10 herbs preppers can use to deal with anxiety

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When SHTF, you need to stay calm and collected, so you can keep your family safe even when the people around you are panicking. Try these 10 effective and natural remedies if you want to ease your anxiety. (h/t to TheHomesteadingHippy.com)

What is anxiety?

People experience anxiety in different ways. It can be triggered by certain situations, such as having to talk to strangers.

Others may suffer from chronic anxiety, and this can be difficult, especially when you need to make crucial decisions after disaster strikes. This may also affect quality of life and your personal relationships.

The symptoms of this condition may include:

• An elevated heartbeat
• Difficulty falling asleep
• Feeling that you need to leave a situation
• Nervousness
• Rapid breathing
• Trouble concentrating
• Worrying about things that may or may not happen

Some people consult healthcare professionals who prescribe medication that can help with anxiety, such as benzodiazepines. However, these drugs can be addictive and cause negative side effects.

Instead of risking your health with harmful drugs, use the natural remedies listed below if you need relief from anxiety.

Chamomile tea

Chamomile tea is often used a sleeping aid because it has potent relaxant effects. You can also drink this chamomile tea if you wish to manage your anxiety.

This tea works by reducing the amount of cortisol produced in the body. Cortisol affects how your body responds to stress, which can trigger anxiety. You can buy chamomile tea in grocery stores and some health food stores.

Gotu kola

Gotu kola is a powerful Ayurvedic herb that offers various health benefits. It can help fight illness, heal wounds, and relieve anxiety.

The herb is just as effective as pharmaceutical medication for managing anxiety. Gotu kola is available as a tea or as a supplement that you can buy in pharmacies and health food stores.

Lavender essential oil

Lavender essential oil is often used near bedtime because it has powerful relaxant effects that can promote a good night’s sleep. Use lavender essential oil in a diffuser, or smell the oil right out of the bottle.

Buy lavender oil at natural health food stores, pharmacies, or online. (Related: Essential oils offer a natural, side effect-free way to address anxiety.)

Lemon balm

Lemon balm can be used to fight anxiety, address insomnia, and manage stress. However, some people report that taking excessive doses of lemon balm can make you more anxious. This is why it’s important to test your sensitivity to this natural remedy before you take an increased dosage.

Buy loose lemon balm from a health store to make your own tea.

Passion flower

Passion flower is another effective remedy that can help relieve anxiety. Purchase passion flower in loose-leaf form and turn it into tea, or try different types of tinctures from health food stores or pharmacies.

Rosemary

Rosemary and its essential oils are effective remedies for anxiety. The herb has a compound that can potentially function as an anxiolytic. Add rosemary essential oil to a diffuser, or drink tea made from organic rosemary.

Saffron

Saffron is an herb that fights fighting anxiety by agonizing the GABA system, the main inhibitory system in your brains that blocks nerve impulses. The herb can help limit anxiety caused by overstimulation.

Saffron is available in capsule and tincture form in health food stores, some grocery stores, and certain pharmacies.

St. John’s Wort

St. John’s Wort is another popular plant that’s used as a remedy for anxiety and depression. The plant functions as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), the same mechanism by which many popular antidepressants work.

You can purchase the capsule form of the herb at health food stores and pharmacies. Don’t take more than 450 milligrams (mg) twice a day when you first start to use it.

Valerian root

Valerian root has a pungent odor similar to dirty socks. But if you can stomach valerian root’s off-putting odor, it is an effective relaxant that can also address other problems caused by an overactive mind. Purchase valerian root from health food stores in loose-leaf form, supplements, or tinctures.

Yerba mate

Even though yerba mate contains caffeine, the plant can help minimize your anxiety levels. Yerba mate is considered one of the healthiest sources of caffeine, and it also gives your body various essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can boost your health.

When SHTF, you don’t need to suffer in silence because of anxiety. Try some of the natural remedies listed above to avoid the negative side effects of pharmaceutical remedies for this condition.

Sources include:

TheHomesteadingHippy.com

Healthline.com