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HERBAL TREATMENT: NERVES, STRESS AND INSOMNIA
March 30, 2009
Anxiety
For general anxiety, nervous tension or worry:
1 part Chamomile flowers
1 part Lemon Balm leaves
1 part Skullcap herb
1 part Valerian root
1 part Vervain leaves
Infusion: 1/2-1 ñèð as required, not to exceed 3 cups per day
3 parts Skullcap herb
1 part Hop flowers
1 part Valerian root
Infusion: 1/2-1 ñèð as required, not to exceed 3 cups per day
For general use from day to day, any of the nervine or sedative herbs can be used. A useful formula for minor cases is:
1 part Chamomile flowers
1 part Lemon Balm leaves
1 part Vervain leaves
Infusion: up to 3 or 4 cups per day
For anxiety associated with indigestion or flatulence:
2 parts Chamomile flowers
1 part Hop flowers
1 part Lemon Balm leaves
1 part Meadowsweet herb
For anxiety associated with heart and circulation problems:
4 parts Motherwort herb
4 parts Skullcap herb
1 part Valerian root
1 part Hawthorn berries
Infusion: 3 cups per day
For anxiety associated with female problems:
2 parts Chamomile flowers
2 parts Cramp Bark
2 parts Lemon Balm leaves
2 parts Motherwort herb
1 part Valerian root
1 part Ginger root
Combined decoction and infusion: 3 cups per day
Depression
Lemon Balm leaves
Infusion: 3 cups per day
1 part Lemon Balm leaves
1 part Skullcap herb
1 part Vervain leaves
Infusion: 3 cups per day
The above herbs, useful in the treatment of depression, are most effective when taken for an extended period of time. A typical programme, for example, might be 4-6 week courses of the treatment alternated with breaks of 2-3 weeks during which no herbs are taken.
Oats, as well as being nutritious, also have an antidepressant effect, and should be included in the diet on a regular basis.
*79/66/5*
HERBAL TREATMENT: COLDS, FLU AND FEVER; CRAMP AND SPASM
Colds, flu and fever
The classic herbal treatment for colds and flu uses sweating therapy with diaphoretic herbs:
2 parts Elder flowers
2 parts Peppermint leaves
1 part Yarrow herb
Infusion: 1 cup every 4 hours during acute phase, otherwise 3 cups per day
Catnip or Lemon Balm (or any other diaphoretic herb) may be substituted for any of the above. Take one or more cups of the hot infusion and, if possible, follow immediately with a hot bath. Then rest in bed with warm covers, taking regular doses of the infusion every 4 hours.
Countless cases have shown that this treatment, begun at the first sign of a cold, flu or fever, will minimize symptoms and hasten recovery.
To the basic formula, highly effective in itself, can be added Garlic Oil (1/2 teaspoon every 4 hours) and Composition Essence:
1 part Cayenne Pepper (powdered)
1 part Cinnamon bark (powdered)
1 part Clove buds (powdered)
Decoction: 1 tablespoon every 4 hours during acute phase, otherwise 3 tablespoons per day
One of the famous formulations of the nineteenth century herbalists, Composition Essence is used for general debility and convalescence, and can be taken at the first sign of any acute illness, cold, flu or fever.
For colds in babies and small children, use only the mildest of herbs: Lemon Balm, Catnip, Chamomile or Raspberry Leaf, infused, sweetened with a little honey, and given a teaspoon at a time, keeping the child warm and well covered.
Cramp and Spasm
An excellent remedy for relieving all types of cramp and spasm, severe and mild:
1 part Ginger root
Decoction: 1/2-1 ñèð as required, not to exceed 3 cups per day
Other formulas which can be used:
Valerian root
Infusion: 1/2 -l cup as required, not to exceed 3 cups per day
3 parts Skullcap herb
1 part Hop flowers
1 part Valerian root.
Infusion: 1/2-1 ñèð as required, not to exceed 3 cups per day
3 parts Chamomile flowers
1 part Vervain leaves
1 part Ginger root
Infusion: 1/2-1 ñuð as required
Combining a small amount of a stimulant herb such as Cayenne Pepper, Cinnamon or Ginger with antispasmodic herbs will provide warming qualities and a quicker-acting effect.
*62/66/5*
HERBS: RASPBERRY
Rubus idaeus
Action: Uterine tonic, antispasmodic, astringent, diaphoretic.
Systems Affected: Uterus and female reproductive system, digestive tract, mucous membranes. Preparation and Dosage (thrice daily): Dried leaves, dose 1-5 grams by infusion.
