129 – Sedative Nervines: Herbs for Sleep, Nightmares and Night Wakings

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.

I think my microphone has died of death, so I am very sorry for the audio difference.

If you can hear a difference,

I will, yeah, invest in a new one soon.

It served me well.

You know there's nearly like 130 episodes on this podcast but it's a bit frustrating.

So yeah, I'm sorry again if the sound isn't ideal.

I hope you are.

Well, I've had a bit of a back to front day

with my little one having a fever in the night.

So I didn't take him to nursery this morning.

I think it's teething related.

He seems his bouncy self this morning but I

just wanted to keep an eye on him.

But I've got a little bit of childcare support this afternoon so I am going to be talking

about sedative nervines and I think I'm just going to pause there and do the section on

that properly in that in a minute.

But I just wanted to say the Herbalism PTSD and Traumatic Stress course is open for

enrollment.

It will close on Sunday 12th April.

But don't leave me hanging until then.

If you're interested in joining, please join as soon as you can.

It's ******* amazing offering.

No one is turned away for lack of funds.

You can access it for free if needed.

If you are able to pay their standard rate, you can pay by installments or like a small

monthly donation.

The course funds like pretty much most of the work of the Soldarity Pottery of supporting

people experiencing state violence with herbalism with lots of different formats to

that, from care packages to books to prisoners to you know, the Black Flag,

Anarchist, free herbal clinic online, all of these things.

So yeah, I would really appreciate your support in sharing them.

Sharing the course.

Like it's a ******* incredible offering.

Like I've talked about it loads on the podcast but it is absolutely solid introduction to

herbalism.

If you're new to herbalism, if you're not new

to herbalism.

It's like a amazing string to your bow in

terms of working with the nervous system, understanding trauma, looking at political

frameworks around trauma,

looking at different nervous system states and how to work with plants to shift those states

with like just loads of,

you know, experiential gold of things that I've learned over the years from supporting

myself and Other people through trauma and PTSD and different things.

So, yeah, I think it's like, pretty.

One of a kind, I'm not gonna lie.

So, yeah.

So please, please, please check it out if

you're interested.

It's been a little bit rough on the old single mom friend in terms of this clocks changing

and stuff and Lee not getting to bed till really late and then having a really bad night

the other night.

Like, like I said, like, I think it's teething.

So I didn't.

I literally got like two hours sleep or

something.

And then on Monday and I wasn't pretty, and

then Tuesday I literally just had to sleep.

And then with this clock change, he's like

going to sleep a lot later.

So then I don't get the same, like, couple of hours that I'd get before I really need to

sleep.

So anyway, it's all been a bit tiring,

but that's, you know, that is life and.

But I just wanted to say, like, I really,

I really lean on my community and all of the people that follow my work and, like, you

know, are always emailing, offering, like, hey, can I support you in any way?

And blah, blah.

It's just like, yeah, share the *******

course.

Share it with your mates, share with your

family,

share it in your groups, your collectives.

Like, you know, someone reposted it on

Instagram and they were like, there is never a more critical time to do this course.

And I thought,

yeah, you know, it's actually really quite difficult to promote something when there's so

much ******* horror going on and all this solidarity stuff to organize and,

you know, people resisting fascism and climate change and all the things.

But it's like the,

the fact that all those things are happening all of the time is like, exactly why we need

to resource ourselves and each other and take care of each other and tend to each other's

bodies.

So, yeah, so I do think it's an important offering right now.

So anyway, go check it out.

I'm gonna pause this and then I'm gonna wax

lyrical all about sedative nervines because they are ******* amazing tools in the herbal

toolkit.

Amazing plants to work with, and I'm going to tell you why.

Okay, thanks for listening.

Bye.

Hello.

Okay, so we've already talked about a few different kinds of nervines, like cardiac

nervines and relaxant nervines.

So nervines are herbs with an affinity for the

nervous system.

And,

you know, I, I do this sort of preamble in all the episodes.

But basically they all have often quite different actions on the body.

