In this episode, Nicole (she/her) talks about the ways that herbs can support people through acute and chronic periods of stress.

Links & resources from this episode

1. Herbalism, PTSD and Traumatic Stress Course - https://solidarityapothecary.org/herbalismandptsdcourse/
2. Course Waiting list - https://mailtrain.solidarityapothecary.org/subscription/7ylKjaU5l
3. New Mobile Herbal Clinic Calais Merch - https://solidarityapothecary.org/mobile-herbal-clinic-calais-merch/

Find them all at solidarityapothecary.org/podcast/

Support the show

Music from Sole & DJ Pain – Battle of Humans | Plant illustrations by @amani_writes | In solidarity, please subscribe, rate & review this podcast wherever you listen.

Welcome to the Frontline Herbalism Podcast with your host, Nicole Rose from the

Solidarity Apothecary.

This is your place for all things plants and

liberation.

Let's get started.

Hello. Welcome back to the Frontline Herbalism Podcast.

So today's episode is all about herbal support for like ongoing chronic stress.

And it's got all my kind of like top tips, not just on herbs, but like kind of practical

things for anyone who is coping with a like acutely stressful situation or an ongoing

stressful situation.

So yeah, I'm not going to talk loads because I talk loads in the episode, so I'll let you

listen to that.

But I just want to say we've got some sexy T

shirts fundraising for the mobile herbal clinic Calais.

We finally confirmed a design or two designs thanks to your help on Instagram and they are

live on my website and you're able to buy them.

And yeah, selling this much is like literally the main thing that fundraisers for us.

Completely grassroots project that serves like hundreds of people living in northern France,

refugees, people on the move, asylum seekers.

And yeah, we have a mobile clinic tries to go every single month.

It's not always possible, but the first week of the month normally with a doctor and a team

of herbalists and hundreds and hundreds of herbal medicines and we support people with

like first aid and preventative medicine and self care.

Things like upper respiratory infections like coughs and colds get a lot of people to

hospital.

Before I had my baby, I was back and forth there for four years.

Like it's such a huge project that I'm super passionate about and it is so frustrating how

much effort we need to constantly put into fundraising to make it happen.

So if you can buy a T shirt, they're also in lots of nice colors this year.

That would be ******* amazing.

I'll put the link in the show notes.

Please share them on your social media and with your friends and things because yeah, it

just keeps the ******* project going.

So,

yeah, anyway, and also the other thing to like plug is the Hubblers in PTSD and Traumatic

Stress course is open for enrollment on 22 March.

No one is turned away for lack of funds.

You don't have to contribute anything

financially to access the learning,

but if you can, that's ******* amazing.

Like the income from this course like

literally sustains 90% of the sold out apothecary and all the work I do supporting

people experiencing state violence with herbal medicine.

So yeah, if you can pay, that's awesome.

If you can't, that's Also ******* awesome.

You can still access it, but I will put the link in the show notes.

Please check it out.

Please join the waiting list if you're keen to

learn more and you don't want to miss it because yeah, it's really, really special.

Very comprehensive program,

very life changing.

I'm going to be recording some of the amazing

testimonials I've been receiving recently and sharing them on here and in other places.

But yeah, please, please, please check it out.

It's only available twice a year, so it's

coming up to its little springtime open window.

And it's the best time to learn about herbalism because you know, spring is coming

for people living where I am at least.

So yeah, anyway, check that out and I hope this episode gives some value to you.

Okay, lots of love.

Bye.

All right, so let's dive into herbal support for ongoing chronic stress.

And I guess some disclaimers that I guess this is like focused towards people living in like

England and Wales and Scotland and Ireland and like people in the kind of regions where I

live or folks in the so called us.

I'm very aware that like the whole world doesn't have access to these things or like a

place of quote unquote safety.

You know, like if you're living in a war zone

or you know, a place of like active genocide or conflict or everything else that.

Yeah, just basically trying to name that.

There's like a lot of privilege with like a

lot of the things I'm recommending people to implement.

But yeah, I think wherever you are, like a lot of this stuff is very useful.

You know, like when I talk about things like sleep that is like very contextual living.

For example, in northern France where we work with like the Mobile Herbal Clinic, Calais.

