herbs & stress

[fina]

I have also heard that cabbage juice is good. Never could bring myself to try .

I agree that western society doesn't seem to recognize people's abilities to deal with stress (or inabilities). Before electricity, you could generally only work until it was too dark. Now, with electricity, people are working more hours than ever. And people are not taught to take proper care of their bodies.

Some 20 year studies in England showed that people who took vitamins were generally no healthier than those who didn't, so I'm not sure on how effective supplements are. I think it is important to get your nutrition naturally (nutritional yeast is a great product). Also, I do notice I "feel" better when I take vitamins and that placebo effect is good enough for me.

 

[SiriusUK]

That's quite a story Sirius ! I am so glad you have recovered .

It really seems like our society (especially in America ) encourages stress and refuses to recognize that people have limits . Personal limits can be influenced by heredity , so it's good to look back in the family tree and see what illnesses have befallen other family members in the past . We may live in modern times , but our bodies are still wired for previous eras.

I think in Victorian times , there was more of a tolerance for the "nervous collapse " , etc. Your had a big shock, your hair turned white , you went into your room and stayed there while people remained quiet and supportive . 20 years later you moved to the attic and nobody remembered you anymore but your needlepoint was outstanding . Sustained by dangerous legal opiate drugs and big fat detailed books , you really didn't mind .

Now however , one is encouraged to GET OVER IT and exercise more ,work harder , and treated like a failure . There is also the sneaking suspicion and unspoken accusation that it's ALL YOUR OWN FAULT and you've brought it on yourself as repayment for some personal sin or shortcoming. (Obviously I have experience with this . )

Anyway, do not underestimate the role of supplements like magnesium and B vitamins - we can be deficient in them and not realize it . They are cheap too , and so are of little benefit to drug companies who might wish to see us taking their expensive medications instead .

I can see your very intelligent Dark Inquisitor and spot on with everything you said. I had to be very careful with certain B vitamins as they fuel the adrenal glands, but to the average individual they are indeed very beneficial.

Society has changed a lot, in cave man days the 'fight or flight' response kicked in when your life was in danger. These days our bodies percieve things like our boss shouting at us or the neighbours dog barking all hours of the night in the same way - a threat on your life so you get stressed and the fight or flight response kicks in. The more it does this the worse you get, most people tend to get exhausted. The herbalist i spoke to said probably 80-90% of health problems these days are due to adrenal imbalances. I myself was guilty of not giving 'stress' the respect and attention it deserves and i suffered for it. I did exactly what Dark Inquisitor has said, i tried to get over it i ignored it, i carried on i went to work, i worked out i did all my normal activities and in the end could carry on no more and collapsed.

Your right about people making out its all your own fault too, my bosses at work pushed and pushed me and had no sympathy when i fell ill at work in fact i was sat in the office white as a sheet shaking and i got a lecture!! saying this is no good i was no use to them in this state and i needed to get myself sorted... unbelievable! anyway i got my revenge cuz i told her to stfu and tried to walk out but lost my balance n collapsed on their processing machine which damaged it LOL

it was a good journey for me in some ways, i have learnt to relax and i know my limits now

thanks to the rest of you for your replies, didnt want to intrude on your tea discussion though lol

and i also agree many cures and a lot of relief can be found via herbs and different foods, im a huge fan of smoothies now which have everything in them from fruit to soya yoghurt to spinach leaves and carrot its not as bad as it sounds trust me lol