They have different constituents, they have different contraindications.

You know, those are kind of like warnings of what they might not be safe to like take with,

you know, for example, like a pharmaceutical medication or a different type of herb or, you

know, a certain health condition.

But they're all very nuanced and you kind of need to know them all individually, if that

makes sense.

Like just because they share the same category

doesn't mean they have all the same action.

So knowing the differences between them is like super helpful because everyone is

different.

Everyone has a different body, everyone has a

different reason why they're struggling with sleep.

So sedative nerve ends, or they're often called hypnotic nervines,

have a stronger sedating effect on the nervous system.

Most people know what a sedative is and what that action is.

But basically they can help induce sleep.

They often relieve pain and tension and can just enable this deeper state of physical kind

of relaxation.

And again, like, I critique the word

relaxation, but here I really am genuinely talking about relaxation in terms of like

depth and quality of, of sleep or of kind of like, you know,

like sedated kind of physical rest.

So I'm going to kind of like bounce around a few of them.

But the ones that I talk about in a lot of depth in the herbalism, PTSD and traumatic

stress course are skullcap,

passion flower hops, valerian,

wild lettuce, California poppy and mugwort.

But there are many, many, many other herbs in

people's like local,

like materia medica, like their local plant ecologies all over the world that will have a

sedative action.

Like I talk at the beginning of the course how

I tend to mostly work with plants that I can either forage, ideally from where I live, or

grow and harvest,

or they can sort of be like sustainably cult.

And I can kind of, you know, buy them like organically, like in bulk.

And most of the herbs, I try and work with herbs from my lineages.

But you know, there are a lot of herbs that you know, come from different places.

For example, California poppy is, you know, I don't know if it's like actually indigenous in

the so called us, but I know that there's like a really,

really long like indigenous relationship with that plant.

I don't mean indigenous in the sense that like, it's like a really ******* complicated

world of bot when people try and say plants are from particular places because you know,

they'll say things like, okay, Plantain like came with colonizers and then like indigenous

people will be like, no, actually we have our own plantain,

it's this one, blah, blah, blah, blah.

So it, you know, it gets a bit murky of like,

you know, because a lot of plants, like people are like, oh, they're from Europe and they're

actually from Africa and Asia and like, do you know what I mean?

So anyway, so like part of kind of like this, this decolonial thinking around herbs and

learning is like kind of questioning and challenging where herbs are from.

But the reason I included California poppy and I work with California poppies, it's like very

easy to grow.

Like it grows like where I live.

You know, you can, you can actually forage it in the city.

Like I remember in Calais being like shocked by how much it would grow, like, especially

around graveyards,

which is really interesting.

So anyway, but those are the herbs that I talk

about in depth that I have the most like clinical and like practical experience with.

But yeah, I talk about this a lot in the course and I just like,

yeah, I guess like content warning around sort of rape and sexual violence.

Like this isn't all like medical trauma.

Like this isn't a nice thing to say or to like

add to your day or like to trigger your memory.

But like sedative nervines, like aren't.

They're not a ******* joke in the sense of

like they can really make you shift into a different state, which is what we want, right?

Like, or what we might be seeking.

But that state of feeling kind of like a bit, kind of hypnotized, a bit sedated,

like it's not always desirable for everyone.

And there's a lot of reasons for that.

One sort of, that level of kind of like

relaxation,

shall I say, is maybe unfamiliar for someone, for example, someone who has been very hyper

vigilant, maybe in fight or flight a lot, who has maybe had a childhood where access to kind

of like arresting, digesting, kind of like low tempo, low activation,

easeful state is actually super unfamiliar and therefore very scary to the nervous system and

potentially very triggering.

So to kind of go from like hyper, hyper, hyper activated to heavily sedated.

Like it's not always like an ideal jump.

And I can, you know, I'm going to go into that

more in a minute, but I just want to say like, as a nervous system state, it can be quite

unfamiliar for people.