Like a lot of what we're doing is supporting people to sleep well, you know, with things

like lavender oil.

Because if someone sleeps well they're less likely to not be able to find fight an

infection and you know, like they are more resilient in terms of like what their, you

know, simple cold upper respiratory infection not becoming like a chronic thing or a life

threatening thing in their lower respiratory system,

like pneumonia or something, for example.

So yeah, even something like sleep which might

feel like a kind of,

you know, a lot of people might think is like not like a bougie recommendation, but it's

like, oh, you know, you've got somewhere like safe to sleep or whatever.

Like actually interventions like sleep are like life saving like across the zone, you

know.

So anyway, I'm Just gonna, I'm just gonna get stuck in.

I know people listening to this show, like understand the nuances of what's going on in

the world.

You don't need me to tell you, but I just, you

know, I just thought I would kind of like preface what I'm trying to say with that kind

of like naming of all this,

like structural violence that like influences these things and what are possible for people.

But yeah, if you are in a situation right now,

are experiencing like ongoing stress, you know, whether that's just ******* selling your

labor in capitalism or a loved one you know, dealing with cancer treatment, or you're

supporting someone in prison, or you're recovering from those experiences, or you're

just,

you know, a single mom trying to ******* survive, like living, living in poverty.

Like all of these things are like ongoing chronic stresses, right, that demand

structural responses and,

you know, resistance and movements to challenge them and everything else.

But, but ultimately, like, you're still in that place, right?

So,

yeah, I think it's important to just,

you know,

just start where you are really.

And the number one place that I always start with near enough, every ******* client or

person that comes to work with me one to one, is sleep.

It seems boring to talk about, but sleep is the most essential thing and nothing helps the

body more in terms of like repair and energy and addressing chronic illness or inflammation

than like high quality deep sleep and someone who's got a baby who's nearly two now.

I know how intense like sleep deprivation and sleep disruption is.

And yeah, shout out to all the parents who've been going through that, all the breastfeeding

in the middle of the night and all the things.

But yeah,

the number one thing I think if you are experiencing chronic stress is to focus on

getting as much good sleep as possible.

And you know, there is like a whole hour long

lesson in the herbalism, PTSD and traumatic stress course all about sleep, you know, like

sleep versus capitalism,

like all the things that affect sleep,

like all this like sleep hygiene stuff,

which like, side note, I am like very pro supportive of people watching wholesome trash

before bed because I think it puts the body in a parasympathetic state and allows people with

intense anxiety to switch off from racing thoughts.

So I'm not recommending that you turn off all your devices and sit in silence before bed

because I think for someone with a highly activated nervous system that can actually

just feel ******* awful for them,

but what I do encourage is having this kind of parasympathetic time through the day, so

enabling Even like micro moments of rest.

And I know that's like really, really hard

when you're in like a really chronically stressful sit.

But, you know, maybe that's like having a cup of tea outside somewhere or having a cup of

tea inside somewhere or, you know, staying on the toilet a little bit longer before you go

back to a stressful family situation.

You know, just like any little bits of time that you can snatch that enable you to like,

breathe out a little bit,

I think is really important.

But in terms of sleep, like oftentimes when we're in this like really intense, like, fight

or flight activation, like high levels of cortisol and stress hormones, if we haven't

had access to that kind of respite,

it can be extremely difficult to get to sleep.

And that's when I think there are lots of

amazing herbs that can support us.

So I think people have probably seen me talk about it in the Herbalism and State Violence

book or on my episode about herbal support for grief.

But like, when my best friend Taylor killed himself, myself in prison,

I was in such an acute state of rage and activation and all day long had to deal with

these like, prison authorities and like all this like gnarly funeral organizing stuff that

like, I didn't have access to that kind of like rest and digest state in any way.

Do you know what I mean? So getting to sleep was really difficult

because of the like, just the levels of adrenaline.

Which is why I worked with like a stronger kind of sedative, like hypnotic nervine called

wild lettuce.

You know, like, I've had clients that have had like sleep issues.

And yeah, I always start with for example, like skullcap, which is like much more like

nourishing and it's like more of a long term tonic.

But it's also quite sedating and hypnotic.

