I
love herbs, in a dirt under the fingernails, watching em grow, drying,
making stuff with em, learning their stories and names makes me go
squee, kinda way. I also take pharmaceutical medications on a daily
basis. Whoa, hang on, paradox and contradiction? Nope. In my world in
the now the two coexhist, and no it aint an always easy or polite
conversation, but there is a dialogue going down. Particularly when one
can settle into a rhythm of doseage that works. This will ask for
shifts, as life does, and may request humility, as life does.I'll be real honest here, from apprentice medicine woman, to certifiable loon facing the looming chasm, to acute sensitive, all aspects have their moments. The last few years have seen some major loss that tipped the scales, resulting in higher doses or changes to pharmaceutical meds. I wont kid you, it can be disheartening, but so is the alternative trauma vortex. Mmmm friendly, not.
Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes in her audio book 'Mother Night' speaks of researching wisdom. Reading through volumes of religious, philosophical, historical texts, seeking trails that would lead to its essence. Like phosphorescence in water though, the path was elusive, and she came to a point where she felt confused and unclear. So what does a sensible woman do in such a situation? Calls out for guidance as she goes to sleep, 'please, send me a vision, a clarifying dream'. What did she get? A disembodied voice, 'Wisdom is what works'. She awoke, suitably impressed with the sense it made, and I share her sentiments.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Herbs, plants and nature are a source of healing and unconditional support that can bring great pleasure....
There is something about interactions with plants, and plant based medicines, that is like remembering for me. I find them deeply comforting, and surprising in how their complexity can touch. Its definitely a case of the whole is more than the sum of its parts. It's what Hildegard of Bingen called the 'viriditas'.
Growing herbs as a way to learn from them is the reason I built our garden. I believe in the potential for direct perception, and dialogue with / from plants as teachers. That connecting to our heart space, senses, and being with nature encourage this medicine.
There's not heaps of information out there on interactions between herbs and psych meds, the best way for me to learn has been to experiment gently and cautiously on myself. That has involved small doses taken over time spent learning how a plant feels. In crisis there are definitely herbs who can offer relief, as a supplement to, and an alternative of, pharma mediciations.
These include;
*Motherwort (Leonuris cardiaca)- Her tincture, for me is a dose of 10-15 drops, both regularly, and as prn, shes good for anxiety, including first thing in the morning, otherwise known as the wake up hee bee gee bees, or cranked volume. To find your personal dose, in a time of need try 5 drops, then rest 10 -15 minutes with that, if the anxiety eases thats your base dose, if not try another 5 drops etc, without going too ballistic. I will take a dose every 20 minutes to half hour in acute situations. Also her tea. The tea is pretty potent, and can be used to gain some rest, or indeed sleep. 1 teaspoon of dried herb, for a cup of boiling water, brewed for 10 -20 minutes, and its usually goodnight from me. Possibly theres an amplification with Seroquel, or other SSRIs to be aware of.
A general note on herbal tinctures. I take these straight from a glass dropper under the toungue. This means they get into the bloodstream faster than pills / tablets, so for this reason they are great prn, or first aid.
*Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) - In a 'herbal infusion' I have found her a great tonic for and strengthener of the nervous system. An infusion a la Susun Weed uses a relatively large amount of dried herb (a couple of handfulls for leaves / one ounce) brewed in a canning jar with a lid for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. The next day i sip away. All the good shit that has mothers saying 'eat your greens' nettle has in kickass amounts.
Other 'nourishing' herbs to infuse include Oats (Avena sativa) who is great for soothing traumatised nervous systems that have been on high alert, scanning for danger without reprieve (as in PTSD). She also builds emotional flexability. Red clover (Trifolium pratense). A word of advice I also find the latter two do tend to get the wild thang juices flowing, you may find yourself nude in various circumstances, 'he's off sowing wild oats' didn't come from nowhere.
*Skullcap, or Scullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora). The first time I tried this tincture I just sat with the vibe a while, and heard 'restores nerve sheaths' ( before I knew what a nerve sheath was, or if it existed). Now you can do what you want with that story, but I choose to drink the tea, and also find it gently easing. I have taken the tincture in small drop dosages, twice daily for some months, particularly in crisis, in hope of restoring some of those frayed and fatigued edges. Baikal Scullcap, or Huang Qin (Scutellaria baicalensis) in Chinese medicine is a different plant, with other talents, as I understand it.
*Cronewort (Atemisia vulgaris) - Mostly I connect with her as a tea, but also as incense. She seems to have a gift for taking the wounded soul and re-envisioning its lack of lustre into gentle guidance, back upon ones medicine path. I have heard she has a reputation for bringing on prohetic dreams and active night journeying. So it seems she has a talent for shifting perspectives, as only a wise ol Crone can.
*Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis) root tea, and leaves green from the garden. May be bitter but they prevent you ending up that way. ;-) Rage, and anger, are often difficult emotions for those with trauma, or abuse as part of their story, to experience safely. They are linked to the liver, and that’s where Dandelion works with them. If I am feeling cantankerous, like lashing out, a brew of Dandelion root tea can process a shift. Depression is also linked intimately to suppressed, or indeed o-ppressed, rage. Righteous anger can be motivating, but violence ain’t cool. We know that from experiencing its effects. Dandelion root roasted is a great coffee substitute, taste and colour wise, without the caffeine. Can also be drunk with milk and sweetener, so a great intro to herbs that still has some familiarity as a comforting cuppa. The associations of, you wanna cuppa? For those with alcohol scarring, can begin to ease the ol liver, and still go with a fag (didn't say that). Something to keep in awareness is that liver 'flushing' herbs may reduce the effects, or duration of effects of pharma meds.
*Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) Citrus scents and flavours tend to be slanted towards lifting mood, in that crisp, cutting through mind fog / haze kinda way. Melissa has this vibe, rub a fresh leaf between your fingers and have a whiff. I love to pick leaves straight off staggering out in the morning (with thanks, part of the effect mayhaps) and brew them up as a start to the day. Two teaspoons for fresh herbs, let it brew a lil longer n it'll be a lil stronger type situation.
Some general note on 'taking' herbs:
If we are used to, or have been raised on pharma medications, or medical models, there can be fear or suspicion around plant medicines, and whether they will work in 'the same way'. They won't, they aren't manufactured drugs, but they may heal in surprising, and deep, ways. For those of us unwilling to completely trade in quality of life to high levels of sedation, or side effects, we can look to green allys for ways to approach staying well. Wholth. Herbs do seem able to rebuild damaged or fatigued systems, and support the capacity within us to heal.
I'm not knocking pharma, probably wouldnt be here typing without it, its roots are often in plants anyways. Which is why it would be a particularly nice gesture on the part of large corporate manufacturers to share with us exactly which plants they sourced their 'active ingredients' from.
Just as pharma works best taken regularly, herbs like to hang out. Taking a tincture once won't 'cure' you, although it might give some ease. Getting used to drinking herbal teas can seem 'disappointing' to coffee lovers. Give it some time.
In 'acute' phases where adjustments and changes to / I may need more pharma, Ive found it helpfull to ease back on the herbs until i get used to how medications effect my system. Just as when first getting to know a herb, I use 'simples'. That is one herb at a time, so as to sense out how they interact with my innards. As I mentioned earlier its a dialogue, or dance.
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