Unfortunately,

a lot of people also experience trauma in this state, for example, if they're under the

influence of certain like sedating drugs or medications.

You know, maybe they've experienced harm in a psychiatric ward and they've been like sedated

against their will, for example, or someone has experienced like, what do they call it?

Like, basically when people drug someone to rape them.

Like, you know, and it's so horrifically prevalent sexual violence.

Like most women and feminized people will have experienced some sort of sexual violence.

Like, almost certainly.

Well, not certainly, but high numbers of women are experiencing rape.

Right.

So it's like if you're working with clients

who are women, like, you have to consider that that might be part of their history somewhere

and they might not disclose it to you.

So,

yeah, just I guess a kind of like forewarning that if someone has been in that state when a

certain act of violence has happened against them, they might not have returned to that

state,

like for a long time.

Like, you know, some people,

if they've experienced sexual violence when they've been like drunk or on drugs, like,

maybe they've actually ended up stopped, they've stopped drinking.

Like, I hate that feeling of being drunk.

And it's also probably from being like a kind

of hyper vigilant control freak.

But I don't feel safe when I'm in a kind of

like change state.

And some people working with herbs that have that effect, like, might not feel safe either.

And it might like trigger a kind of bodily memory for something they've been through.

You know, also like anesthetic or like medical trauma, things like this.

So yeah, so I just, like, I just want people to take these herbs really seriously and treat

them with respect and recognize that like,

not everyone wants to feel this like,

sedated state.

And also, like, everyone's different in that

regard.

Like,

like, for example, I've got period pains at the moment, but like, if I took a little bit

of cramp bark, like, that would make me want to have a sleep.

And like single mom life doesn't allow you to, like, not much in the daytime.

So it's like I'm not, I'm not kind of like giving myself that action.

Whereas someone else could take some cran bark and it just wouldn't touch the sides for them.

Like, they wouldn't feel sedated at all.

And you know, like, I do find people that have got like quite an intense kind of history with

certain categories of drugs,

Herbs maybe like, just won't have like the same dramatic effect on them as someone else.

But nuance,

people can also think they have A lot of tolerance and then take some herb and then

actually be really ******* shocked by how effective it is.

I remember supporting a couple of friends of mine who were in a relationship at a time,

who.

One of them was in recovery, like, was kind of

like coming off heroin and was just like, needing some support in that process through

the pandemic.

And I think I sent a few different things,

including Skullcap.

And he was really shocked at how wonderful

Skullcap was in terms of he'd been a mad insomniac for decades and was just really

surprised that this hub was effective.

So, yeah, so you can't take it for granted, basically.

Okay, so that's quite a few important points.

I guess the other thing I want to say is that,

like,

sleep is, like, ******* important, right? Like, you've heard me talk about sleep a lot.

Like, it's like, pretty much where I always start with every client I'm working with is

how can they get deeper restorative sleep, reduce their cortisol levels so that they're

not having, like, night wakings.

And, you know, there's nothing better for the body in terms of restoration and addressing

inflammation and even, like, processing trauma.

I know that's like a whole ******* ball game.

And actually, I will.

I will be talking about that in terms of, like, why sometimes people resist sleep.

And it is because,

you know, it unlocks the subconscious and therefore can trigger things like nightmares.

And then sleep, which is meant to be this kind of, like, safe place for the nervous system,

becomes, like, threatening and frightening.

But there, you know, there are herbs that can really help with that.

But I guess what I'm trying to say is that, like,

I always want to work with, like,

sort of more relaxant nervines, you know, with a disclaimer around what relax means.

But with herbs that are, like, more for kind of like daytime use,

like chamomile or even lavender, for example, or lemon balm.

Because to have a good night's sleep, you kind of need to have had time in your day where

you've been in a more, like, parasympathetic, like, rest and digest state.

It's very difficult to go from, like, extreme adrenaline to just, like, passing out asleep.

Do you know what I mean? And I will.

I'm going to talk about that as well with.

With, you know, an example with wild lettuce.

But daytime nervous system support is.