And then if that's kind of not working, then I'll move to things like wild lettuce.

But I had someone who like just kept sleeping through their alarm, like nearly lost their

job because they just had such deep quality sleep with this herb.

Other sort of accessible herbs are plant like passion flower or.

Yeah, like working with like.

I know skull caps are expensive, but it is

really wonderful in terms of supporting someone to access that like more

parasympathetic time before bed,

which enables like deeper quality, more like restorative sleep.

When you have a lot of stress hormones,

they're gonna, you know, they're potentially gonna be waking you up in the night, right.

Like high levels of cortisol are Gonna be leading to this kind of like wake up time,

you know, like between two often or maybe like super, super early, like six, seven in the

morning, which, you know, is a normal wake up time for lots of people.

But for other people,

especially if you've gotten to bed late, that's like too early.

So yeah, we kind of want to be working with herbs to,

yeah, bring down that like activation as much as physically possible through the day, but

then, yeah, just kind of supporting you through the night.

So, yeah, sleep is number one to survive a ongoing chronically stressful situation.

And it is such a shame that the body needs sleep more than ever.

And the sleep disturbances really ******* kick in with trauma.

And I talk about that loads in the PTSD course.

So yeah, it's a bit heartbreaking that the body does that.

But, you know, it's in survival mode.

And when we're in survival mode, we might not

like want to sleep deeply because, you know, we need to wake up and see if like the *******

threat is still there.

Right.

So it kind of makes physiological sense, but

it's also like, like gutting for when people are going through a lot.

They really need to sleep well and that's really, really hard.

So that's when herbs can,

you know, can come in.

It's so hard to not go into loads of detail about this stuff, but I just want to, I guess

flag.

This is something I talk about in the course.

But some people working with like sedative or more hypnotic herbs, like triggers a really

intense, like fearful state for them,

especially if they've experienced trauma like sexual assault or violence like while being

like drugged or drunk or something like this.

So I just want to give that caution that like,

if you struggle with that state,

there may be a reason for that.

And it might be more appropriate to work with

like more kind of like uplifting kind of.

Yeah, more like gentle herbs that work on like reducing the activation in the sympathetic

than the, you know, the fight or flight system, like lemon balm and lavender, for

example, that don't trigger such a like full on kind of sedated state.

Okay.

So next is nourishment.

And I know this is ******* difficult again when you're experiencing chronic stress

because the stress response will turn off.

Not completely, but it will commonly in a lot

of people turn off desires for hunger.

You know, like, it will like desires for food.

Sorry.

So we won't necessarily get those like hunger cues.

Like for example, if you have like a really, really non stop stressful day and then you get

to the End of the day and you're like, I haven't eaten.

Like, that's the nervous system kind of like not protecting you, but it's kind of like

preventing you from eating.

Because when we eat we use energy, right? That's why we go into this like

parasympathetic rest and digest state is so that the BL can move from, you know, like the

head and into the gut and not from the head, but from the periphery to the gut to help

digest our food.

And so, yeah, when we're like highly stressed, we're not kind of necessarily getting those

cues to eat, if that makes sense.

And we're often feeling like we can't eat

because we don't feel like we have the time to just sit and stop and cook a meal and you

know,

sit down with a loved one or whatever and have, have a good meal and then give ourselves

enough time afterwards to digest it.

Well.

So I totally understand that stress, like with you, like food wise.

But if you can focus while in that survival time on getting food in you, or say, for

example, you're supporting a loved one who's going through a lot,

taking some of that pressure off them by making them dinner or you know, taking them

for a meal out or ordering them a takeaway or you know, like, for example, if someone's just

had a baby, like ******* organizing to drop off meals so that they don't have to cook and

they can just receive that nourishment,

like, is a really, really nice thing to do.

Because like I said, like, the stress response kind of creates like a hierarchy of what's

important to us.

And that stressor is always the thing demanding our focus.

But actually like, our body has all these other needs.

So yeah, if you can support someone or yourself to, to eat as well as you can, then

you're going to be reducing the harm and the risk that the impact of this stressful period

is going to have on someone's body.

Does that make sense?

When I'm working with clients in general, I like to support people to shift to have more

protein and more like vegetables and antioxidants,

you know, like colorful vegetables and some fruit.