Known and used since prehistory for its delicious fruit, the Raspberry is a native of Eurasia. Called Batos Idaia by the Greeks and Rubus Idaea by the Romans, its name reflects its origins, rubus being from the Latin for red and idaea, meaning ‘of Mount Ida’ referring to the mountain in Asia Minor where it grew in natural profusion.
Apart from the fruit, the leaves of the plant have long been esteemed as a female tonic, being especially of benefit when taken as an infusion during the course of pregnancy to ensure an easy, trouble-free birth. As the Australian herbalist Dorothy Hall explains in her Herb Tea Book:
A cup of this tea each day during the first few months of pregnancy can provide folic acid, iron and copper salts, plus vitamin A and Ñ in good proportion . . . During the last few months of pregnancy, raspberry leaf tea tones and strengthens the pelvic muscles and ligaments to help with an easy, normal birth. Should a rash appear around your pregnant middle, you could be taking too much . . . Curb your enthusiasm and reduce the number of cups you drink each day.
Taken regularly and in small doses as a tonic during pregnancy, it often serves to remove any tendency towards morning sickness. It regulates contractions and reduces pain during labour, providing easy and speedy parturition. It helps to prevent haemorrhage, assists milk secretion and hastens post-partum recovery.
Taken in larger doses, it is of benefit in painful menstruation, vaginal discharge (either as a tea or as a douche) and prolapse of the uterus, where its effect is to tone and strengthen the muscles and ligaments which support the uterus.
It is employed in treating a variety of female complaints, for which purpose it is often combined with other herbs. Part of its effect is attributable to fragarine and other substances, which act as both uterine muscle stimulants and relaxants.
Raspberry leaf will allay nausea and is useful in chronic and acute diarrhoea. It is also a reliable treatment for colds, flu and fever.
The herb is mild and safe to use with children. The expressed juice of the fruit is nourishing in convalescence and for weak stomachs.
*45/66/5*
HERBS: EYEBRIGHT
Euphrasia spp.
(E. rostkoviana, E. brevipila)
Action: Anti-inflammatory, anti-catarrhal, astringent, alterative, tonic. .
Systems Affected: Eyes, mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, liver, blood. Preparation and Dosage (thrice daily): Dried flowering plant, dose 2-5 grams by infusion.
Eyebright is the best known of all herbs used for treating eye conditions. The plant, native to poor meadowland in Europe, is partially parasitic on certain grass species and cannot easily be cultivated unless grown in close association with the grass roots from which it obtains nutrients. The Swedish botanist Linnaeus listed Eyebright as Euphrasia officinalis, but his classification is a mixture of a number of species and the term is an ambiguous name with no real standing. Only Euphrasia species possessing glandular hairs on the calyx have medicinal value.
An infusion of the plant is used as an eyewash or lotion for conjunctivitis, eye weakness, opthalmia and other eye complaints. For this purpose it is often combined with other herbs such as Fennel, Witch Hazel and Golden Seal (Hydrastis canadensis). The tea can also be taken liberally and on a daily basis as an adjunct to external treatment for eve problems.
Eyebright contains various glycosides, a volatile oil and astringent principles, the combined effect of which is anti-inflammatory for mucosae: the infusion, taken as a tea (or as a nasal douche), is an effective treatment for sinusitis, head colds and nasal catarrh.
*28/66/5*
HERBS: ANGELICA
Action: Tonic, stimulant, antispasmodic, emmenagogue, carminative, aromatic, expectorant, diaphoretic.
Systems Affected: Circulation, heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, uterus.
Preparation and Dosage (thrice daily): Dried rhizome and root, dose 1-2 grams by infusion.
Angelica, native to northern Europe and western Asia, is introduced and cultivated elsewhere. Used in earlier times in northern Europe for medicinal and magical purposes, its Christianized name hints at its deep associations with early Nordic magic. The plant appears to have come into more general culinary and medicinal use during the Middle Ages. Angelica improves the circulation and warms the body. It is one of the best herbs to use for coldness in winter. An excellent general tonic, it is used for anaemia, anorexia nervosa, loss of appetite, dizziness and faintness. Because of its warming and antispasmodic properties, it relieves spasms of the stomach and intestines and dispels gas; it also helps to make difficult menstruation easier and less painful.
Angelica is of great benefit in the treatment of colds, coughs, pleurisy and all lung ailments. A highly effective liquefacient and expectorant, it is recommended in cases of nervous asthma, chronic bronchitis, smoker’s cough and respiratory catarrh. Externally the leaves have an anti-inflammatory effect and are used in compresses, especially for pleurisy and bronchitis and also for rheumatism.
Angelica has wide culinary and confectionery use, and is an important ingredient of liqueurs such as Benedictine. Other species of the plant exist in various parts of the world, Angelica sinensis being an important emmenagogue and female tonic in Chinese medicine.