Is where, you know, is a priority if you want to also shift into sleeping better.

And sometimes someone doesn't even need, like, a se herb for the night.

Like sometimes they just need to reduce their levels of fight or flight through the daytime

to have that effect.

So yeah, so daytime support is really important.

And you know, like with all of these things, like always check about like

contraindications.

For example, like hops is kind of

contraindicated for people with depression and on certain antidepressants and things like,

you know, there's every plant.

Like if you're ever going to take a plant, like please have a Google look it up.

Check a good her book and see if there might be a risk with, you know, a particular

medication or you know, definitely be cautious.

Things like pregnancy.

Yeah. And I guess like, I kind of like I miss these herbs because I had a phase where I was

really struggling to sleep when I was like breastfeeding.

Like maybe like six, eight months in like it wasn't like crazy newborn time,

but I literally took a tight like, like two drops of skull cap tincture because I was just

struggling with that getting off,

like falling asleep process me.

Like, I could barely keep myself awake to

breastfeed.

Like it was so,

like I just felt like I had to just kind of like hold my eyes open.

Like it was so tough.

So yeah, so just be careful.

Like if someone is.

Yeah, like breast or chest feeding, like,

obviously, you know, you need to be careful about like herbal constituents like passing to

the infant, but just kind of like if someone is at risk of like they like basically if you,

if it's like not safe for you to be kind of sedated, then don't **** around with the

herbs.

Basically.

Like, you know, some nights I struggle maybe to get to sleep and I will use like, for

example, a bit of lavender oil.

But like that doesn't.

That means I can still fall asleep and still wake up to my baby because we co.

Sleep. But like, I think if I took something stronger, I would be a bit nervous.

I would just like sleep through him waking up and needing me and stuff.

So.

So yeah, so just be aware of like what's going on in someone's life before, you know,

introducing a herb.

And also like, you know, they put these cautions on of like cautions while driving or

using heavy machinery.

But like that **** is ******* true, man.

Like,

um,

yeah, I have a story of someone in my life who took some cramp architecture and had a car

accident, for example.

So like,

yeah, you do need to be careful with the kind of sedating herbs because often like, I don't

find them as bad as like a lot of like, for example, like, if anyone's taken, like,

antihistamines,

you know, like, to get to sleep, or they've had an allergic reaction and they've taken

antihistamines.

Like, you will know that hangover feeling of

how they feel the next day, and you'll feel, like, groggy.

And a lot of people stop sleeping tablets because they just can't function the next day.

And I think herbs are much, much better,

but you still have to be ******* careful because everyone's got a different, like,

clearance system in terms of, like, how well they're going to be moving that herb out of

their system, if that makes sense.

So, you know, someone might take some, like, wild lettuce and then feel fine the next day.

And someone else might be really, really sleepy.

I actually have a funny story of someone who I supported, who blessed them and couldn't sleep

well because of,

like, police raids.

And we worked with a few different herbs, but

when they took wild lettuce, they would sleep in so late and sleep through, like, like, all

their alarms for work, and it was, like, literally jeopardizing their job that they

couldn't, like, wake up through their alarms.

So in the end, we just stuck with passion flower, which has been, like, a fantastic

support for them.

So, yeah, I think starting with the herbs that are maybe like, a little bit.

They're not less strong because they are like, these are all very strong plants, but just

kind of like a bit like,

you know, I'd always rather work with, like, chamomile, for example, than, like,

you know, like, a stronger sedative.

Okay. Oh, yeah.

The other caution I wanted to talk about was

nightmares.

So I've got a whole other podcast episode about herbal support for nightmares.

And I also had a very interesting series on Instagram where people were, like, commenting

with their experiences.

And as I expected,

lots of people have had challenges with herbs.

For example, like mugwort, which is, you know,

can for some people be an incredible sleep ally and dreaming ally.

You know, they might work with mugwort kind of, like, ritualistically to do, you know,

like, very specific kind of, like, journeying and dream work and stuff.

