Stress. Moodiness. Anxiety. Depression. Most of us deal with these emotions in some form every day. And most of us are very familiar with the unwelcome side affects of these emotions - ulcers, digestive troubles, heart troubles, etc. It is very true that negative emotions such as these can produce very real health problems and chronic illness. The world around us creates pressure that mount into a maelstron of emotions you may be ill-equipped to deal with.

Stress. It is created for us by our jobs, our home lives, pressures and demands from the outside world, created by hiding and conforming and just trying to get through a day in one piece. We create it for ourselves by trying too hard to be perfect, trying too hard to conform, trying too hard to be what everyone else expects us to be. So how do you manage it all before it results in a major heart attack? Through loving yourself. Yes, that's right. Loving yourself.

When you love yourself, you do things that nurture you. You take the time to pamper yourself that little extra bit to help make you feel calm and settled inside. You take a few precious moments of each day to do something just for you, to the exclusion of everyone else. You stop being so hard on yourself because the meeting at the office didn't go perfectly, because that lovemaking session wasn't fantastic, because you forgot to pick up something at the grocery store, because you aren't yet a millionaire. You learn to appreciate yourself, your self worth, and your own immeasurable capabilities. Only then are you ready to face the outside world with a preparation for whatever comes.

When it all gets to be too much, there are herbal treatments that can help you get stress under control. These treatments should not be relied on to fix the problems, however. They should be used as an aid, not a crutch, and you should identify and deal with the situation(s) creating the stress in the first place.

You can try a simple bedtime tea of a cup of chamomile. Or take a couple of capsules of valerian (one sniff and you will know why you don't want to drink valerian tea!). Or a cup of passionflower tea. Any of these will help you to relax, so you can get a good night's sleep. And we All need our beauty rest! You will also find that you will face the day in a calmer, more relaxed way, after you have gotten a full night's relaxed rest.

If you feel yourself stressing out during the day, you can drink a cup of chamomile, or alternatively, you can take a couple of capsules of kava kava. Kava kava is very beneficial to the mind and the nerves, and can take away the effects of stress quite quickly. But again, use these measures as an aid, not a cure. Becoming reliant on nervines such as these is not a good thing at all.

Another method of calming is to carry a bottle of lavendar essential oil. Open it up and sniff deeply of the aroma when you feel stressed, anxious, depressed. Or place a few drops on a handkerchief and keep it nearby to inhale as needed. Lavendar is very relaxing while at the same time uplifting. This is a very useful form of aromatherapy.

After a stressful day, why not relax in a luxurious herbal bath? Run yourself a warm bath, add some lavendar or eucalyptus oil, light some candles, turn off the phone, put some soft soothing music on the stereo, and soak in the vapors and let your troubles go down the drain with the bath water. You can make herbal bath salts and oils on your own, or there are a lot of good ones out on the market today. You may be better off buying them in a health food store, to avoid those additives that we really don't need to be absorbing through our sensitive skin. These products have the added benefit of being beneficial to the skin, so do give them a try!

Then there is meditation. It is very calming, and very beneficial to the mind. Set aside a few minutes of each day to do some meditating. There are many ways to do this, and no particular "right" way. And it does not have to be oriented to a particular religion. You find something that works for you and you stick with it. There are a lot of tapes, CDs, videos, books, and websites that deal with meditation. You don't need to take a trip to visit the Dali Lama to experience the uplift you can give yourself from daily meditation! You can meditate anytime, anywhere, anyplace, making it the perfect "carry it with you" treatment.

Get a hobby! Set aside 30 minutes per day at least 3 times per week to work on this hobby. Allow nothing to interfere with this time. Working with a hobby is relaxing, and takes your mind away from the outside world for a while.

These tips should help you to deal with most minor emotional upsets. If your emotions continue out of control, then you may need your hormonal therapy adjusted. Or you may be dealing with something else. Whatever the case, do seek medical advice if the emotional upheavals continue on a scale you feel you can't manage on your own. Don't turn to alcohol or drugs! They only worsen the problem, and mask the symptoms. Each one of you is precious to the community at large, and we would hate to lose any of you that way. And again, proper diet is important here, so that you aren't ingesting foods that actually aggravate your emotional condition. Did you know that food allergies you may not even be aware you have can trigger emotional disturbances?

Information within this article is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not meant to diagnose nor treat. Seek guidance from a health care professional.

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