Cautionary Notes: Angelica is a strong emmenagogue and should not be taken by pregnant women. It should never be used by diabetics as it tends to increase blood sugar levels. Care should be taken not to exceed normal dosages, as too strong a dosage can over-stimulate the central nervous system and, especially if taken at night, may cause insomnia.
*11/66/5*
ANTI-HEADACHE TECHNIQUE #14: DEEP RELAXATION WITH MUSCLE TENSING
March 23, 2009
More thorough man the previous method, this technique lakes you into deeper levels of relaxation from which you can continue straight on into Biofeedback or Creative Imagery. It is an essential preliminary to Techniques #15 and #16. Choose a quiet room where you will not be disturbed and unplug the phone. Lie down on a comfortable bed, couch or floor rug with a low pillow under the head. Begin by frowning and looking upwards. Hold for six seconds and release.
Press the tongue against the front teeth and squeeze all of the face tightly together. Hold for six seconds and release.
Press the back of the head down on the pillow so that you raise the neck and shoulders off the bed or floor. Hold six seconds and release. Roll the neck loosely from side to side several tunes.
Tense the neck and shoulder muscles as rightly as possible. Hold six seconds and release. Tense the chest muscles as tightly as you can. Hold six seconds and release.
Raise the right arm six inches off the bed or floor and clench the fist. Tense as tightly as possible from the shoulder down. Hold for six seconds and release. Do the same with the left arm.
Tense the abdomen muscles tightly. Hold for six seconds and release. Tense both buttocks tightly. Hold six seconds and release.
Raise the right leg six inches off bed or floor, curl the toes, and tense the entire leg and foot as tightly as you can. Hold for six seconds, release and lower the leg. Repeat with the left leg.
Next, take five slow, deep breaths, filling the abdomen as well as the upper chest each time. Then resume normal breathing.
Stay relaxed. Place the awareness on the soles of the feet. Silently say to yourself. “My feet feel relaxed. Relaxation is filling my feet. My feet are deeply relaxed. Relaxation is filling my legs. My lower legs are limp and relaxed. Relaxation is filling my thighs. My thighs fed limp and relaxed.” You don’t have to repeat these exact words. But give yourself essentially the same suggestions. An you mentally relax tech body part, place your awareness on that area and visualize it as limp end relaxed, for example, you might picture your thighs filled with cotton end at limp and relaxed as a piece of tired, old rope.
Continue felling yourself, “My buttocks feel limp and relaxed. My buttock feel as if they ere filled with cotton. My abdomen is limp end relaxed. My shoulders and neck are limp and relaxed. My arms and hands are limp and relaxed. My whole body feels as limp and relaxed as a rag doll.”
If you locale any area of tension, mentally relax it before going on.
Now place the awareness on the face as you say, “My forehead feels smooth and relaxed. My scalp is relaxed. My eyes are quiet. My eyes are deeply relaxed. My face is soft and relaxed. My tongue is relaxed. My mouth is telexed. My jaw is stock”
Be especially watchful for any areas of tension in the eyes, temple or jaw. Repeat these suggestions, as you visualize these areas filled with cotton, until the tension subsides.
Finally, tell yourself. “My entire body and mind are deeply relaxed. I am in a state of deep relaxation.”
*95\30\4*
THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO USE TEMPERATURE THERAPY FOR HEADACHE RELIEF.
? Warming the Hands and Feet. Warming the hands and feet by immersing them in very warm water is an effective way to end a migraine attack. It can abort a migraine in Stage 2 or it can squelch a migraine headache that has already begun. In fact, warming the hands and feet with water temporarily accomplishes the same effect as does biofeedback (Technique #15). The difference is that warming the extremities in water is a temporary expedient, while the effects of biofeedback are much longer-lasting.
To get started, you need a small footbath or bucket just large enough to immerse both feet above the ankles. Place the footbath so that, while seated, you can also immerse both hands above the wrists in a washbasin or bucket.
For both hands and feet, most people seem to prefer a water temperature just above 110°F. Keep a hot faucet running slowly so that every five minutes you can swiftly refill both the hand and foot baths to maintain both blood vessels in both hands and feet, to, blood flow to the extremities will increase. This draws blood away from bloated arteries in the head and into the hands and feet. As a result, pressure on arteries in the head decrease and the arteries gradually return to normal size. Within 15 or 20 minutes, many migraine headaches will have been aborted or greatly diminished.
The warmth also stimulates nerve endings in hands and feet which creates a counterstimulation effect in the brain. According to reports from headache clinics, hand and feet warming works well for at least 50 percent of migraine sufferers.