I think a lot of fruit unfortunately just triggers all sorts of gut bacteria stuff for

people, people.

So I think just like focusing on vegetables is

like normally really good.

But yeah, when we have more protein, we can support like all our systems in our body.

And yeah, I think it's that thing.

When we're in a stress response, we often

really crave carbs basically, like, and I understand.

Like, I, you know, I don't have things like crisps in the house because I would just want

to eat them like all day long.

But yeah, like, our body will crave certain things like sugar, for example, when we're

really stressed because our system, system is full of blood sugar and our gut bacteria is

probably a bit, you know, disrupted.

And so we might be craving more sugar then.

But like, if you can shift to,

you know,

higher protein, even if it's like I'm just gonna have more protein for breakfast, like

I'm gonna have walnuts with my oats or I'm gonna like fry some tofu in the morning or

whatever, like, just trying to start your day with a bit of protein will help a lot with

that kind of like,

resilience.

Likewise, like healthy fats.

Like, I know everyone takes the **** out

millennials of like, oh, avocado.

But like, actually fats are really, really

needed by the nervous system,

especially in terms of brain health.

So you know, getting things like, you know,

you can buy ******* flaxseeds and chia seeds for like super cheap from places like Lidl.

I know they're not the most ******* ethical places in the world, but like, I'm just saying

a lot of these things like,

aren't as out of reach as like we perceive them to be because of all this like *******,

you know, like, like middle class kind of wellness marketing.

But yeah, like healthy fats, like things like avocados and nuts and olive oil, stuff like

this, like that is really, really gonna help our kind of body's reserves in surviving

things.

It might be that you're on the move a lot and it's very difficult to like actually make

meals.

And if you have access to things like protein

powder.

I do think a good quality protein powder can be really life changing for someone who's

quite prot.

Nutrition.

I'm always like, food first.

Like, let's focus on food changes.

But like, while someone's going through that

intense period of stress who maybe doesn't have time or doesn't feel like they have time

to really prepare a meal, then something like a protein powder smoothie can just support the

body like,

you know, in that moment.

So, yeah, so that's quite like a good kind of not like hack, but it's something I recommend

to folks who,

yeah, don't have many spoons who are like, struggling with, you know, like cooking for

themselves or looking after themselves because of like chronic illness, for example.

So,

yeah,

and then I guess the other thing to talk about is supplements.

And I know supplements get a bit of a bad rap.

Like herbalists are always like, oh, you just

need everything from food and plants and like blah, blah, blah.

And yeah, ******* yes.

If you can eat ******* wild berries and get

all your antioxidants,

that's ******* epic.

I love ******* foraging.

I love berries.

That's amazing.

But actually,

you know, we're forced to not live like that in ******* capitalism so it is difficult to

get what we need.

And then you bring in layers of things like,

you know, malabsorption or like gut problems that affect how much things you can absorb.

And yeah, also our ******* bodies rinse nutrients when we're stressed.

So like I like to think of someone who is surviving, driving an ongoing chronic stress

situation as like a athlete.

Like you need to be having like optimal nutrition.

Like, you know, a lot of like organizer types who are just organizing, organizing,

organizing, like fast paced, like all this resistant stuff, like all this chronic stress.

Their adrenals are just like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

It's like you need that nourishment like in those cells to keep you going, otherwise

you're gonna burn out really hard.

And so y. I think just like going for good quality supplements like can be a real game

changer especially if there's this like misabsorption pattern.

And the other thing to name is just like industrial agriculture is ******* ****.

And like a lot of the soil health has been destroyed by ******* capitalist agriculture by

you know, various like synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and everything else,

herbicides.

So it's like we're not actually getting the levels of nutrients that we need from our

food.

Even if you eat like really great organic food

food, if you bring in one of these digestive issues, it's going to be a challenge.

So I really think things like vitamin D are very life changing for people.

If someone is vegan or prone to like a more kind of like diet where they're not eating

very well, then I think B12s are really, really ******* important.

I talk about B12 in the herbalism, PTSD and traumatic stress course.

There is just like endless research connecting B12 to anxiety, brain fog, lack of focus and

concentration.

