CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION C HA P T E R 1
Looking to the Plant s
CHAPTER 2
Herbs and More Ashwagandha Chamomile Hawthorn Lavender Lemon Balm Motherwort Mugwort Nettles Oats Reishi Violets
CHAPTER 3
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7 8 14 14 20 26 32 38 44 48 54 60 66 72
Lifestyle Hacks
78
RESOURCES
90
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
91
INDEX
92
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
96
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I N T RO D U C T I O N
E
veryone goes through hard times. Even when we have tools and skills to help make the journey easier, we struggle when life’s challenges inevitably arise. When anxiety shows up, we often feel isolated. We have a longing to belong and for true friendship. One of the ways we can alleviate our anxiety and isolation is to make simple choices that will support our emotional and physical health. A number of plants have a long history of supporting our health, and exploring some of those benefits is an empowering way to take positive steps toward healing. I counsel my advanced students who ask for teaching advice to teach what they know. Boy, do I know anxiety! It runs in my family. I grew up having debilitating panic attacks that began when I was a small child, and they continue to this day. As I was writing this book, I thought I had this anxiety and stress relief stuff down. I knew what to write, I have — and use — all the tools. I firmly believed I had handled the stresses and tensions in my personal and business life and was managing quite well, thank you very much. I have tools that help me when my anxiety is high and when I feel a panic attack rising. And then, a trip to the emergency room after a week of a fluttering heart told me it was not so. I was not letting go. I had too many major life changes happen in too short a time. My heart was speaking to me, and I was ready to listen. As are all of you, I am on a journey to learn what to keep and what to let go; I’m discovering what lifestyle alterations I need to make. For all my sensitivity and knowledge, I still scramble to know what to do when I’m overwhelmed. I was given an opportunity to fully embrace what you will read in the book as a way to gain peace and find the joy within. Quest for Calm truly is an inside job. Months have gone by now and with weekly acupuncture, herbs every day, having hard yet productive conversations, stepping back from commitments, and giving myself permission to have fun, take breaks, and accept what I cannot change have given me a much calmer outlook. I'm smiling more. Joy radiates out. People say I even look different. My heart is much happier now and, when a rare, tiny little blip occurs, I now stop and pinpoint what needs attention. Life just feels better! My prayer and hope are that you find peace, joy, and freedom within these pages and within yourself. Like me, you will have a wide variety of coping mechanisms and plant resources to support and sustain you during the tough times. Love, Suzanne 7
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CHAPTER ONE
t h o t e P g n i l a k nts o oL “All that man needs for health and healing has been provided by God in nature, the Challenge of science is to find it.” — PA R A C E L S US
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W
e have a symbiotic relationship with plants. When you go outside, sit with a favorite plant; as you breathe in oxygen given freely by the plant, you exhale carbon dioxide. Plants take in the carbon dioxide for their respiratory needs and exhale oxygen once again. In and out. Carbon dioxide to the plants and oxygen to us. It’s an elegant exchange. One cannot do without the other. The heartbeat and all of our bodily systems begin to take on the peace (or lack thereof) of a place. We live in a world that doesn’t support our lives; we’re indoors most of the time, closed off from others, and too close to technology. Many of us have moved away from the real world, but it’s the real world that sustains us. “If water is like the circulatory system of the earth, then the plant kingdom, including trees, would be like the nervous system of the earth. Their roots crisscross the entire planet in a communication network that is relied upon by whole ecosystems. Through photosynthesis, they transform the sun and CO2 into glucose, which fuels the bodies of many species, including birds, sea creatures, and humans. Their absorption of CO2 allows our planet’s temperature and atmosphere to remain stable enough to support us. In other words, we humans are here on earth only because plants preceded us. They are the oldest living beings on the planet, and we emerged only at their invitation and continue to thrive only because of their sustenance.” — Jennifer Sauer, author of The Way to Tea: Your Adventure Guide to San Francisco Tea Culture and an award-winning videographer.
Plants in the wild and the garden contain more benefits than just the medicine they bring us. Before we pick our first plant, we are brought into the magnificent beauty of nature. It’s the peace and quiet that first draw our attention. The utter calm is so different from the jarring electricity of the urban or suburban areas where many of us live. After appreciating the freedom from disturbances for a few moments, we begin to notice the sounds wherever we are. Maybe you can hear birds calling, insects buzzing, wind rustling leaves and branches. Or can you hear water lapping at beaches, rushing along creeks and rivers, or dashing down mountain waterfalls? When we can get out in nature, we inhale the fresh clean air and our souls unfurl like new fern fronds emerging from the ground in the spring. Then the colors. Oh, the colors! Greens of all hues, yellows, reds, pinks. Each month brings forth colors that reflect the seasonal personalities of the plant world. As for myself, when I’m walking in the woods, I’m with friends. It’s almost as if the 9
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leaves wave as I walk past and the plants are happy to see me. Insects buzz around my head as I strain to listen, wishing I could slow down their language to understand them better. Still, I listen, hoping to pick up a word or two. Cool breezes dry the sweat on my skin. In nature, I don’t feel shoved to the side or looked upon as that “weird plant woman” because of my keen sensitivity to plants, trees, and animals and their unique ways of communicating. In fact, I’m all the more welcomed for it. Whenever I respond to nature’s resounding lure, my soul is once again satiated with a sense of belonging and of peace that surpasses all understanding.
THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF ANXIETY AND STRESS
Stress and anxiety can happen due to life changes and losses, relationship issues, scary diagnoses, day-to-day expectations, fears known and unknown, past and present trauma, social media, commuting, and on and on. When stress happens, the body and brain have several mechanisms for handling the mental and physical manifestations. The nervous system is the control center of the body. It interprets what the body senses and directs responses via movement and glandular activity. It governs our systems such as circulatory, immune, digestion, and respiration without us needing to think about it. The nervous system is responsible for our moods and thoughts. Emotional health, therefore, is a function of nerve health. The brain is divided into two hemispheres and is the largest part of the nervous system. Interestingly, studies have shown that people with more active left hemispheres tend to be more joyful, active, and positive. Those with more active right hemispheres lean towards negative emotions, isolation, and depression. 10
Under normal circumstances, stress is essential to keeping us safe and ensuring our survival. When the senses perceive a threat, a cascade of activity begins from the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland (called the “master” gland) to the adrenal glands. Located in the brain, the hypothalamus links the endocrine and nervous systems. Under stress, whether it’s driving in rush hour traffic or worrying about an upcoming dentist appointment, the hypothalamus synthesizes a corticotropin-releasing hormone and sends it to the pituitary. The alarm is sounded, and the pituitary releases an adrenocorticotropic hormone to the adrenals. The adrenals, located on top of the kidneys, discharge the fight or flight hormones adrenaline and cortisol into the bloodstream, which raises the glucose levels, gets the heart pumping and muscles moving, and sets up the body for the energy needed to flee from danger or fight the threat. This continues until the hormones reach the level needed. Then a series of chemical reactions switch off cortisol production. Cortisol flooding will actually inhibit the hypothalamus and pituitary from synthesizing cortisol-creating hormones. The body can then slow down and return to homeostasis. During the perceived threat, the amygdala joins the party as part of the brain’s limbic system, which includes the hippocampus, the thalamus, the hypothalamus, basal ganglia, and cingulate gyrus. “Limbic structures are associated with memory processing, emotional responses, fight-or-flight responses, aggression and sexual response — in summary, with activities contributing to preservation of the individual and the continuation of the species.”¹ Physiological markers of stress may include sweating, muscle tension, racing heart, disorientation, pupillary dilation,
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vomiting, and tunnel hearing. When we are anxious, our body can freeze in this state even when we are safe, and the response can trick us into believing we are in danger when we are not. When our body perceives a threat of any kind, we can get stuck in this emergency mode, which greatly reduces our ability to digest food and fend off internal threats such as microbes, parasites, bacteria, and viruses. The immune system is suppressed as is our ability to take in nourishment from the food we eat. It’s no wonder that stress levels can have a profound impact on our physical health. During periods of prolonged anxiety, the adrenal glands can become exhausted due to the constant release of stress hormones resulting in heart arrhythmias, palpitations, chronic fatigue, pain and reproductive issues, insomnia, hives, psoriasis, and other inflammatory skin conditions. Fibromyalgia and other autoimmune
diseases, reproductive and digestive issues, depression, and certain illnesses can result from prolonged stress. The mind shuts down, and the term “can’t think straight” becomes a real thing. The ability to discern between real and perceived threats is compromised. The brain may interpret everyday challenges as emergencies as the mind and emotions are unable to cope. As exhausted adrenal glands cannot function fully, other glands in the endocrine system take up the slack and begin to produce hormones meant to be made in the adrenal glands, including reproductive hormones. When the other glands are not able to do the jobs they were meant to do, a chain reaction is triggered, which can lead to poor physical and mental health. Scientists have determined that chronic stress and anxiety contribute to chronic inflammation as the body responds to any stress with a histamine reaction, and they now believe 11
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chronic inflammation to be the precursor of many diseases. According to R.C. Kessler, et al, in “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey,” low cortisol puts people with PTSD in a position to relive the original trauma. Chronic pain and chronic fatigue are associated with low cortisol levels. Upwards of 80% of our relaxing neurotransmitters are synthesized in our intestines and released in the bloodstream. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS), reduces neuron excitability and reduces the transmission of nerve impulses in the CNS. Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a CNS depressant. GHB is a catabolite of GABA (catabolism is breakdown of complex
molecules into simpler ones). Both GABA and GHB help to calm down the flight-orfight response after a real or perceived stress event. GABA can be found in foods and is synthesized by certain lactobacillus and bifidus strains of probiotics. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, plays a part in sleep quality and quantity, happiness, and focus, and, with the aid of dopamine, is charged with aiding in sexual desire. Dopamine is sometimes called the “pleasure and reward” neurotransmitter, helping to give feel-good reinforcements. Upwards of 95% of serotonin and 50% of dopamine are stored in the gut. Certain gut bacteria help synthesize relaxing neurotransmitters. Probiotics and small quantities of fermented foods are good choices to strengthen the demographics in the gut — the population and particular bacterial groups within it — that may be lost due to stress and anxiety, processed foods, antibiotics both pharmaceutical and herbal, chlorinated water, and sugar. In the following chapters, you are invited to learn about plants and lifestyle modifications that can contribute to calmness and centeredness. I encourage everyone to get out into nature as often as possible. We are always invited, and we are always welcome. We are included in the collective, and when we are part of the whole, we are healed. ¹ Bhattacharya, Joti Jonathan, Forbes, Kirsten, Zampakis, Peter,
Bowden, David J., and Stevens, John M., Overview of Anatomy, Pathology and Techniques; Aspects Related to Trauma, page 1399, Grainger & Allison’s Diagnostic Radiology, 6th ed., Andreas Adam, Adrian K. Dixon, Jonathan H. Gillard, Cornelia M. Schaefer-Prokop, eds. (Churchill Livingstone, an imprint of Elsevier Ltd., 2015).
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Notes
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