Keys To Combat Stress
What are the keys to combat everyday stress ? We have all asked ourselves this question at times. Stress is, as we well know, a physical and emotional situation that is present in a large percentage of the population, caused by multiple factors, mainly by our environment and pace of life.
The most common clinical treatment is based in many cases on the administration of a series of drugs. Thus, one of its most common effects is to mask the original root that triggers anxiety itself. With these medicines our perception changes, but this does not determine our best ability to adapt to difficult situations in life. That is, it modifies the effect, but does not attack the cause.
Therefore, it is important to use a multidisciplinary approach. Sometimes drug treatment is essential. However, we cannot ignore psychological therapies. On the other hand, the specialist can also be consulted if natural remedies could provide benefits. Through this holistic vision, the quality of life could be improved and stress coping better.
Alternative medicine maintains that a wide range of plants and remedies could be part of the keys to combat stress. Likewise, it should be said that today we have adequate scientific support in this regard.
Thus, articles such as the one published in the Nutrition Journal and carried out by Dr. Shaheen E. Lakhan indicate that both a certain type of nutrition and certain natural remedies would be effective in reducing moderate stress and anxiety states.
However, let us remember that in more serious and sustained conditions we will always have professional advice. Likewise, we must know how each plant acts to prevent it from interacting with its own ailments or pharmacological treatments that we are following at that time.
Keys to fight stress naturally
Here we present a series of natural remedies to combat stress in specific cases, temporary crises, or as a day-to-day help.
Infusion of bitter orange leaves
Research published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine suggested that Bitter Orange ( Citrus aurantium ) has a calming action that would help in cases of anxiety.
On the other hand, Ayurvedic medicine attributes carminative properties (reduces the production of intestinal gases), digestive, capable of fighting fever, as well as acting by regulating our intestine.
Its infusion, which we will prepare by boiling two orange leaves for each cup of water, and letting it rest before drinking, would help calm our nerves. We could drink up to three cups a day.
Likewise, we have studies such as the one carried out at the Creighton University Medical Center, where its usefulness as a dietary supplement is endorsed.
Basil infusion
Although we have not found scientific data to support its use, alternative medicine uses basil leaves as an adaptogen (substances that help the body achieve optimal mental, physical and work performance), so it is believed that they would produce a certain protection against stress.
We prepare the infusion by adding 5 grams of its leaves to a cup of boiling water and letting it rest for at least 5 minutes. The best thing would be to have a cup after each meal.
Infusion of lemon balm for stress
Another of the possible keys to combat stress, could be to make an infusion with a tablespoon of lemon balm per cup , boiling it for 15 minutes and then letting it rest for another ten. You could drink up to 4 glasses a day.
In fact, studies such as the one published in the Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition , and carried out at the University of Avignon, France, demonstrate the positive effect of lemon balm for the treatment of mild anxiety and moderate insomnia.
Melissa, lavender and mint bath for stress
Who does not enjoy a relaxing and aromatic bath? The lemon balm, lavender and mint bath would also help to relax the body. We can boil 5 liters of water to which we will have added one hundred grams of lavender flowers, one hundred of lemon balm and one hundred of peppermint, and after 15 minutes of rest, we add it to the water in our bathtub (previously strained) and we take this bath before going to bed.
The Passiflora
We could also use the Passiflora or Passion Flower ( Passiflora incarnata ). Scientific studies available to us, such as the one published at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, suggest that Passiflora extract would be an effective drug for treating anxiety disorder.
Its growth is predominant in the American tropical zone, but in Europe it is often used in hedges as an ornamental, but caution: Passiflora incarnata must be used and not another of the more than 500 species that exist.
Caution when taking passionflower
It could be taken in extracts in drops and normally, the dose is usually about thirty drops diluted in a couple of fingers of water, or directly on the tongue since its taste, similar to liquorice, is pleasant.
Regarding the frequency of its use, it must be somewhat monitored, not exceeding the aforementioned amount beyond three or four times a day, since it can cause dizziness or confusion in high doses.
If we take it simultaneously with any of the aforementioned infusions, its effects will be enhanced, with which we will not have to take so much quantity and we will balance our body in a more harmonious way, better adapting it to combat stress.
To conclude, these natural remedies could help us treat moderate anxiety and stress. However, let us never leave aside professional advice and make use of that multidisciplinary approach where psychological therapy can help us as well.
It never hurts to go to a professional, where appropriate, to offer us a rigorous diagnosis, as well as to teach us other techniques to address the problem, without prejudice to natural remedies.
