Given our current pandemic and overflow of information, it’s understandable for a person to feel some level of anxiety. Sometimes, a little anxiety can be beneficial. However, some people live with greater levels of stress than others. It gets to a point where anxiety sucks the joy out of life.

Consider reaching out to a licensed professional if you experience moderate to severe anxiety consider reaching out to a licensed professional. Often, our anxiety stems from deeper problems we may not recognize right away. BetterHelp can help you find a licensed therapist specializing in helping patients with anxiety. For more information about which therapies work best for anxiety, visit the link below:

https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/psychologists/what-is-convergence-psychology/

Many people turn to natural herbs and treatments to dampen their anxiety. Here are seven examples of natural herbs that can help manage your anxiety levels.

St. John’s Wort

St. John’s Wort is a yellow flowering plant that contains hypericin and hyperforin. This flower grows all over Europe and Asia and is easily accessible in pill form at most pharmacies. St. John’s Wort has been widely used for people with depression, but studies have shown it can also treat anxiety.

It is unknown which specific effect St. John’s Wort has on the body. Still, studies have shown that the flower promotes serotonin production. This hormone stabilizes our moods and happiness.

Valerian

Valerian is a perennial plant found in Europe and parts of Asia. Valerian is sold in tea form. Alternatively, its roots are extracted intend ground into pill forms. Valerian is used to treat people with sleeping disorders and calm someone’s anxiety levels.

Valerian has soothing properties that can soothe people who are feeling anxious or stressed out. The plant contains hesperidin and linarin. These chemicals have been shown to inhibit certain functions in the amygdala. The amygdala is the part of the brain that processes fear and emotional responses to stress.

Chamomile

Chamomile, or Matricaria Recutita, is a versatile daisy-like plant that has been used for many other ailments. Chamomile can help reduce anxiety, inflammation, blood sugar, menstrual pains and even help cancer patients. Chamomile plants are usually dried and infused into teas.

Studies have shown that chamomile taken over time can help reduce anxiety and increase overall well-being. Chamomile contains the chemical apigenin, known to bind to brain receptors that produce anxiety and stress.

Lavender

Lavender is another versatile plant that treats a wide array of conditions. Lavender can be ground as boiled in tea, or its oil can be used in creams and lotions to apply topically. Some of the symptoms lavender can help with are anxiety, sleep problems, asthma symptoms, and pain management.

Lavender oil contains linalyl acetate, which has been shown to affect the parasympathetic system by reducing anxiety levels and regulating hormone production.

Kava

Kava, or kava kava, is a bright green plant indigenous to the Pacific Islands. This plant is known for its psychoactive properties and can cause sedation, relaxation, and relief from anxiety. Kava is usually mixed with a beverage as a plant or extracted into a liquid. If taking kava plant in liquid form, be sure to only take a small dose as it’s very potent as a liquid.

Be advised that kava plants should not be taken daily. Their sedative effects could cause side effects like addiction and severe weight loss.

Passionflower

Passiflora Incarnata is a perennial, woody vine that grows in the Americas. Some species are also found in Asia and the Polynesian Islands. It’s a beautiful purple flower used to treat anxiety, depression, and panic disorders.

Passionflower has been known to raise gamma-aminobutyric acid levels. This compound helps you relax and sleep better by reducing brain activity.

Ginseng Root

Ginseng Root is a popular alternative to taking antidepressants and has been used in Asia for centuries for its curative properties. You can boil the root into a tea, eat the root raw, or take ginseng root in pill form.

Ginseng root contains compounds that help regulate the immune system. It can also help with inflammation and anxiety if taken for no more than 8 weeks. Studies show that after 8 weeks, ginseng root’s curative effects begin to wane.

Final Thoughts

Please keep in mind that herbal remedies are not exempt from side effects. Kava, for example, can become addicting over time. Always be sure to check with your primary caregiver about taking herbal supplements. If you feel severe symptoms, reach out to a licensed therapist for professional help.

The post 7 Natural Herbs that help with Anxiety appeared first on Green Prophet.

I get that a lot of people don’t have any experience growing food and that city people might not have garden space, but so called high tech gardening has gone one step too far with Click & Grow’s exorbitantly expensive “smart herb garden.”

Amazingly, Click & Grow raised nearly $626,000 on Kickstarter for their plastic smart herb garden, which retails for about $100. They only asked for $75,000. Which means a lot of people around the world think this product is worth supporting.

The startup promises that people who don’t have a garden, who like to cook but never managed to keep a plant alive, and who are simply too busy can enjoy fresh herbs year round without doing anything but plugging the pot in and putting a bit of water in it.

Whilst people still have to take care not to cut off all the leaves at once and to ensure that the plants are receiving some natural light, pretty much the person who buys such a product is no closer to understanding the cycle of life after growing a full basil plant than they were before the seed was planted.

Related: LED lights a health hazard; new research from Israel

Several years of R&D culminated in a design that uses nanotechnology to deliver the requisite oxygen, water and nutrients to ensure that basil, thyme, mini tomatoes, or rocket salad are able to grow.

And instead of using the harshest LED technology, Click & Grow worked with engineers to develop a softer light that still only costs $3-4 per year in electricity costs.

When the first round of herbs are all gone, one need only purchase refill cartridges, which cost $6.95 each. Except for peppers, which cost nearly $10. And then all of this has to be shipped.

On the other hand, one could purchase a package of organic, heirloom winter thyme seeds, organic and heirloom being not only the healthy choice, but also the most expensive, for about $5. That package will contain enough seeds to last several plantings.

Seems to me it’s nice for people to have fresh herbs, but it’s not that hard to make them grow. And what better opportunity to learn than now? Seriously – we need to be deepening our connection to nature, whereas products like this alienate us even more.

Smart technology is making us dumb. And poor. It’s daylight robbery to spend money like this on herbs!

That being said, if you absolutely can’t make your own garden grow, and you’re in the Middle East, Click & Grow products are for sale in Abu Dhabi at the Virgin Megastore.

Images via Click & Grow ME

The post “Smart herb garden” by Click & Grow will make you dumb appeared first on Green Prophet.