In Part I of this series I began the discussion about using of herbs to care for the caregiver. As a reminder, many herbs support your body-mind complex to assist in stressful times. They can increase immunity, help sleep, calm the mind and emotions, and treat issues such as anxiety, depression and disturbed Shen, all of which can easily arise during stressful caretaking situations.

Shen

As a reminder, Shen reflects the entire physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health of the body. It includes the capacity to think and act coherently and appropriately, the personality’s magnetic force or charisma, enthusiasm, innate vitality, and the joy to live life. It is distinguished by the sparkle in the eyes, an overall vivaciousness, and a will to live. As well, it’s the dynamic verve that enables us to surmount obstacles and make things happen.

According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Shen is “’housed” in the Heart, so physical heart issues can affect one’s Shen and vice versa. There are no disharmonies of Shen in and of itself, yet because of its connection with the Heart, Deficient Heart Qi or Blood can weaken Shen. This appears as a lack of joy or enthusiasm in life, dull eyes, dislike of talking, muddled thinking, forgetfulness, insomnia, lack of vitality, depression, unhappiness, confused speech, or excessive dreaming. Extreme Shen disharmony results in irrational behavior, incoherent speech, hysteria, delirium, inappropriate responses to people or the environment, violent madness, or unconsciousness.

Herbs that nourish the Heart Blood also nourish Shen. However, the true remedy for Shen problems is addressing emotional and spiritual issues through counseling, prayer, affirmation, meditation, play, changing jobs, taking holidays, and whatever else is needed to nourish the Spirit and Heart.

Insomnia

Disrupted sleep can lead to Shen disorders. To treat chronic insomnia or sleep issues, most herbs must be taken during the day as well as at night and for several days before they’ll work. Stronger sedative herbs, however, should only be taken a couple of hours before and right at bedtime and avoided for daytime use; they are not for short naps but for longer, restful sleep. Others are simple relaxants and may be used during the day to ease the effects of stress.

When to use each herbal category

For quick and easy reference, I’ve created a chart of herbs in specific categories so you can easily choose which is best for your needs. Here are the symptoms and treatment of each category:

Anxiety: Symptoms includepalpitations, sweating, dizziness, shortness of breath, insomnia, tremors, twitches, and muscle spasms. Other symptoms may accompany these such as digestive upset, frequent urination, diarrhea, headaches and fatigue.

Hysteria: This is a state of mental disorder characterized by emotional excitability, emotional outbreaks, disturbances of sensory and motor functions, and intense agitation, anxiety, or excitement.

Calmatives: These nourish the heart and calm the spirit (Shen). They are useful for nervous disorders, stress, relaxation, and simple sleep problems. They are better for weaker individuals and less acute conditions.

Nervines & Sedatives: Nervines nourish the nervous system, calming the nerves and relieving muscle spasms, nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, emotional instability, pain, cramps, spasm, tremors and epilepsy. Sedatives are stronger than calmatives. They are used to alleviate nervousness, palpitations, insomnia, and irritability.

Strong sedatives: Generally minerals, these herbs have tranquilizing effects that weigh down and calm the mind to treat palpitations, insomnia, anxiety, Shen disorder, nervousness, irritability, fright and hysteria. They are typically used for more short-term acute conditions, as over time they can injure the digestion.

Regulate heart: These herbs regulate the heart function and should be used in appropriate doses.

Increase immunity: Herbs that increase immunity tend to be adaptogens that enhance endurance, energy and strength so the body handles stress better.

