Best Tinctures For Anxiety: Finding Hope

As a mom who has struggled with anxiety, I am excited to share with you these amazing herbal tinctures that have made a monumental difference in my mental health.

Anxiety and Motherhood

Becoming a mom has beyond a shadow of a doubt been the best thing that has happened to me. But somewhere over the last 8 years of sleepless nights and breastfeeding, my mental health started to decline.

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I have never been ok with just accepting anxiety and depression. I’ve always sought prayerfully (sometimes desperately), and researched diligently for natural answers. I knew there had to be hope in the hard places somewhere.

Over the years, I became passionate about finding natural remedies to help me through these murky waters of anxiety.

I am so, so grateful that there are many natural remedies and lifestyle choices that can improve our mental health. I sat down and made a list of all the natural remedies and lifestyle approaches I’ve used over the last few years to help improve my mood. This list had over 50 ideas that can support mental health!

Learn how to use doTerra balance to help manage anxiety here.

Good Mood Mondays

I decided to share some of these tactics with other moms (and anyone else interested!) through this blog. Every Monday I will share a post highlighting a natural remedy for anxiety or depression. I will share these posts under the title of “Good Mood Mondays”… in good faith that we can all start our week working toward wonderful mental and emotional health!

I pray that these ideas will fall into the hands of those who need them. And I hope to offer hope to mamas struggling with their mood. While mental health can be hard to talk about, I firmly believe we need more people sharing their stories and offering hope! You are not alone!

What Causes Anxiety?

There are many factors that can contribute to anxiety. Childhood trauma, current life stresses, poor nutrition, hormone imbalances and lifestyle stress can all be contributing factors.

Mothers, in particular, are running on all cylinders. We are often sustaining life through breastfeeding and pregnancy, awake during the night, navigating the growth of other children, and managing “normal” life at the same time.

Postpartum anxiety and panic attacks can also occur due to lack of sleep and hormone changes.

Our modern day diets and lifestyles tend to lack the healthy rhythms, support and nutrients they once did. Because of this our adrenal glands, which help us cope with stress, are particularly overworked.

So it is no wonder that mamas are susceptible to anxiety. Our bodies are overly taxed. Personally, I know that lack of sleep, having an overloaded schedule, drinking caffeine, and not taking time to relax are all triggers to my anxiety.

Since becoming a mother and having so much more to manage, caffeine has become my number one trigger for anxious thoughts and anxiety attacks! (Sadly, since I love it!).

If you are looking for an amazing book to support your mental well being, please read the Mood Cure!

What Is Anxiety?

According to Midline Plus, anxiety is defined as: “a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. It might cause you to sweat, feel restless and tense, and have a rapid heartbeat.”

A little bit of anxiety in life is totally normal. We all get feelings of uneasiness from time to time, or dread an upcoming event like a flight or dentist appointment. But when anxiety becomes overwhelming and all consuming, in the forms of panic, phobia and excessive worry, it is disordered.

If you struggle with anxiety, you know it can make life beyond miserable!

My Personal Anxiety Symptoms

Personally, I know I am struggling with anxiety when I can’t stop worrying at night about events that happened during the day (usually re thinking an event over and over). I have also experienced panic attacks and constant feelings of un ease and worry.

Anxiety can have a detrimental impact on all parts of your life… but there is hope!

As a busy mom of littles, it is a top priority for me to protect my mind from anxiety. Thankfully, I have been able to relieve much of my struggle with natural tinctures for anxiety.

The Best Tinctures For Anxiety

The best tinctures I have found found for anxiety are lemon balm, passionflower and a homeopathic blend called Rescue Remedy. I have been able to use these tinctures to successfully calm my anxious mind over the past few years. It can be so hard to find solutions in our child bearing years, so I am particularly grateful that I was able to use them while pregnant and breastfeeding.

Of course if you are pregnant or nursing, please consult your medical support team prior to taking any supplements.

Lemon Balm Tincture For Anxiety

Lemon balm is an herb from the mint family. It’s leaves are used medicinally to help encourage relaxation during times of stress. Lemon balm is a calming, mild sedative that may also improve mood and mental clarity. (A bonus for parents of little ones!).

Lemon balm is thought to work by increasing gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) in the brain. GABA is a mood regulator which works to calm neurons that may be overly excited. This article has a thorough break down of how lemon balm works to increase GABA levels.

As a mom seeking natural help for anxiety, Lemon Balm tincture has been a true answer to prayer for me. I use lemon balm tinctures during stressful times and when sleep is limited. And I will often enjoy a nice cup of lemon balm tea for daily relaxation.

This herb is so soothing to the nervous system and creates feeling of relaxation almost immediately. I will drink a dropper of lemon balm tincture in 4 ounces of water in the morning and at night if having bouts of anxiety. It can also be a very helpful tincture to take at bedtime, calming racing thoughts and relaxing the body.

I have used lemon balm throughout pregnancy and while nursing as recommended to me by my midwives, but please follow up with your own health care practitioners for further support.

I typically order my lemon balm tinctures and teas off of amazon and have used the following brands:

Passionflower Tincture For Anxiety

Passionflower, or passiflora, is a species of over 500 plants that may offer a wide array of health benefits. Traditionally used by Native Americans, we in modern day society also benefit from the sedative effects of the plant.

Passionflower is also a very beautiful floral vine, as exhibited from my grandma’s garden last summer:

Like Lemon Balm, passionflower tincture is calming and relaxing. It also works by increasing GABA levels in the brain, promoting a calm mind. I take passionflower tincture to help calm down and relax before bed, or right before a stressful event (like getting all the kids ready for swim lessons!).

As advised by my naturopath, I have alternated using Lemon Balm with passionflower tincture when having strong episodes of anxiety and have found this to be a really powerful technique!

I order this alcohol free Passion Flower tincture from amazon and have had good results with it.

Rescue Remedy Tincture For Anxiety

Rescue Remedy is another tincture recommended to me by my naturopath. A blend of 5 floral herbs, this homeopathic tincture also works to calm and de stress the body. There are some wonderful reviews to read through on Amazon in how effective this tincture can work to reduce stress!

I have used rescue remedy many times in the past, but I currently find that alternating Passionflower and Lemon Balm tinctures works well for me.

Natural Remedies For Postpartum Anxiety

Because of increased stress right before their due dates, I have struggled with intense postpartum anxiety with two of my children.

I was able to greatly reduce that anxiety with lemon balm tea and lemon balm tinctures, and I would alternate these with passionflower tincture as well.
It was such a relief as a mom taking care of a little brood of 4 babies to be able to combat this anxiety with natural, safe remedies.

If you are a mama struggling with anxiety or depression, please know you are not alone. I am praying God meets you where you are at right now and provides exactly what you need!

I hope these ideas for natural herbal tinctures that can fight anxiety have been helpful to you. Please know that wherever you are in your struggle, you are not alone! I pray that God restores hope and peace to you today!