Herbalism from This Herbalist's Perspective- Part 2

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Read Part 3

“Maximize Your World” ​

Listening to a podcast recently, I was delighted to hear this metaphor:

Essentially, most of us put as much stress and strain on ourselves as high-caliber athletes do, without the benefit of training or strict diet and sleep routines or a team to support us. We ask our bodies to act like superheroes, so we need to support ourselves to live at that level!

But in our culture, we’re much more likely to push on, blame ourselves for not keeping up, and simply cover up the symptoms of our sub-par support, rather than going in and addressing the root causes of our perceived "failure" when we're exhausted, sick, and unhealthy. 

That's why we find ourselves chasing symptoms, only stopping the pain or discomfort that's right in front of us, and repeating those patterns over and over.
Chasing symptoms is a never-ending, zero-sum game. 

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No matter how many creams and balms you pour onto your skin, an overloaded liver will keep pushing toxins out from under the skin as breakouts. No matter how much you reduce your diet variety, inflammation will continue to cause food sensitivities and systemic inflammation. No matter how much you rest, weak muscles will cause low back pain and reduce your quality of life.

Addressing problems, not just moving on from them, takes time, determination, practice, and quite often a guide. As an Herbalist, that's something I offer- guidance as you do your healing work. 

Prevention Really is the Best Medicine

It’s really, really tough to be experiencing symptoms and to also step back for perspective, to try and find the roots when the branches are on fire. Doing preventive work when you are doing OK goes a long way here, to reduce or eliminate problems before they can even occur. And a skilled practitioner is trained to lead you through the acute symptoms now, so you can work on the chronic cause later. 

So how do you go about finding the help you might need? Set up your health care team now before you have troubles, or more troubles. Get recommendations, try introductory appointments, interview professionals, attend events like health fairs. Vet everyone on your team, including your GP, OB/GYN, Dermatologist, Therapist, Chiropractor, Massage Therapist, Herbalist, Nutritionist, Acupuncturist, Fitness Trainers, and whoever else helps you feel better. You should always feel supported and empowered by our team.

Teammates

It'll be ok- we got this

And visit your teammates on a regular basis, at least for check ins. Make sure your wellness is going according to plan, and that no one sees a red flag you’ve missed. Self care isn’t selfish! We don’t tend to have the communities around us anymore that might have pointed out important things, like scary looking moles or an odd gait, so we need to assemble a team to help us with these things. As Terry Pratchett put it in A Hat Full of Sky, “And what you might need them for was to tell you, as a friend, that you were beginning to cackle.” I don’t want you out there by yourself, cackling. ​​

What is Herbalism?

At the start of my journey, I experienced Herbalism as just an alternative way to treat conditions that my friends went to their doctors for- colds, earache, constipation, anxiety, and the like. Take this herb, instead of that pill, and then go on with your day.

Today, I see Herbalism as one branch of a lifestyle that has plants as wellness partners, instead of pills (or alongside them when necessary), and views western medicine as the outsider- it’s good for lots of big problems, but not very good at improving our day-to-day existence. Plants are everywhere, and they’re much cheaper than drugs, so I also think of Herbalism as an equal-opportunity system. Herbalism is people’s medicine. As Dr Nicole LePera (@the.holistic.psychologist) says, “In the old paradigm, we relied on 'experts' to tell us about ourselves and our bodies. In the new paradigm, we take accountability and advocate for our own healing. If we choose to have someone guide us, it’s a part of a large puzzle.” We get to be responsible for ourselves, if we choose.