Valerian and Chamomile, the Anti-Anxiety Herbs

As someone who has suffered from panic attacks and general anxiety, I have tried a number of natural remedies to avoid taking powerful and often addictive pharmaceuticals like tranquilizers. Two of my favorite natural remedies for tension are valerian and chamomile.

Valerian is a strong-smelling root that, interestingly, was distributed in the Blitz in England during World War II to calm citizens. The most convenient way to take valerian is in tablet form, but it is also available as an extract, tincture and tea. It's useful as a sedative, to relieve headaches, nervous heart palpitations, stress-induced high blood pressure, and ease depression, confusion and insomnia. You can toss the dried herb in your bathwater to relieve stress, or boil them and inhale the steam for the same effect.

Valerian can even relieve flatulence and colic and help in withdrawal from tranquilizers. However, it is not recommended that you take it on a long-term basis because it can cause hyperactivity and giddiness in susceptible people.

Chamomile is a mild-smelling, benign flower from the daisy family generally used as a tea. Unlike valerian, chamomile is considered so safe you can give it to infants and children. Occasionally it can cause an allergic rash that disappears when it is discontinued. If used as a sedative, chamomile double-strength tea in a covered vessel is most effective.

Chamomile is considered calming and soothing, and helps relieve anxiety, tension, headaches, insomnia and digestive upsets. In children, particularly in oil form, it can be used to treat restlessness and colic, and relieve the discomfort and tension of teething and fevers. A warm chamomile compress can induce drowsiness and sleep in an anxious person.

Valerian and chamomile can also be combined to make a gas reliever and sleeping potion. Dr. C. Norman Shealy, MD in his book "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies" recommends tinctures of valerian and chamomile combined with dandelion root to be used as an insomnia treatment or for indigestion, one to three teaspoons in water.

As a user of both remedies, I would recommend that you always have chamomile on hand to brew a relaxing tea, and that you also keep a supply of valerian close by for those times when you're more tense than usual.