Like, you know, there' so many things going on

with B12 that I really, really, really recommend it to people.

It's not enough.

Like if you just eat B12 from like fortified

sources.

Like that's my opinion.

So yeah, a good quality B12 supplement I think is really important and the quality really

matters with B12.

So yeah, so I Think those supplements, it's kind of like harm reduction, right?

Like they're going to be helping you not fall into a heavily depleted state.

Okay, so that's what I'm talking about with nourishment.

It's just doing your best, you know, like, even if you're going through loads of stress,

you're driving around, maybe you're like in between like housing situations, like just the

difference between having a bag of nuts versus a packet of crisps with no nutrition or

chocolate with loads of sugar in.

Like, if you can just do some like simple swaps between food that is going to give you

genuine energy versus food that is going to take energy from your body and trigger

inflammation, then yeah, that is going to be potentially life changing.

Changing.

Okay, so then we're gonna go to nervous system support,

right? And again, this is something I talk about

loads in the herbalism, PTSD and traumatic stress course.

But the default in our culture when we're struggling with energy or when we're going

through a lot of chronic stress is like we reach for the stimulants.

And trust me, like, I'm two years, nearly two years into babyland.

Like, I love my ******* coffee.

Like I do need it in the morning these days

because, you know, I just don't get the long periods of sleep that I used to get.

But unfortunately, capitalism has just marketed these amazing wonderful herbs which

are very traditionally indicated for people in incredibly fatigued chronic illness states.

And they're giving them to people who are often in intense states of fight or flight and

maybe not,

you know, actually experiencing intense chronic fatigue, but actually are just really

overwhelmed and stressed.

And you know, people with chronic fatigue can

also, and do also, and mostly also feel this fight or flight all the time.

But what I'm saying is like,

be very wary of the kind of like energy supplements that are marketed that contain

herbs like rhodiola, for example, which is traditionally indicated for people, like I

said, in severe states of fatigue and long term illness.

And these herbs can put a lot of ******* pressure on the adrenal system and enable you

to keep going to the point that you burn out even harder and face the more serious disease.

Also, several of the ginsengs, for example,

might come into this category.

They're often marketed as adaptogens to help

you adapt to stress.

But what you really need when you are adapting to stress is actually more often than not is

just like nervine relaxants.

So these are herbs that help you shift from a

highly activated fight or flight state into a more Parasympathetic rest and digest kind of

state where the world doesn't feel as threatening,

where you don't feel as anxious, where you feel, like, able to connect with humans or

animals or plants.

And what we need when we're in intense periods of kind of, like, survival, chronic stress

states, is, like,

as much access to this kind of downtime as physically as possible.

And when something is a constant threat,

even if we are kind of like, resting, our body is often still constantly processing or

perceiving that threat.

Does that make sense?

So, for example,

supporting people in prison, I might have access to kind of parasympathetic time, you

know, like, watching trash in the evening or, like, foraging or doing medicine, making

things that make me feel good.

But there's, like, part of me and my nervous system that is like, ****, ****, ****.

Like, my friend's in solitary confinement and, you know, like, a white supremacist tried to

******* stab him.

Or,

you know, my other friend in prison has cancer, and if she doesn't get these test

results, then blah, blah, blah.

So it's like, there's often this, like, level of, like, background activation that is just

like, humming and humming and humming.

And I think that there are herbs that really support to, like, tone that down.

I don't think it's a case of, like, you take a herb and you instantly feel, like, calm and

groovy.

Like, for people experiencing chronic stress or trauma.

I just.

You're so rare that you're going to experience

that feeling of safety and relaxation.

Does that make sense?

But you can,

like, take it down two notches.

And I think that's where herbs really come in,

is they can be working almost, like,

at a tissue level that we're not aware of.

Does that make sense?

So herbs like chamomile.

I know people are like, ugh, chamomile, you

know, it's like, sold everywhere, blah, blah, blah.

But, like, if you have a really ******* strong cup of chamomile tea with, like, several

chamomile tea bags, or a really strong chamomile tincture or glycerite, like, you are

gonna ******* feel that effect.

Like, it is a really underrated, powerful herb ran over.

