Herbs for stress and anxiety are often from a class of herbs called ‘sedatives’. They work in part by depressing nervous activity.

This means that a poor choice of herbs can make you tired and depressed – the opposite of what you’re seeking.

A little while back, a client came in feeling super low, sluggish and tired, and feeling quite depressed about life. Her life is hard, and she doesn’t get enough sleep as she cares for her autistic child throughout the night.

But recently, her mood and energy took a nose dive. We did a bit of digging and found an interesting coincidence.

Her ‘mood dip’ happened at the same time as she started on a ‘stress and sleep’ formula.

It contained: CBD oil, valerian, hops, chamomile, passionflower, lemon balm, skullcap, rose, wild oats.

She cut out her daily 15 drops of this product, and within two days she had significant improvements in mood and energy.

I’m sorry, but I HATE formulas like this.

To me, this formula screams “I don’t know enough about herbs to create a balanced blend”. It’s throwing way too much of the same thing at a body and hoping for the best.

And because it is so ‘busy’ it was difficult to know which specific herb was causing her symptoms. My guess is probably hops or the CBD oil.

We replaced this blend with passionflower – by itself. This powerful herb has provided the support she needs, reducing her stress and improving her sleep, without oversedating her system.  

THIS is why as a herb user we sometimes need professional support to choose the right herbs.

THIS is why as a herbalist we need to take the time to get to know plants deeply and understand their specific indications. (Sometimes, hops is the perfect herb for stress and depression. Sometimes it’s a disaster.)

If you want to learn to work with herbs with this kind of nuance, you should study with me. Send me an email – I’d love to hear from you.