Or they might just, like,

be able to take mugwort tea in the evening, often combined with other things like rose and

oat straw.

And they don't have any kind of distressing

dreams, and they have, like, a really peaceful sleep.

Other people,

including myself,

can take mugwort, and it's, like, ******* sore in my brain in the night.

Like, all the ******* traumatic memories are coming to the surface.

I'm having ******* Hardcore nightmares.

Like, it's not ******* a fun ride.

Maybe that's the magic of Mugwort, helping me to process trauma, do you know what I mean?

And to process memories from prison and everything else.

But, like,

you just don't ******* want that sometimes.

So,

yeah, some of the herbs are, like, a bit more hypnotic than others.

And herbs like valerian, for example, are known to increase, like, blood flow to the

brain.

So, you know, like those little, what they called dreams, or like, they'd like sleeping

tablets, but basically, like, in prison they would give them out as well.

Like for people that ask for them,

calms, that's it.

And they would have Valerian in them and maybe

five times out of ten they would work for someone and valerian would have, like, a

wonderful sedating effect on them and help them sleep.

For other people,

valerian can be, like, incredibly stimulating.

And that might be either they just can't sleep, so they go, like, a bit manic or they

go to sleep, but they have really, really, really intense dreams, which means the night

is, like, quite distressing.

So y. You have to be kind of careful with which person you are, and often you don't know

until you've tried.

But yeah, like, I think it's unfortunate that, like, valerian has been so kind of, like,

commodified that, like, people go for, like, a default herbal sleeping tablet and they go for

valerian and they're like, oh, it hasn't made any difference.

And it's like.

Well, maybe it's like just stimulating for you, you know.

So,

yeah, so basically be, again, like,

with the kind of like, trauma history stuff,

like, people are very different, right? Like, some people manifest trauma and it's

like a real kind of like chronic fatigue,

like, body pain, fibro kind of, like, stuff.

And for other people, it's like very like,

visual, auditory.

Like, it's a lot of flashbacks and it's a lot

of nightmares and yeah, like, it's very visual.

And I think for people like that, I really just steer clear of a lot of Valerian.

That being said, though, it has, you know, been used all over the world, like, especially

in, like, World War II and stuff, like, in the trenches for people as like, quite an extreme

kind of sedative.

But you know what? I think sometimes it's like a quantity thing.

Like, I think if people take really a lot of Valerian, like,

they will be, like, really knocked out.

Whereas I think if you have a little bit, then

it's like, it can be a bit more psychoactive, but that's Just a theory.

Do not quote me on that.

That's just my.

My theory.

Okay, so let's dive in to a couple of the plants.

All right, so let's chat briefly about Skull Cap.

I know it's hard to talk about her briefly.

I just want to say there's like a very

comprehensive profile about Skullcap in the herbalism, PTSD and traumatic stress course.

So that will be much more thorough.

But yeah, I guess a couple of key things with this hub.

So I'm like a skullcap drug dealer, to be honest.

Like, I can rarely think of a client that I don't offer it to in terms of like, sleep

support.

So, yeah, it's really wonderful as like this kind of like pre bedtime, like, hour before

you want to sleep kind of tea.

But obviously tea before bed isn't great for everyone.

Excuse me.

I have found it's generally been fine, but if

someone's a little bit more sensitive, then know a tincture is potentially more effective.

But yeah, there's something about the tea.

I don't know, there must be like a constituent

thing going on or several that makes it kind of feel quite different in an infusion.

But I encourage people to work with it kind of like fairly medium term.

So when I was like, battered after a really, really intense PTSD episode, I worked with

Skullcap for four months taking like a cup of the tea in the evening.

And it just like, was a ******* lifesaver, basically.

So, yeah, like, I think if someone is like,

learning how to inhabit a more parasympathetic state, then it's a fantastic teacher and can

create that, like, nice kind of evening, like, anchoring ritual.

Like that kind of like I'm tending to myself feeling, which is quite powerful, I think, and

makes like bedtime like, much more like, intentional.