But, yeah, like, these nervine relaxants like chamomile and lemon balm or Hawthorne, you

know, hawthorn has this amazing effect on all the blood vessels.

And I've just seen it over and over and over again.

Just has this, like,

effect where it can just, like, yeah.

Take down this background anxiety a few

notches so that you can like function a bit better and think a bit more clearly and feel a

bit calmer and a bit more open and loving or you know, like plants like rose and lavender.

So yeah, I explore these in depth in the herbalism, PTSD and traumatic stress course.

I have got another.

Oh yeah, I'm going to be talking, I'm going to

be doing separate episodes, hopefully whenever I say, oh, I'm going to be doing this, then

something happens with the baby and then I can do it.

So I'm wary of saying what I'm going to do, but I would like to in the near future record

an episode about these different types of nervines, which are herbs with an affinity for

the nervous system, so that you get more of a picture of what I'm on about basically.

But yeah, when we're in that chronic survival mode, any herb that can just take that level

of activation down a few notches I think will also prevent harm and enable you to, yeah,

yeah, access a little bit more of this kind of rest and digest state.

So yeah, I kind of feel like when you're in this survival mode, this like harm reduction

strategies are like really, really important.

The other aspect I think is like managing expectations around,

quote unquote healing.

And like I think when you're enduring

something,

it's more about like letting water out of the tap.

Like I had an amazing comrade who sort of supported me with like free counseling for

like two, three years when I had no money and my best friend was going through cancer and

all this stuff with my other friends in prison and suicide attempts.

And like my PTSD was just like off the charts with like prison related things.

And, and instead of this pressure of like I need to be this like perfectly regulated

human, which is ******* impossible.

Actually it was more about like how can we open the tap just enough to release?

Because I think when you're going through something really, really full on,

it is when that builds up and up and up and up.

That's when we develop, you know, like intense ******* breakdowns for example, or like severe

crises or like severe ******* flare ups, ups and periods of burnout that take years and

years to recover from if we do.

Whereas like again, like a harm reduction thing, like if we can just like release things

a little bit to like take rocks out of the backpack kind of thing.

Like I think when someone's going through chronic stress, they can't put that backpack

down.

They have to keep carrying it.

They don't have a choice.

Do you know what I mean? Like your best Friend's got a life threatening

disease or your partner does, like, or they do, or you are the person with that disease.

Like, you don't have a choice, right? You can't just like turn it off,

so you have to carry it.

But if we can just like, you know, take a few

of those stones out, then it will be a bit lighter and I think,

yeah, less pressure on,

you know, healing and processing and all of this stuff and more just kind of like how can

you release that like activation in your system?

Okay.

And then the other thing is like working with

nerve tonics.

And you would kind of think that nerve tonics would come when there's like a period of

burnout out,

because that's when we often reach them.

You know, I get the client that comes to me

when they are really ******* burnt out, when they're just really struggling and the fatigue

has got overwhelming or their illness has got super overwhelming.

And that's when you're like, okay, right, let's work with this and this and this.

But like, you can also work with nerve tonics.

And nerve tonics are herbs that help like the

structure and the functioning of the nervous system.

Like, you can work with them as preventative.

Like, that is the best ******* time to work with them.

So, for example, I knew that when I had Lee,

I would.

I was like very frightened of developing like

postpartum depression because my mum had very severe depression when I was growing up.

So I just.

That was really important to me.

And I'd seen,

you know, other people go through postpartum periods with like vast amounts of like chronic

stress on their systems, you know, leading to all sorts of like, hormonal issues and yeah,

just like states of depletion.

And don't get me started on capitalist parenting and the lack of the village.

Like, all of this stuff is massive and real.

And for me, knowing that that is the reality, I wanted to like, resource myself as much as

possible.

So like the second I had that child, I was

taking like blends that were full of herbs like milky oats and shatavari and hawthorn

berries and schisandra.

And I started having St. John's War pretty much like after I'd given birth because I just

wanted to support like my system.

I wanted to support my adrenals and all the

like, stress response stuff.

I wanted to support,

you know, my digestion.

I wanted to support my liver most especially

so that I could clear all those like, hormones from the pregnancy and, you know, hormones

from like the stress responses.

So like, yeah, like working with those tonics as a preventative of burnout was, like, really

powerful for me.

