“Stressed out” is a common phrase these days. While some stress is healthy, unwanted stress can be harmful - and it is harmful stress that is becoming increasingly common today. A huge industry has grown up out there on claiming to provide stress relief.

Stress and anxiety seem to be the new illnesses of the modern age and stress management and stress relief therefore assume paramount importance. But who can we trust?

Symptoms of Stress

Before we look at stress relief and reduction, we should first look at stress symptoms. The most common ones are:

1. Easily Distracted

2. Nervousness

3. Excessive worrying

4. Irritability

These symptoms could progress into depression, extreme fatigue, headaches, hyperventilation, dizziness, pains in the chest, and nausea. Stress is common to almost everyone at some point. However when things get worse and the feelings do not subside then external stress relief becomes necessary.

Natural Stress Relief

How does stress relief work? The first step should always be to identify the cause of the stress and anxiety. The sooner stress relief measures are taken, the better it is for the treatment. However, the cause of stress can often be something that is not easily avoided. For example, if the cause of stress is our job, then it becomes necessary to deal with the stress rather than remove the source altogether. This is where the need for natural remedies for stress relief becomes more important.

Ginseng for stress relief

A natural remedy that has been touted for stress relief is ginseng. Asian ginseng is a small tree that commonly grows on mountain slopes and is usually harvested in the fall. The root is used, preferably from plants older than six years of age, in the treatment of a number of conditions. This herb has been known for centuries (twenty of them) to reduce fatigue and to take away the negative impact of stress. It has been suggested that ginseng acts as a stress relief because of its beneficial effects on the adrenal glands. Chinese researchers have done studies which indicated that ginseng improved the quality of life but there has been no study which categorically proves that stress relief is one of the results. Many researchers say that more study needs to be done in how ginseng works on the body. Until then, ginseng’s stress relief properties remain something to be believed rather than proved. However, that belief is based on 2000 years of personal testimony and so is hard to ignore. In addition, ginseng does not have any harmful side-effects, meaning more people are willing to at least give this herb a try.