re chinese herbalism well its not the only way to understand health/dis-ease but its pretty freaking amazing! its an ancient system with boatloads of empirical evidence to back it up...their ideas and herbal formulations have been tested on huge populations for millenia. their system of diagnostics reveals disharmonies in the body long before western doctors and medical testing can detect them. and the concepts behind chinese herbal formulations are the most sophisticated on the planet, no question...ask any major herb teacher/herbalist in the u.s. today for confirmation of this if you need it. there is a good reason why more and more american medical doctors visit china to study... tcm (traditional chinese medicine) can heal many diseases that western medicine can't touch. so while one is not necessarily better than the other, they sure are different. why? one reason is because the world views coming out of the east and west are about as different as you can get....the chinese look at every through the lens of energetics, in the west we are reductionists, materialists. there is no need to put one down when we have both available to us. integrated they form the most amazing system of medicine ever to appear on the planet. in general, for prevention and treatment of most disease, chinese medicine is far superior. in general, for trauma and emergency medicine, modern western medicine is far superior. there are exceptions obviously. for example the chinese have an herb capable of stopping bleeding from a gunshot/sword/arrow wound...chinese soldiers all carried it into battle millenia ago. even modern western medicine (forget western herbalism) has nothing that approaches this. i don't want to do without either system. herbalists michael and lesley tierra teach 'planetary herbalism' a synthesis of many systems as their philosophy is 'we don't care much where it comes from...let's cherry pick and use the best healing information and techniques available to us'. which seems so very sensible if your goal is to get the best results you can for your clients. this way of thinking is why i chose their program as my first formal training in herbalism. so while this client may not need to evaluated per tcm for us to 'understand'.... to say it would increase understanding enormously to anyone open to a new way of understanding, is no exaggeration. just my two cents: ) cheers, k

You must bear in mind that herbs are medicines, just as much and in the same way that the prescription products your doctor may describe are medicines. They should be used with the same cautions, too. Many 'conventional' medications are derived from plant sources, or are copies of plant components. I do not recommend St. John's Wort for severe or chronic depression, where it is contraindicated. While it can be useful in mild, passing cases, it has so many side-effects and interferes with so many other substances, that it often causes more problems than it solves. Severe depression is a serious medical condition and you really should consult a doctor about it. Whether or not he prescribes medication will depend on the severity, and to some extent, the causes. If he does prescribe Something, then take it. It's possible he will prescribe a herb or herb-derivative - such as valerian, scullcap, catnip or chamomile. Certainly, you should never take any herbal remedy without consulting an expert first. 'Natural' does not always mean 'safe' in all circumstances with all people, you know! Why not gather up a bunch of lavender flowers and put them in your bedroom (or elsewhere)? You could burn the essential oil, too, or put some into a relaxing bath, or sprinkle some over your pillow and sheets - just a drop or two is enough. Lavender has a wonderfully calming, relaxing effect. Remember the old saying, 'Stop to smell the roses'? The smell of roses has a similar medicinal effect. You could also consider the Bach Rescue Remedy. It contains Clematis, Impatiens, Rock Rose, Star of Bethlehem, Cherry Plum (all combined). Very helpful in a crisis.

hello, I would try things but i have a terrible phobia to medication and herbs , this happened because I had an adverse reaction to an anti depressant medication when i was 29 I thought i was going to die it made me shake all over and my breathing was eratic my friend stayed up all night with me until the medication wore off and she helped me through the reactions which scared me so much. I don't know if migraine without pain the aura type is a symptom of menopause because i have had a few recently but have had them all through my life but only a few a year , i have found that an additive in bread called calcium propionate is a migraine trigger and also High oleic sunflower oil is a trigger for some people , to be honest my diet is so boring as i am nearly scared to eat anything . I can't wait until this menopause is complete .

Hello TC, I'm sorry for the loss of your mother. Yes, I can relate to this part of your post, "My memories of her (when I was young) were of a woman who was defeated, depressed, and angry." My mother was not a single mother and that is where our experience differs. Likewise, you state, "She had a HUGE distrust of men...and passed those feelings/thoughts onto me as a child. Thus, as an adult, I had to overcome those viewpoints in order to have a healthy relationship with a man." My mother also had trust issues, some of which she passed on to her daughters. Her trust issues however were not solely focused on men. I think her issues were a combination of her unbringing and later, her life experiences which taught her that people cannot be trusted. I believe that my mother always suffered a depressed personality, although she refused to get treatment. The subject was taboo. She, like many other people, viewed depression as a personality weakness or character flaw, something that could be abated and remedied by keeping busy. I see the tragedy and flawed logic in this type of thinking and view the situation much differently. I know depression can be treated. I also know that there are choices that one can make to help with the symptoms of depression such as a combination of medication and counseling with a professional qualified therapist. People can seek help if they choose. Sadly many people don't feel that they have a choice. I do not know your mother's situation. I, too have suffered severe depression. I view it as arising from a combination of factors. I differed from my mother, because I chose to get help. I took another path and chose counseling. I don't regret either decision. My family's negative opinions of me as being weak, "too sensitive" and all of their other derogatory judgements has not changed. I also have some trust issues, however I'm more of the mindset that "trust and respect are EARNED". I've had some horrible life experiences, which I've learned from. I also feel angry, however I view that as a normal response to my experiences. I don't feel angry all the time. I don't feel compelled to share my life story with everyone or to talk about these experiences. I also don't have a problem with that, however other people do and they complain how I don't allow them access into my life. These people rarely view how their own problematic behaviors would provide an incentive to prevent that. They don't like their motivations and behaviors being scrutinized and have some idiotic notion that I should trust them instantly. It is their issue and problem NOT mine. If they can't offer empathy and understanding, then quite frankly I view them as people who don't care about my feelings. People who don't care about my feelings don't deserve to be in my life. It's a two-way street. I have only one friend who is emotionally supportive. He recognized how I scrutinize other people's behaviors and motives. He didn't have a problem with it. Rather than seeing it as a negative he saw it as positive--a character strength and not a weakness. He sought to learn about me and my experiences, rather than making everything all about him and trying to "fix me". He also offered empathy and understanding instead of lables and judgements. He viewed me as wise and discerning, rather than "untrusting". He also sought to gain my trust and respect, something very different from how I experienced other people. He said he felt that getting to know me was worth it and he accepted who I was. For me that is a much healthier basis for a relationship.