Home Remedies and Herbs for Stress

Stress is both a mental and physical response to life’s demands that makes you feel like you’re under pressure. It’s part of your body’s “fight or flight” response. When you are presented with a threat, your body releases a burst of hormones to deal with it. Once the threat is gone, your body should return to its normal resting state. It’s when your body’s alarm system doesn’t turn off that you experience chronic stress.¹

Almost everyone gets stressed, and in small amounts, it can be healthy. However, when you experience on-going stress and it goes untreated, it can lead to more serious health issues.² Since stress symptoms include tense muscles and increased heart rate, chronic stress can result in:

• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Anxiety
• Depression³

What Causes Stress?

Stress is caused by a number of factors, which can vary from person to person. Acute stress is a short-term reaction to an immediate threat, such as noise, crowds, or hunger.² Chronic stress is long-term stress that results from things like:

• Being under pressure at work
• Experiencing strain in your relationship
• Having too many responsibilities
• Undergoing change
• Experiencing financial hardships
• Not having control of a situation’s outcome
• Not having enough activities in your life⁴

Stress can be triggered by a single life event, but it can also occur as less trivial situations begin to build up and overwhelm you.⁴

Stress Symptoms

Stress symptoms affect multiple areas of the mind and body. Physical changes include:

• Headache
• Nausea
• Indigestion⁵
• Muscle tension
• Insomnia
• Fatigue⁶

Emotional changes include:

• Restlessness
• Anxiety
• Lack of focus
• Lack of motivation
• Irritability
• Depression⁵

Behavioral changes include:

• Overeating or undereating
• Alcohol, drug, or tobacco use
• Social withdrawal
• Angry outbursts
• Changes in exercise frequency⁵

Natural Remedies and Herbs for Stress

Stress can be managed through a number of techniques. Among them, stress herbal remedies can help calm your systems and prevent issues associated with long-term stress. Try these stress home remedies to ease your symptoms.

• Passion Flower - Passion flower is one of the best stress natural remedies. It acts as a sedative to soothe your body’s high-alert systems. Take orally as a tea or pill two to three times per day.
• Ashwagandha - Ashwagandha, or winter cherry, is among stress herbal remedies you can turn into tea. Brew a batch a few times per day, and add honey for taste.
• Rhodiola - Rhodiola is one of the stress natural remedies that come in pill form. Take this herb two to three times per day to calm your symptoms. Drink with a glass of water.
• Ginseng - Like rhodiola, ginseng is one of the stress home remedies you can take in pill form. Drink with a glass of water two to three times per day.
• Lemon Balm - Herbs for stress like lemon balm can be made into tea to help you relax. Take before bed to aid with stress-induced insomnia.

References

1. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/basics/stress-basics/hlv-20049495
2. http://umm.edu/health/medical/reports/articles/stress
3. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/index.shtml
4. http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/stress/causes-of-stress/#.V5zIr7grLIV
5. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress
6. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987
7. http://www.naturalnews.com/037521_medicinal_herbs_chronic_stress_spices.html