And there are certain herbs that can be very

stimulating to certain people, like Schisandra, but if you're not in a really

intense state of depletion, but you're under a lot of pressure,

I think it's like a ******* amazing herb.

And I think in this category, it is often, like, the berries, for example,

or the roots that really,

yeah, just like, help.

Help prevent you from getting to that intense

state of burnout.

Like, I remember when Taylor tried to kill

himself and was in hospital and was in a coma.

And I text my friend Rashika, who I've got a podcast interview with,

and I was just like, I'm in London.

Like, I don't have any access to my herbs

here.

Like, I'm staying in a hotel near the

hospital.

Like, the prison paid for the hotel, which

was, like, really weird.

I think they thought.

Thought he was gonna die, like, straight away,

and he didn't.

And then they were like, oh, well, I don't

know how many more nights we can pay for.

And I'm like, you'll pay for it.

Anyway,

I text her and I was just like, I just need support.

So she just did a amazing decoction for me with, like,

all the roots and, like, you know, nettle and elderberry and, like, just these, like, herbs

and plant medicines that were, like, full of, like, nourishment.

And, yeah, like, it was a tonic and it just helped,

not collapse, basically.

Like, I needed to get through these really

long days of being around prison officers while my best friend was, like, chained to

this ******* hospital bed.

So, yeah, like,

those herbs, like, helped me in that acute period.

It didn't mean that I was going to be taking them for six ******* months.

Do you know what I mean? Or stimulating my system over and over again.

It meant that during that period of stress, that couple of weeks where things were, like,

really, really intense, there wasn't an option to breathe out.

They had my back.

And, yeah, that's what I talk about in the herbalism PTSD course, is like,

yeah, working with these kind of nerve tonics as a way of, like, how do we maintain our

nervous systems and give them the best ******* head start?

Because, like,

lo and ******* behold, like, things are not going to get less stressful.

Do you know what I mean?

I've been drafting a newsletter about, like, is herbalism trivial?

Because I think people,

you know, can think it's like this cutesy hobby of, like, oh, I'm foraging,

and it's like, all cottagey, like, doing stuff in your kitchen.

And it's like, no, like, herbalism is survival for a lot of people.

Like, plant medicines are, like, the primary form of healthcare for most people on the

planet.

And when we can, like, work with these herbs,

like, you know,

I want to ******* support the organizer who's resisting ice for six ******* weeks like,

constantly in their community who's not sleeping well.

Like, I want that organizer to feel energized and nourished and to have good enough sleep so

that when,

you know, they get to that kind of end point, if there is an endpoint, they can, like, you

know, ******* not get there in a state of, like, extreme depletion and stress, where we

just lose people in our struggles and our communities to intense, debilitating, chronic

illnesses, which are traumatic as **** for them.

Like, I, you know, I think that prevention is really important and really, like, politically

important as well.

And I think a lot of people, like, don't give themselves credit of, like,

how intense a lot of this work is, you know, like, how intense it is to,

you know, like, survive certain situations and what people have been through.

You know, the solidarity stuff is really intense.

Like, it's just ******* intense.

Like, the world is ******* intense for people.

So, like, let's ******* embrace, like, the ******* land, because the land can support us

and nourish us.

And I know most people don't have access to

land, and that's exactly how capitalism is designed.

But if you do have access to land, if you're a herbalist, if you're able to access plants,

then that's why we need to be ******* distributing medicine to.

To people, like, on the front lines of resisting this world.

Oh, ran over.

But, yeah, I'm just trying to say nerve tonics

are ******* great for maintaining and supporting people in periods of acute stress

and chronic stress and recovery from stress.

So,

yeah.

Okay, finally,

some last little things on my notes that I wanted to say is that, like,

when you are in that survival mode,

reaching out for support can be, like, critically important.

Because, like, for example, like, when I'm in,

like, a super stressed state, I often struggle, even though I'm a herbalist, to know

myself.

What do I need right now?

And, like, it sounds daft, but, like, sometimes I'll text friends that are, like,

herbally people,

and they'll just be like, nicole, take this.

I'm like, oh, thank you.

Like, because I just, like, you know, the fight or flight nervous system state literally

switches off, like, quality thinking.

