Did you know that most medicines used today were originally inspired by ingredients found growing naturally in the wild? Many commonplace seeds, fruits, leaves, roots, bark, flowers, resins, and other parts of plants, trees, and mushrooms carry powerful healing properties.
Before the rise of Western medicine, humanity relied heavily on nature’s pharmacy for cures, remedies, and ways to lessen our ordinary life pain, discomfort, and imbalances. In those days, it was understood that nature could help not only with physical illnesses but also with disturbances of the soul, like melancholy or agitation.
Today, science has helped us to understand more about how the active ingredients in certain plants work together with our bodily chemistry, neurotransmitters, and hormones, to help us recover a state of mental health. When we’re depressed, anxious, possessed by an addiction, or otherwise disturbed from our naturally happy state, we can look to nature’s many medicines for help.
What are the best herbs for mental health?
Many good types of herbs and plant extracts can help improve mental health. Which herbs to use depends on the imbalance you are hoping to correct. Lavender, for example, treats anxiety, while St. John’s Wort is used for depression.
Adaptogens represent an important class of natural medicines for mental health. Adaptogens include a variety of plants: roots like rhodiola and ashwagandha, mushrooms like Lion’s Mane, and herbs like Holy Basil are considered adaptogens. Adaptogens help the body respond to stress and normalize, generating more resilience in the face of life’s demands.
What are complementary and alternative medicines?
Complementary and alternative medicines are paths to approaching illness that lie outside of the mainstream Western medicine model. They work well in tandem with Western medicines most of the time and are generally not considered to be replacements for Western medicine, especially in emergencies. They are generally applied best in reasonably healthy bodies, to improve functioning and strengthen.
Some commonly used complementary and alternative medicines are herbs, often prepared as a tea, such as calendula flower tea, vitamins like Vitamin D, minerals like selenium or magnesium, nutritional supplements, such as fish oil, as well as certain nutrient-dense whole foods or superfoods, like sauerkraut or blueberries.
For people who are basically healthy, these natural medicines are often sufficient alone to correct imbalances, strengthen immunity, and improve neuronal and hormonal pathways.
It’s important with any medicine, natural or synthetic, to pay close attention to the body’s reaction, to listen to one’s intuition and feeling, and to stop a cure if it is creating pain or having bad effects. Every person is different and not all cures are right for everyone. Healing is always a somewhat exploratory path and should be engaged in with caution and presence.
How have complementary and alternative medicines helped with mental health?
Complementary and alternative medicines are often anecdotally reported to be effective for a range of mental health disturbances. Anecdotal evidence is offered by people speaking to their own experience, as well as by alternative health practitioners. These reports suggest that what was once known by all to be self-evidently true, that plants can help by lifting one’s mood, calming one’s nervous system, and helping the body to release stress, is still true today.
From a data perspective, however, it must be said that most natural medicinal cures have not been studied at scale nor with scientific rigor, for example with double-blind tests and a control group. The funding does not exist for such studies to be conducted, and there is little financial motivation to prove the beneficial effects, given that other medicines are more lucrative.
Of the existing studies and anecdotal evidence, we know the most about how herbs can support people with depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and stress.
How to use the medicines safely?
Although complementary and alternative medicines are natural, they are still potent. It is important to be careful to pay attention to dosage and to monitor your body as it responds to the cure you are introducing.
Ideally, work with a knowledgeable, experienced natural medicines practitioner, and consider all context clues and possibilities. Interact with your body as you would with a friend you love and care about.
When the body is manifesting an imbalance, even something like anxiety or depression, understand that the symptoms themselves contain a lot of information pointing to a deeper concern that we would like to resolve, not suppress or brush off.
Most natural medicines are relatively safe, with very few side effects, but nevertheless, you do not want to overload the body with a new chemical agent, even a natural one.
Apply common sense – don’t try creating natural medicines on your own without being sure you are sufficiently trained, follow instructions, be wary of wonder cures (if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is), learn from the experiences of others, and don’t give remedies to children without consulting someone experienced and knowledgeable.
Also, it is important to be aware that some self-help or alternative health gurus push their products for financial gain, rather than for your best interest. Listen to your gut and don’t fall for pushy sales tactics.
The best natural medicines are widely available and do not need to be very expensively produced. That said, pay attention to things like whether or not the product is organic, wild-harvested, how it has been extracted, and whether any chemicals have been used or added. We can only ever do our best, but it stands to reason that what we put in our bodies should be the highest quality we can procure, ideally.
What are herbal medicines and supplements?
Herbal remedies are natural medicines made from plants. Examples of herbal remedies are echinacea (commonly used to support the immune system to fight off colds in winter) or Valerian root (a preparation used to help calm the nervous system, aiding with anxiety).
Depending on the herb, remedies may be taken as a tea, as a powder (usually dissolved in water or juice), as a tincture, or as a topical balm or cream.
The term supplements refers to a category that includes minerals, vitamins, and animal-derived products like bone broth or cod liver oil.
