7 Natural Remedies for Managing Stress

Natural Health Updates by John Miley, L.Ac. Natural Health writer, Licensed Acupuncturist Editor of Miley Lab's News (see all articles)

By definition, stress is the response your body has when it reacts to a stimulus—or event—either emotional or physical in origin, that has psychological effects. Although stress is a psychological problem, certain physical symptoms will become apparent with stress, over time…especially if your stress becomes chronic or persistent.

Let’s look at stress symptoms

Stress symptoms can present themselves in several different forms and vary from person to person. You may have noticed physical symptoms associated with stress you have experienced in your life—which may have included symptoms like:

• Disrupted sleep
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Stomach problems
• Bowel issues
• Irritability
• Short-temperedness
• Fertility issues
• And many more related symptoms

Short term stress-busting solutions

In the short term, your body will attempt to fight off any negative stress symptoms by using a variety of biological and bio-chemical reactions, including:

• Increasing adrenaline secretion
• Raising blood pressure
• Increasing heart rate

These physical responses to stress can be potentially dangerous to your long term health--which is why it is important to tackle stress symptoms immediately, as soon as they appear in your life.

Despite stress' long-term health dangers, there is often little help offered from health professionals to help you manage stress naturally.

Often the only advice given to help manage stress comes in the form of medication which can be equally detrimental to long-term health, owing to their known side-effects.

Natural stress solutions for the long-haul

Because conventional medicine frequently offers medications as the sole option to stress management, an increasing number of people are seeking the assistance of natural stress relief remedies, to safely provide natural stress relief.

While not all of the suggestions I am about to mention are right for everyone, you may find one of these suggestions works well for you—and you may need to patiently test a few of these suggestions before you find the winning solution.

Natural stress relieving suggestions:

Herbs--commonly used natural stress relief is often found in the form of herbs and herbal remedies. Particular herbs are renowned for appeasing psychological discomforts and helping to restore the body back to its natural emotional-physical balance.

Here are some examples of typical stress-reducing herbs:

1. Ashwaganda—This is an age-old East Indian herb that has been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic medicine. This herb helps your ability to be able to adapt and change to different situations as well as aiding your reactions to stressors--hence it is known in herbal circles as an "Adaptogen".

Ashwaganda is particularly effective as a natural stress relief, since it has slightly sedative in its properties, and is commonly used in Ayurveda as a relaxant.

2. Kava—An herb you may wish to consider (also known as kava-kava), Kava is used as a natural stress relieving herb and is a rapid acting, non-addictive herb best consumed as a tea.
Kava works to relieve anxiety and tension which therefore relaxes the body and eases the symptoms of stress and anxiety.

3. Ginseng has been proven to be beneficial for not only stress, but also at slowing the aging process and helping with extreme fatigue. Similarly to Kava, Ginseng is best consumed as a tea and can be calming, due to its qualities as an adaptogenic herb.

4. Valerian is a widely accepted herb that helps to eliminate anxiety and agitation. Valerian also has sedative properties making it a popular herb used if any sleeping difficulties are experienced.

Other herbs: Similar qualities of restfulness and relaxation are also attributed to Chamomile and St. John’s Wort – both can relieve stress and aid sleep.

Common sense precautions
Care should be taken when using herbs with sedative properties as the relaxing affects can make driving or operating machinery hazardous.

Even though these herbs are generally considered safe and are readily available for purchase, it is still strongly recommended that you do not take any medications - natural herbal or otherwise, without consulting your primary care provider—or following recommendations from a trusted herbal source.

You may want to especially avoid combining herbal medicines with other sedating substances, such as alcohol or sleep aids—even sedating medicines like some cough syrups and antihistamines should not be combined with herbal relaxants.

Other suggestions for natural relaxation:

5. Aromatherapy uses your sense of smell to trigger relaxation and is a powerful, ancient relaxation therapy.

Aromatherapy oils are widely accepted for their calming properties-- with several essential oils that practitioners often recommend for relaxation, including:

• Eucalyptus 
• Neroli 
• Peppermint 
• Rosemary 
• Cedarwood. 

Lavender oil — One of the most popular oils for natural stress relief, Lavender eases tensions and helps to reduce mild depression that elevated stress can often bring.

There are different ways aromatherapy oils can be used. You may apply some of these essential oils to the skin, if you dilute them first in a few drops of sweet almond oil, as they are often too strong to place directly onto the skin, in their undiluted form.

Aromatherapy oils can also be very effective if a few drops are put in a warm bath or on a clean cloth and the scent inhaled.

You can place a couple of drops of lavender oil onto a facial tissue, and lay it on your pillow during the day. At night, you’ll have a pleasantly relaxing, aromatherapy pillow to lull you to dreamland.

Massage

6. Massage — Another enjoyed method of using aromatherapy is to combine it with massage. Just ten minutes of massage has shown to greatly relieve stress—so don’t overlook this relaxing technique as one option for your consideration.

You can also look for a massage practitioner in your area, and ask about the types of massage (and costs for services) offered.

Acupuncture

7. Acupuncture — This ancient whole body medicine is excellent for alleviating tensions, reducing stress in the body and calming the mind.

Consider trying a few acupuncture treatments, taken once or twice per week, for a few weeks. See if you notice the difference in your health. My bet is that you will see improvements.

Look for a Licensed Acupuncturist by state, or search the national acupuncturist database for licensed providers (http://www.NCCAOM.org)

Find the natural stress relief remedy works for you...

Although anti-depressant medication may be recommended for certain types of stress and its symptoms, it is worth considering natural remedies for stress and depression--before you embark on the harmful effects some of these prescription medications can have on your health.

With an open mind and patient testing, you may find safer natural stress relief—calming tension and relieving stress—with aromatherapy, acupuncture, massage and herbal remedies.

Be patient, persist and open yourself to the idea of letting go of stress, before it consumes you and a lot of your energy.

Get more helpful health tips sent right to your inbox:

Send this article to a friend using the [+] Share button on the toolbar at the bottom of the page.

<< Return to Miley Labs home page here