sown & uprooted

Following my recent post Conquering Stress & Anxiety: A Tea Recipe to Calm Down and Sleep Well, I wanted to bring you a tea recipe to brighten up your days, a remedy for depressive moods or mild depression, originating in stress and the lack of sun during the darker seasons of the year. Next to Vitamin D intake, spending time outside to catch those few rays of sunshine while enjoying the breeze of fresh air, exercising regularly, mindfulness techniques or body work like dance, herbal remedies can be magical supporters through challenging times, stressful situations or simply accompany us through autumn and winter. Let’s take a closer look at the herbs that we will use in this tea!

St. John’s Wort, or Hypericum Perforatum, has been called many names, amongst those “Fuga Daemonum”, “Demon Chaser” or “Scare Devil” in its English heritage, “Hexenkraut” (Witchwort/ Witch Weed) or “Teufelsvertreiber” (Devil Chaser) as examples in German ancestry. During the Middle Ages, Hypericum was popular as one of the strongest repellents against daemonic forces, the plant being consecrated to John the Baptist during Christianisation. Traditionally, it is said that St. John’s wort stores sunlight and therefore lends us this light in the darker seasons of the year and life. The herb has been valued as a remedy in Western European cultures since at least the time of Paracelsus and has a good, clinically proven reputation as a remedy for depression, supporting our nervous system and mental well-being. St. John’s Wort is said to help us gain emotional balance and harmony, still literally chasing away those inner demons.

Lemon balm, or Melissa officinalis, is cultivated and traded throughout Europe as a medicinal plant since the Middle Ages. The alchemist and physician Paracelsus (1493-1541) described Lemon Balm or Melissa Officinalis as an ingredient to the “elixir of life” and English diarist and gardener John Evelyn (1620-1706) wrote: “Balm is sovereign for the brain, strengthening the memory and powerfully chasing away melancholy.” Nowadays the plant is used to strengthen us and calm issues derived from our nervous system such as anxiety, depression, irritability and nervousness as well as issues with our digestive system resulting from anxiousness or stress.

Ginger, or Zingiber officinale, originally grew in tropical and subtropical climate and is often applied as a remedy to stomach upsets, to treat symptoms of cold and flu or to soften some of the symptoms during migraine attacks. The root is highly acclaimed by various healing traditions since ancient times and is an essential ingredient in the local cuisine of China, Japan and India. Being one of the amara bitter plants, ginger supports our gut as well as our memory and our immune system. Ginger also acts as a mild antidepressant, has antiemetic, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. The idea of using it in this recipe goes back to the research on how our gut health influences our mental health and vice versa, that I shared in more detail with you in Drowning in Bitterness? A Herb for Healthy Gut Feelings.

A Tea Recipe to Remedy Seasonal and Mild Depression

This herbal remedy harmonises well in combination with passionflower and valerian root. Both plants have shown to enhance the effects of St. John’s Wort. Hence, I am optionally adding passionflower to this recipe in the evenings. Valerian root, to me, simply doesn’t taste really good in this combination of herbs.

Happier – A Tea to Alleviate Depressive Moods

This tea helps to relax and slowly alleviates depressive moods, especially those deriving from stress and mild seasonal depression. The Lemon balm in this tea shows short term effects after around 30 minutes while St. John’s Wort is a more long term oriented herb that will take up to 2 weeks before clearly unfolding its magic.

⏱️ Prep Time 2 min

⏳ Waiting Time 10 min

🫖 Pot Size 250 ml (~ 1 cup)

✨Daytime up to 3 times a day

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon of dried St. John’s Wort
• 2 teaspoons of Lemon Balm
• a few slices of fresh Ginger
• 1 teaspoon of Passionflower (optional – best in the evening)

Directions

1. Cover the brew with a lid or small plate and leave to steep for 10 mins
2. Optionally, add a bit of honey
3. Enjoy!

In times when I was getting a bit lost in depressive moods and insecurities myself, I started creating nice little unwinding rituals around tea using affirmations. It’s always best to take some time for reflection and come up with an affirmation that resonates with you and your personal circumstances. Here is an example of such an unwinding ritual accompanied by an affirmation, originally from Louise Hay, that you can try:

Sit down in a comfortable position with your cup of tea. Notice how the scents dance upwards and penetrate your nostrils. Breathe deeply a few times until you feel that you have arrived a little more in the present moment. Then affirm 3 to 10 times, either out loud or in your mind:

I now go beyond other peoples fears and limitations. I create my own life.

And so it is. Thank you!

Try to Smile 🙂

Origins of Depression & Risks of Self-Diagnosis

As with many illnesses, there is no single, clear, monocausal origin for the development of depression. There are often multifactorial influences that can serve as triggers. The most common triggers for depression are: Chronic stress, Chronic illnesses, Great misfortune, Workplace problems, Existential fears, Genetical factors, Seasonal influences such as light or weather, Hormonal factors. Mild depressions, especially those caused by seasonal factors such as the lack of sunlight and a Vitamin D deficiency, can be treated well with herbal remedies and Vitamin D supplements. We can find highly beneficial solutions to chronic stress or workplace problems which can often be improved significantly by small life changes, relaxation techniques and furthermore lessened by a temporary intake of herbal remedies. However, especially more persistent, recurring, medium to severe depressions should always be treated by a medical professional and in coordination with a psychiatrist and psychologist. Herbal remedies could in those cases still be applied during potential transitioning and wait times but attempting self treatment is not at all advisable. The benefit of professional advice and chemical medication is a clear, suitable diagnosis and a much faster lessening of the symptoms. In those cases most advisable from a herbal medicine perspective could be to suggest transitioning back to herbal alternatives in the long run, decided and introduced in alignment and coordination with your clinician.

Studies show that the current trend of online research, discussing mental health problems on social media, anticipating personality disorders and trying to self-diagnose often has more negative than positive effects. Also from my own observations and experiences, I can confirm these results and have not seen anyone benefitting from internet research looking for answers to their persistent mental health issues and potential personality disorders. The result is a flower bouquet of assumed origins for our issues, self-diagnosed disorders and ideas of suffering from neurodivergence, unfortunately, often falsely associated with one self, misinterpreted, misunderstood and in consequence not appropriately treated.

“Online self-diagnosis of psychiatric disorders is growing rapidly. Some people with a positive result on a screening tool will seek professional help. However, there are many potential risks for patients who self-diagnose, including an incorrect or dangerous diagnosis, increased patient anxiety about the diagnosis, obtaining unfiltered advice on social media, using the self-diagnosis to self-treat, including online purchase of medications without a prescription, and technical issues including the loss of privacy.”

I hope this was helpful to you! You are not alone and better days are soon to come!

Coming up are the so called Adaptogens, the last part to this series of stress related herbal remedies. They offer an alternative treatment for mild depressions, chronic stress, fatigue and are especially precious to recover from burnout.

Be good and stay well!

– with love –

Lina

sown & uprooted

https://for-a-better-living.com

Please note: As with all things in life, some things will have ripple effects and the amounts make the difference. Persistent depression, hopelessness or suicidal thoughts are important matters to find professional clinical support and supervised medical treatment for. There is no shame in finding expert help in difficult situations. St. John’s Wort needs some time to unfold its benefits, so a treatment to 3-6 weeks might be advisable. Self-initiated longterm treatment with St. John’s Wort is not recommendable. A potential side effect can be photosensitivity. Please don’t overdose herbal teas. Especially if you are on medication, suffer a medical condition, are prone to allergic reactions and during pregnancy it’s recommended to seek medical advisory before starting any self medication. Don’t use St. John’s Wort if you take antidepressants, the anti-baby pill or blood thinners.