Natural medicines usually have a recommended daily maximum, and it is important not to exceed that amount unless you are working with a practitioner whom you trust, and who believes it necessary for your case. Anything used in excess could have negative effects on the body.
It’s important to be aware that some natural medicines interfere with or negatively interact with some conventional medicines, so please be careful with supplements and do your research if you are taking a conventional pharmaceutical, and vice versa.
What herbal medicines and supplements assist with brain function?
There is a class of herbal medicines and supplements called cognitive enhancers, which support the brain to stay healthy. These are used for supporting memory functions and normalizing other brain pathways, to help us stay mentally sharp and flexible. Ginko (ginkgo biloba) and ginseng (Panax ginseng) are two herbs that are commonly used for this purpose, and sage is another option.
Ginko
Ginko is an extract made from seeds and leaves of the ginkgo tree, originally Chinese. It is used to help improve concentration, focus, and memory, and has an application in supporting those with dementia or other forms of cognitive decline.
Ginseng
Ginseng is a plant grown in many corners of the world. Korean ginseng, or Panax ginseng, is the kind of ginseng most commonly used as an herbal remedy. It is believed to help with memory and mental performance.
Sage
Sage is a wild shrub also grown domestically, the oils of which are frequently used in aromatherapy. Sage is used as an herbal remedy to help with brain function, but it is also believed to help with both anxiety and depression.
What herbal medicines help with anxiety and insomnia?
There are many choices when it comes to soothing anxiety with herbs, roots, and flowers, including passionflower, valerian, Rhodiola, hops, German chamomile, lemon balm, holy basil, gotu kola, ashwagandha, and lavender.
There is a certain subtype of herbal medicine called flower remedies, which some people have found to be very helpful, particularly for anxiety. Rescue Remedy, a popular flower remedy, is used to help with stress.
Many of the natural remedies for anxiety are also helpful during drug withdrawal, such as lavender and passionflower.
What herbal medicines help with depression and bipolar disorder?
People seeking support for depression and bipolar disorder have a variety of options in the natural medicine category.
One herb, St. John’s Wort, is commonly used to help to protect against low mood.
Minerals are usually also recommended for those struggling with depression, as selenium and vitamin D in particular have been reported to help stabilize mood and lessen the severity of lows, perhaps related to their role in the reduction of inflammation.
Folic acid is a vitamin that is almost always recommended for people struggling with depression, and an animal-derived supplement (also available in vegan form, from flax seeds) to help with boosting Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil supplementation) is often advised and found to be helpful, as well.
Dramatically improving diet and nutrition (alongside exercising more) is one of the clearest paths to improving depression and bipolar disorder naturally. Many herbal remedies come in the form of superfoods, such as blueberries, nuts and seeds, and salmon.
A promising area of research includes supplementation with amino acids, like L-tryptophan and 5 hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), as these substances are precursors to serotonin, an important neurotransmitter that is believed to affect depression. Some patients and practitioners of functional medicine report positive results using these amino acids to target mood disorders.
Finally, many of the same herbs recommended for anxiety are also advised for people struggling with depression, as the two conditions are related. In particular, adaptogens like ginger, turmeric, holy basil, Rhodiola, and ashwagandha are believed to be powerful in the treatment of both depression and anxiety, through the way that they reprogram the body’s response to stress, thereby building resilience.
Which herbal medicines help with addiction?
Drugs and alcohol must be eliminated from the body before any kind of healing can take place, natural or otherwise. Some herbs help with the withdrawal process, relieving anxiety and distress, and strengthening certain key organs, like the heart and the spleen, to recover after the many stressors of addiction.
Valerian, passionflower, and St. John’s Wort are believed to help emotionally during withdrawals, through the same mechanism that makes them good supports for healing depression and anxiety. Kudzu, or Japanese arrowroot flowers, may help stay calm during withdrawal from alcohol.
Addiction to alcohol, as well as the withdrawal process, is very rough on the body. Several herbal remedies are recommended for helping the body to recover after prolonged use of toxic substances.
A tincture of hawthorn berries can be taken to strengthen the heart, during and after withdrawals. Dandelion is another herb that has many health benefits, in particular, due to its detoxifying effects. It is useful during detoxification from drugs and alcohol for that reason, supporting the spleen to be cleansed.
The liver is another key organ affected by drugs and in particular alcohol – for cleansing the liver milk thistle is a supportive herbal remedy. Burdock root is a powerful detoxifier, helpful in particular for the kidneys.
Villa Kali Ma Supports Herbs for Mental Health and Addiction for Women
At Villa Kali Ma, we are big believers in the many abundant cures offered by nature to help us recover lives of meaning and purpose.
Our unique program offers addiction and mental health recovery paths for women who suffer from substance abuse and co-occurring disorders, and we integrate natural health into every aspect of our program. From diet to nutrition to herbal remedies, we make the best of what nature gave us, to help us find our way back to connection with all of life.