*77\30\4*
HERBALS FOR HEADACHES
While most doctors scorn herbal remedies, they are, according to the World Health Organization, still used as primary treatment for half the world’s population. Considering the mediocre record of pharmaceutical drugs, it seems that herbal remedies are often as effective and in some cases more so. Indeed, some contemporary drugs, such as digitalis, are still derived from herbs.
But nowadays, pharmaceutical companies prefer to use chemical analogs so that they can manipulate active ingredients to minimize side effects, as well as to secure patent rights and to lengthen shelf life. Thus mainstream medicine continues to ignore herbs. The FDA regards them as food. And the majority remain unregulated and freely available.
Although herbs are natural, organic alternatives to drugs— with side effects, if any, that are mild by comparison— cafe is required for self-medication. For example, if one cup of a herb tea per day is beneficial, it doesn’t follow that three cups is better. Nor should herbs ever be smoked. As previously stated, the long-term effects of taking most herbs has not been studied.
Nowadays, most larger health food stores have a herbal section with a wide array of herbs and herb teas, both in bulk and packaged. But it is often hard to find herbs in smaller towns.
Herbs for headache relief usually work prophylactically and you may have to take the remedy for several weeks before optimal results appear. Nowadays, too, most herbalist* prefer to prescribe a blend of several herbs in order to broaden the treatment. Most herbal remedies for migraine use feverfew as the core but add other herbs like sage or skullcap which are believed to be powerful artery constrictors.
*59\30\4*
THE LIMITED BENEFITS OF HEADACHE DRUGS
Based on a series of double-blind studies at leading university medical centers, approximately one-third of the beneficial effect of drugs comes not from any pharmaceutical action but from the body-mind’s own placebo effect. The placebo effect stems from the patient’s belief in a therapy rather than from the therapy itself.
Through the faith of believing in a medication or therapy, hope is aroused, and the mind begins to work independently of the treatment. It begins to harness the body’s own natural healing powers. Among the principal healing forces mobilized by the placebo effect are endorphins and enkephalins. Through a combination of nondrug therapies— positive thinking and rhythmic exercise, for example— endorphin is often released in such amounts that these hormones can completely block severe headache pain.
A dramatic example of the placebo effect is seen when headache sufferers who believe they have a brain tumor are told by a physician that they do not. At least half of these patients show immediate and significant improvement. Their joy and relief releases clouds of endorphin that effectively block every pain receptor in the brain. As they experience this exhilarating feeling of pain-free ease, their mood soars into a euphoric state of high-level wellness. For many, this transformation from helplessness to joy is proof that they can overcome their chronic headaches without drugs.
Those pain impulses that survive the spinal cord gate and the activity of enkephalins and endorphins in themidbrain are relayed on through the hypothalamus and pituitary glands to the cortex, where pain perception actually occurs.
Here again, the extent of pain actually felt is controlled by the balance between norepinephrine and serotonin. Depletion of either can lead to depression. It hardly seems surprising then that chronic headache and depression so frequently occur together.
*39\30\4*
BENIGN RECURRENT HEADACHES
Two types of benign headaches exist: Muscle Contraction Headaches and Vascular Headaches.
Muscle Contraction or Tension Headaches account for the vast majority of headaches. Almost invariably they are caused by unresolved emotional stress which is translated through the fight-or-flight response into abnormal contraction of the shoulder, neck and scalp muscles. There are two classes of tension headaches.
Acute tension headaches are isolated headaches generally caused by stress. They can normally be relieved by OTC drugs or by natural therapies and medical help is seldom required.
Chronic tension headaches persist day after day without relief. Many chronic tension headaches axe linked to anxiety and depression and can continue without letup for years. Drugs serve only to temporarily relieve symptoms. The only treatment that really works is Cognitive Positivism (Technique #17).
Vascular Headaches. Usually caused by unresolved emotional stress, which triggers the fight-or-flight response, these headaches are set in motion by a complex series of biochemical reactions that cause changes in blood vessels and in blood flow in the head.
Whether or not the fight-or-flight response sots off a muscle contraction headache, or a vascular headache, or no headache at all, appears to depend on an individual’s personal neurological chemistry. Headache specialists prefer to say that one person may have a biochemical predisposition to tension headaches, for example, while another may have a predisposition to migraine headaches. In either case, the headache mechanism it set in motion when the tight-or-flight response is invoked.
The most common vascular headache is migraine, which has several variants; some exertion headaches; hangover, caffeine withdrawal; ice cream; hunger; and menstrual headaches. Cluster headaches are another type of vascular headache.
*21\30\4*
