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The secret to natural stress relief -- a two pronged approach.#1 Through the body.The first of the natural stress release approaches is through the body, which chemically registers the stresses we feel.Stress is experienced in your mind and your emotions and the result is evidenced in your body. Chemicals secreted when you experience stress affect your whole system. Their impact continues day and night when stress is ongoing. You may have heard the phrase “Stress is a silent killer”. The chemicals secreted during stress are meant to help us deal with the stressful event. But when the stress is ongoing, as it is for most of us during these stressful times, these chemicals wear our system out. The result can be illnesses such as heart disease, immune depletion and chronic infections, allergies, fatigue, exhaustion, weight gain, and more. 
Herbs for stressA powerful way to neutralize the impact that stress has on our system is found in a group of herbs called adaptogens. Various authors have defined adaptogens in slightly different ways.Wikipedia defines adaptogens as natural substances that help increase the body’s resistance to stress, trauma, anxiety and fatigue.1 The author’s of “Herbs of Choice” define an adaptogen as “an agent that increases resistance to physical, chemical, and biological stress and builds up general vitality, including the physical and mental capacity for work”.2 Adaptogens include
ginseng,
Adaptogens for insomniaThe most common cause of insomnia is stress. To learn more about the relationship between stress and insomnia, click here. Higher levels of stress related hormones such as cortisol (released from the adrenal glands), ACTH (released from the pituitary) and CRH (released in the brain) are associated with insomnia.Adaptogens buffer the stress response and reduce the body’s release of stress related hormones. Adaptogenic herbs both reduce the impact of stress on the body and relieve insomnia by lowering the level of these stress hormones. Taking adaptogenic herbs to reduce stress and sedating sleep herbs to induce sleep can be a very effective combination remedy for insomnia. #2 Through the mind.The second of the natural stress release approaches is through the mind and emotions.The easiest way to fight stress is to not get stressed out. Remember, stress is based on perception. What stresses you out may not even bother someone else, or maybe not as much. And vice versa. So the crux of stress relief is to first, recognize that you are stressed. And second do something about it. What to do is often confusing for people. When asked how to manage stress, the common response is something along the line of “relax”, “let go”, “stop dwelling on it”. 
This approach to stress is very effective. Your mind is perhaps the greatest leverage point for stress relief. The hosts of this website have a lifetime of experience in mind–body techniques. However, teaching mind-body techniques is not the focus of this page. (We do suggest that you seek out a mind-body technique, one appropriate for you. If you would like some suggestions, please contact us through the contact us button on this site.) References:1. From Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptogen2. Robbers, James E., Tyler, Varro E. Tyler's Herbs of Choice: The Therapeutic Use of Phytomedicinals. Copyright 1999, The Haworth Press, Binhamton, NY. From Natural Stress Relief to Home Page.
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