But yeah, it's got this kind of like trophorestorative action, like in terms of

helping kind of rebuild our nervous system.

Oh, my God. I can't.

I can't be brief.

Like, skullcap's like, fantastic in terms of.

Contains gaba,

which is like inhibitory neurotransmitter.

So that really helps with anxiety and sleep

and also convulsions.

Like, historically, skullcaps had a lot of

sort of like folklore and like traditional,

like,

what's it called?

Traditional uses, but kind of like documentation of that kind of relationship

with skullcap around.

Yeah, things like epilepsy and like, restless leg and like twitching muscles and tremors.

So, yeah, it's kind of interesting.

And also skullcap's like, got an affinity for people with shingles and you know, like we

use.

Use Bical Skullcap shitloads in Calais, like

as this like amazing kind of broad spectrum antimicrobial.

And the skull cap I'm talking about now is Virginia skullcap, Scutellaria laterifolia.

But there are like skull caps all over the world.

But yeah, I just can't help wonder if there's just this like, again, this like slight

antimicrobial antiviral action that's like helping people that have nervous system stuff.

Stuff on that kind of axis, you know, like gut issues and things.

But yeah, when people sort of present with like musculoskeletal tension, I think skull

caps like particularly amazing.

And yeah, it's also bitter.

So it will help with the liver and enhancing

kind of digestion and things.

But yeah, for when people have this kind of like tense, tight state skull caps, this

wonderful cooling kind of antispasmodic.

And yeah, I have found it.

I've never had a nightmare with Skullcap, personally.

I've had like deep dreams.

But it's really enabled like depth and quality

of sleep for me and other people I know.

I haven't found it kind of stimulating or triggering of trauma, personally.

Okay, I'm gonna leave it there with Skullcap because there's so much more to say.

It's also really high in lots of minerals which again, often people have a lot of

mineral deficiencies because capitalism and industrial agriculture is so we're not the

nutrients we need, especially things like magnesium.

So yeah, I think that's another part of Skullcap's action.

But oh my God, I'm going to stop talking about Skullcap because there's just so much to say.

All right.

And then Passion flower.

So, yeah, so again, Passion flower does grow in my village, I must say.

Like, I haven't ever grown it it enough to like harvest from it.

It's always been a herb that I've kind of sourced and Passion flower is something that's

like.

I feel like it's much more accessible.

Like you can kind of like shoplift some

passion flower tablets from Holland Barrage, you know what I mean?

I'm not advocating you to break the law, but I'm just saying like, it's a hub that's a

little bit more accessible,

but if you can get some good quality tincture, it will blow your mind, basically.

And the glycerite, oh my God, is amazing.

Like the glycerite with dried passion flour in

the slow cooker with glycerin and some water in the, like, warm glycerite method that I

promote in my making herbal medicine with glycerin course.

It's ******* amazing.

I don't want to say it's as strong as a

tincture, but I feel like it's just as effective for people that can't have alcohol.

And yeah, again, so much to say about passion flower, but I do feel like passion flowers

that my go to when there's,

like, very persistent kind of insomnia where, like, there probably is a kind of

neurotransmitter imbalance.

Like, I don't like the neurotransmitter

paradigm in terms of,

you know, defaulting everyone to the same medications and things.

But I think passionflower does have a real,

like, effect on our sort of central nervous system and on the production of certain

neurotransmitters.

So I do think it's like,

yeah, makes it quite effective for that.

And like,

everything I've sort of learned about passionflower is this kind of affinity with,

like, restlessness, like, racing thoughts,

kind of like anxiety that's, like, super kind of cerebral, like in the brain.

But, yeah, passion flower is also wonderful for some people in, like, daytime blends.

Like, I couldn't take passion flower in the daytime.

Like, I would be asleep on my workbench in the herb shed.

But for some people that are, like, super, super activated, like, having a little bit of

passion flower through the day is also really amazing.

But yeah, again, like, most of these sedative nerve vines, it's an antispasmodic.