Herbs for the Caregiver

SYMPTOMS	HERB	ENERGY	FLAVOR	ORGANS	TREATS
ANXIETY	Kava kava	Warm	Pungent, bitter	Liver, Kidney	Spasm, insomnia, anxiety
	Lemon balm	Cool	Sour, slightly pungent	Lungs, Liver	Nervousness, hysteria, anxiety, insomnia, melancholy, depression, gas, cramps
	Passion flower	Cool	Bitter	Heart, Liver	Anxiety, nervous tension, hysteria, insomnia
	California poppy	Cool	Bitter	Liver, Heart	Nervous tension, anxiety, insomnia
CALMATIVES	Zizyphus seeds (suan zao ren – very safe for the weak and elderly)	Neutral	Sweet, sour	Heart, Spleen, Liver, Gallbladder	Insomnia, irritability, palpitations, anxiety, spontaneous sweating, nervous exhaustion
	Mimosa flower & bark (Albizzia – he huan pi; “the happiness tree”)	Neutral	Sweet	Lung, heart, Kidney	Insomnia, bad temper, insomnia, depression, irritability, poor memory caused by emotional constraint
	Biota (Thuja, cedar tree seed – bai zi ren)	Neutral	Sweet	Heart, Liver, Kidney, Large Intestine	Nervousness, anxiety, palpitations, insomnia; especially with anemia/Blood deficiency
	Polygonum stem (ye jiao teng)	Neutral	Sweet, slightly bitter	Heart, Liver	Calms the Shen; insomnia, irritability, dream-disturbed sleep especially due to weakness
	Chamomile	Cool-neutral	Bitter, Slightly pungent	Liver, Stomach, Lungs	Nervousness, headache, stomach upset, anxiety, cramps, spasms
	Lavender	Cool	Bitter, Slightly pungent	Lung, Liver	Insomnia
NERVINES & SEDATIVES	Skullcap	Cool	Bitter	Liver	Nervousness, irritability, insomnia from Heat, worry, exhaustion
	Valerian	Warm	Bitter, pungent	Liver, Heart	Cramps, spasms, insomnia, nervous conditions from Cold
	Hops	Cool	Bitter	Heart, Liver	Anxiety, nervous tension, hysteria, insomnia
	Rauwolfia	Cool	Bitter	Liver, Heart	Hypertension, stress, worry,
STRONG SEDATIVES	Dragon bone (long gu)	Neutral	Sweet, astrin-gent	Heart, Liver, Kidney	Insomnia, epilepsy, night sweats, spontaneous perspiration, irritability, dizziness, short temper
	Oyster shell (mu li)	Slightly cold	Salty, Astrin-gent	Liver, Kidney	Restless Shen, palpitations, insomnia, vertigo, dizziness, convulsion, spasm, epilepsy, spontaneous perspiration, night sweats
	Pearl (zhen zhu – use finely granulated powder)	Cold	Sweet, salty	Heart, Liver	Epilepsy, convulsions, hypertension, excessive anger with blurred vision
	Amber (hu po – use crushed resin)	Neutral	Sweet	Heart, Liver, Urinary Bladder	Epilepsy, insomnia, anxiety, forgetfulness, palpitations, seizures from disturbed Shen, coronary heart disease
HYSTERIA	Black haw	Cool	Bitter	Liver	Nervous complaints, convulsions, hysteria, spasms
REGULATE HEART	Night blooming cereus	Warm	Bitter	Heart, Kidney	Palpitations, anxiety, tachycardia, angina, carditis, pericarditis, arrhythmia, valvular disease, all cardiopulmonary diseases, mental derangement
	Hawthorn	Warm	Sour, sweet	Heart, Stomach, Liver, Spleen	Cardiotonic, arrhythmia, heart failure, heart diseases, digestive ailments, angina, hypertension
	Arjuna	Cool	Astrin-gent, pungent	Heart, Kidney	Heart diseases, angina, Tachycardia, arrhythmias; poor cardiac muscle and pumping function
INCREASE IMMUNITY	Astragalus	Slightly warm	Sweet	Lungs, Spleen	Boosts immunity, building resistance to colds, flu
	Eleuthero	Neutral	Sweet, pungent	Kidneys, adrenals, Spleen	Increases energy, vitality, endurance
	Reishi	Slightly warm	Sweet, slightly bitter	Lungs, Heart, Spleen Liver, Kidney	Calms the spirit, increases energy, immunity and endurance; anti-stress

Formulas

Western:

• There are several herbal formulas available that combine California poppy, hops and passionflower often with valerian or skullcap. Use for sleep, stress and nervousness.
• Planetary Formulas Stress Free: I’ve seen people take up to 20 tablets of this a day without putting them to sleep but handling their stress beautifully. It contains zizyphus (suan zao ren), skullcap, hops, wood betony, valerian, American ginseng (xi yang shen), hawthorn, ginger, licorice, chamomile, black cohosh and eleuthero.
• Planetary Formulas Calm Child: Contrary to its name, this formula is also great for adults. Containing chamomile, jujube dates, hawthorn, catnip, lemon balm, longan pepper, licorice, amla, magnesium, calcium and gotu kola, it aids sleep and reduces stress, hyperactivity, and nervousness.

Chinese:

The following may be found as patent medicines in pill form from Mayway online, either in the Plum Flower of Min Shan brands:

• An Mien Pian: This is especially good for anxiety, disturbed Shen, insomnia, restlessness, palpitations, vivid dreaming, depression and panic attacks particularly from Heat. As well, it transforms Phlegm and relieves food stagnation, which can often cause heart symptoms such as pain and stuffiness in the chest. Use caution with anemia, Yin and/or Blood Deficiency. This formula contains zizyphus (suan zao ren), polygala (yuan zhi), poria (fu ling), gardenia fruit (zhi zi), massa fermenta (shen qu), and licorice (gan cao).
• Calm Spirit Teapills: This formula that contains polygonum stem (ye jiao ten), triticum (wheat – fu xiao mai), jujube dates (da zao), poria (fu ling), lilium (lily bulb – bai he), licorice (gan cao) and albizzia (he huan pi) treats disturbed Shen due to deficiency and excessive worrying. I’ve found it to be especially effective in manic/hysterical disorders as well as a gentle sedative.
• Suan Zao Ren Wan: Containing zizyphus (suan zao ren), ligusticum (chuan xiong), poria (fu ling), anemarrhena (zhi mu), and licorice (gan cao), it treats restlessness, insomnia, palpitations, night sweats, anxiety and vivid dreaming.
• An Shen Bu Xin Wan: A stronger calm spirit sedative formula, it contains mother-of-pearl (margarite – zhan zhu mu), polygonum stem (ye jiao ten), ligustrum (nu zhen zi), salvia (dan shen), eclipta (han lian cao), cuscuta (tu su zi), albizzia (he huan pi), rehmannia (di huang), schisandra (wu wei zi), and acorus (she chang pu). This formula calms Shen, settles the heart and treats insomnia, vivid dreaming palpitations, dizziness or restlessness with anxiety, possible chest pain or oppression, mania, nightmares and hallucinations. Use caution with poor digestion.