So, yeah, it's really Hard to make those decisions about what we need when we're, like,

acutely triggered.

But what I wanted to say is that, like,

if you are able to supporting yourself or someone else to access support is really

powerful.

So, like, if you are like, you know, someone

you love has just died, you're really not coping.

Like, if you.

You booked in with a herbalist,

who could do that thinking for you, you know, who can make that blend for you, who can get

those herbs in the post to you so that all you have to do that day is deal with whatever

thing is hanging over you right now while accessing those herbs and that support from

the land,

then that's ideal.

Do you know what I mean?

And I wish more groups of friends would just chip in for each other so that one of their

friends could access counseling or access a herbalist or have a massage or.

Do you know what I mean?

Like, just building that kind of collectivity into it, I think is really important.

So, yeah, so if you can kind of, like,

outsource a bit of that thinking,

I think that's like, really, really valuable.

Because I think when you're in that, like, survival stress land,

often you're only either thinking about yourself and your urgent needs, like, okay, my

family is about to become homeless, or you're preoccupied with someone else's needs, like,

you know, my friend has cancer or, you know, whatever's going on for you.

So I think if you can.

Can access, like, someone else who can help

hold stuff for you,

that's awesome.

And,

you know, like,

any support is better than none.

Like,

I think people want, like, a groovy protocol of, like, okay, I take all these supplements

every day, or da, da, da.

But, like, taking a supplement once a week

that your body is really deficient in is better than not taking it at all.

Do you know what I mean? So I think this kind of, of, like,

white supremacy culture of, like, intense perfectionism just has to go.

Like, we need to be able to just kind of like,

be allowed to be inconsistent.

And, you know, there's all sorts of hacks, like leaving your supplements next to the

kettle or something where you make your coffee so that you are reminded to take them.

You know, there's all of this, like, there's so many podcasts about that stuff.

But yeah, I just think, like,

even the tiniest bit of support,

if it's one herbal cup of tea you can take a day to give your body 10, 20 minutes max off

from your stress response, then that's ******* epic.

And that's a Good thing you can do for yourself if it's one bath once a week.

If I mean, sorry.

I hate this obsession with baths and self

care.

It's really annoying that it's like the

default.

But yeah, some ******* nice.

I don't have a bath in my caravan so I'm sad about that.

But you know, having like an Epsom salt bath once a week or something is also great.

Like harm reduction of the impact of chronic stress.

So. So anyway, I'm going to stop there now because I've been talking a long time.

If any of this stuff is like interesting to you, then the Herbalism, PTSD and Traumatic

stress course is open really soon.

If you want to join it, please join the waiting list.

It means you can get a discount code if you are going to pay for it.

You can also access the course for free.

Okay.

It's no one turned away for lack of funds.

I ******* mean that.

Like if you can't afford to donate anything,

that is absolutely fine.

Like 2/3 of the people that access opposite,

you know, don't, don't or like put in a small donation.

I think the average is like 15 pounds or something.

But yeah, that doesn't matter to me.

Like what matters to me is solidarity with

people who are trying their best to survive this world and all the in it and are

connecting with plants as that source of support that they've been denied because of

our culture and how, yeah,

how disconnected we are from the land, from the medicine all around around us.

So yeah, thank you for listening.

Please check out the course.

Share this with someone who's going through a lot.

I'm still supporting people one to one.

So if you wanted support from herbalist, like

please don't be afraid to reach out or if you know someone that's struggling with that and

you and your mates can like chip in to help make that happen for them.

That's awesome.

We also have support via the Black Flag Herbal Clinic which is like an anarchist free clinic

which is completely for free.

So if yeah, money is just like not option for

you, then that's a good option.

Unfortun,

there's a really long waiting list now because I can only see like two people a week through

that clinic.

But we're going to be building it out with

more herbalists and stuff.

Anyway, I'm going to stop talking.

Thank you so much for listening.

I will be back very soon to talk about more herbal things.

Let me know what you thought of this show.

Okay, thanks.

Thanks so much for listening to the frontline herbalism podcast.

You can find the transcript, the links, all the resources from the show at Solidarity

Apothecary 3.

Org podcast.