So, you know, it's been used in, like, a bunch of respiratory medicine, for example.

There's a kind of like, transient effect on the blood pressure.

Also, like, you can even work with passion flower, like, easily with, like, GI issues,

like, where there's kind of, you know, like, gas and indigestion and things.

So, yeah, it's a really amazing herb.

And yeah, it's also one of these herbs that's

kind of like,

got some, like, more solid clinical trials around it because, you know, people want to,

like, commodify it and market it.

But yeah, anyway, I think it's a very

interesting herb.

And yeah, you can learn more about it in the herbalism, PTSD and traumatic stress course

where I talk about it in much more depth.

I also share some of the clinical research,

which I must say is a few hours.

A few hours, A few years out of date now.

But, yeah, I think passion flower after skullcap, it's like my next.

It's always like the next one I would go to, like, especially if people struggle with

making a tea, I feel like having a cheeky bit of.

Of passion flower tincture.

Your bed is, like.

It's great.

Okay, I want to go back to the baby shortly, so I'm just going to briefly say about wild

lettuce.

I've already shared the anecdote about the

client who would sleep through their alarm, but I feel like wild lettuce is kind of like,

bringing out the big guns, if that makes sense.

Like, it's a very,

very strong sedative and.

And has, like, a much stronger kind of

hypnotic effect.

So this is because it's got, like, a high

alkaloid content,

but it's also, yeah, just this wonderful antispasmodic.

So if someone is struggling to sleep, for example, because of, like, body pain, like, I

used to have a lot of costochondritis, like, chronic inflammation in the cartilage of the

rib cage.

And,

yeah, kind of, like, wild lettuce would be if someone was in, like, a really intense, like,

pain state.

You know, like, for example, you've just *******, like, broken your leg or something,

and you can't sleep because you're in horrendous pain.

Like, I would definitely work with something like wild lettuce,

but there's a lot of, like, safety considerations of everything I said at the

start, you know, like, not driving, not operating machinery.

Like, it really will, like, knock people out.

So for me,

I have worked with wild lettuce,

you know, for people that are really struggling and have, you know, we've gone

through the, like, other things.

You know, we've tried Skullcap, we've tried

Passionflower, and then, you know, we've landed on wild lettuce, and it's worked for

them.

It's a very, very cooling plant.

And I think there's, like, you know, that constitutional dynamic as well.

But I have shared this before, I guess, just, like, content warning.

But when my friend Taylor died in prison,

like,

I was, like, just this biggest ball of rage and emotional pain.

Like, it didn't help.

I also caught Covid, like, a few days after he

died.

But, like, I was, like,

so angry at the prison system.

Like, I couldn't *******,

like,

rest for, like, a microsecond and just constantly full of adrenaline and, like,

yeah,

I. You know, I just wasn't getting any sleep, and it was pretty clear to everyone around me

that, like, that was a top priority because I think I was, like, on the edge of just *******

murdering someone.

Like, I was so,

like, triggered.

And it was just wild lettuce.

Like, that herb just had my back.

So, like, I would take like a swig of wild lettuce glycerite and that would be it.

I would pass out and, you know, I would sleep like a proper sleep, eight hours and wake up

and actually feel like a human again.

And, like, I am so grateful to that herb for getting me through that dark time.

Because,

you know,

even though I love the other herbs, they weren't touching the sides.

Do you know what I mean? So I think when someone is in that really,

like, life changing state of distress,

wild lettuce, like, just comes into its own.

But, yeah, I talk about it so much more in the course and I'm sorry to have to stop recording

now, but,

yeah, the Herbalist in PTSD and Traumatic Stress course is still open for a little bit

longer.

Please join if you're interested.

If this stuff is interesting to you, you will ******* love the course.

There's 32 plant profiles where I'm actually able to give them the time and the space and

the attention.

They deserve to talk about them in much more

depth.

So, yeah, please check it out.

And thank you for listening.

And yeah, speak soon.

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.

Org Podcast.