Stress Management Techniques

A balanced set of stress management techniques must address all aspects of life, and while herbal remedies will fulfill certain aspects, they are critical. It can help to group the many factors to be considered into four categories.

1. Physiological and metabolic factors

This involves addressing factors affecting the inner workings of the body through nutrition, herbs, and drugs, when necessary. Herbal medicines offer an effective but gentle way to address some of the physiological and biochemical issues involved in stress management techniques ranging from direct support of the adrenal glands to easing the plethora of symptoms that can result from the stress response.

2. Structural Factors

Here stress management techniques are considered that address structural integration. This would include several manipulative therapies like chiropractic, osteopathy, and all types of massage. Personal lifestyle will contribute exercising, dancing, and other expressions of strength and vitality. Relaxation techniques continue to be an invaluable part of stress management.

3. Emotional and mental factors

Psychological stress management techniques are important for the identification and treatment of mental and emotional factors in diseasae and health. All facets of psychotherapy are involved here, especially the holistically oriented approaches of humanistic psychology. A conscious and free-flowing life emotionally is one of the fundamentals in achieving inner harmony. But this doen't necessarily mean that everyone must be involved with depth psychology, rather that attention is given in the proper form for an individual's emotional needs.

4. Spirituality

Spiritual factors in human healing are becoming increasingly recognized by materialistic Western medicine. There are prayer-based and meditative stress management techniques in which the subject aligns his or her being with a higher spirit, or those in which an experienced practitioner works with the patient's energy body. An openness to spirituality is of the utmost importance and may take the form of an uplifting sunrise, being touched by arto or poetry, belief in a religion, or simply joy of living.

Herbs can be an integral part of any stress management technique by helping the body and mind cope with the stress response in several ways, on top of the simplistic ones of relaxation and stimulation. In today's Western herbalism, it is normal to distinguish between groups of herbs that have similar physiological effects on people.

Herbs that act upon the central nervous system are called nervines collectively, and are grouped into nervine tonics, relaxants, and stimulants. There are also muscle-relaxing antispasmodics and sleep-inducers known as hypnotics. Of most direct relevance for stress management techniques are the adaptgenic herbs.