has a “descending” energy, according to traditional energetics. Anxiety is a state of heightened energy. It can feel like your heart is trying to jump out of your throat, or like you just can’t “settle down.” A psychotherapist I know told me that it’s well-known within her circle of analyst-friends that if a patient is having an acute anxiety attack that’s very server, to feed that person an olive or two. (Sometimes on the way to the Emergency Room, she told me.) Salty food, like olives, might help the energy to settle down just a little bit. For the best effect, see if you can get away from everybody for a minute or two. Then, taste the salt (or salty food) and see if you can observe how it makes you feel. Can you notice the downward-moving quality of the energy?
A Whiff of Fresh Herbs
Even in households that don’t usually cook with fresh herbs, there tends to be at least a sprig or two of rosemary, thyme, or sage lying about during the holidays. These aromatic herbs don’t just give wonderful flavor to holiday dishes; they’re also medicinal. Sage can be used to ease stress and nervous tension as we discussed, but if none is available, you can also use any aromatic herbs that happen to be nearby. Rosemary and thyme aren’t specific for reducing stress, but the simple act of breathing in their aromas
Beautiful Healing with Roses and Rose Oil
Most people think of roses as an ornamental plant, but they have significant medicinal uses, too. Rose is a particularly powerful healing aide for emotional exhaustion that affects relationships, and is deeply calming to the nervous system. Rosehips are extremely high in antioxidant & anti-inflammatory compounds, but the petals are also wonderfully anti-inflammatory and soothing to the nervous system. You can enjoy rose tea made with fresh or dried rose petals (make sure the roses were organically grown before doing this), but if that’s not available, simply the smell of roses will have a powerful effect on soothing your nerves and supporting emotional healing. I particularly like rose oil (a carrier oil with the addition of a high quality rose absolute is just fine to use here) for supporting emotional wellbeing during times of grief, for trauma recovery (particularly sexual trauma), and to open the heart.
