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DIY Lemon Balm Tincture

Lemon balm tincture recipe

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How to Make an Anti-Anxiety Potion

I first learned about the anti-anxiety properties of lemon balm from a postpartum anxiety forum that I am in. Some of the women swore by its Xanax-like effect (I don’t know if I buy that, but it’s worth noting). I never realized that lemon balm had such medicinal anti-anxiety effects. You always think of lavender and chamomile when you think of herbs for anxiety, don’t you?

So, this spring, I made a point to plant an anti-anxiety garden for myself. Sadly, the chamomile and lavender got choked off by mad weed growth, but the lemon balm has been doing mighty fine. It’s a perennial that is pretty darn easy to grow. In fact, I’m pretty sure in a year or two, our whole front yard will consist of lemon balm.

But I digress…

 

lemon balm

 

We’ve loved having lemon balm at the ready. All through the summer, whenever Kayne and I had a cup of tea, we always put lemon balm leaves in it. It, of course, gives tea that lemony twist that is so delicious. But add it to my Tension Tamer tea, and it makes me feel all good inside.

Since we’re creeping up on frost season here in Wisconsin, I wanted to save whatever lemon balm I could before it freezes.

And by the way, I did this just in time because only two days later, we had our first frost!

I tried recording the process on Periscope, but our Wifi in the country stinks, so it didn’t work very well. But you can see the process on video here:

 

My exact process for making lemon balm tincture:

Gather lemon balm leaves in a colander. I only harvested the leaves that still looked healthy and didn’t have bug bites in them because that gives me the heebie jeebies.

 

lemon balm tincture

 

Rinse the lemon balm thoroughly, but try to do it carefully as you don’t want to accidentally press the medicinal essential oils out of the lemon balm yet.

Load up a sterilized glass jar (aka, a jar that has gone through the dishwasher) with the rinsed lemon balm.

As the jar fills up, use the handle of a wooden spoon to really pack the lemon balm down into the jar. Be sure to “rough up” and muddle the lemon balm a bit to help it release its healing oils into the tincture. In fact, you may want to give your lemon balm a rough chop before putting it in the jar to release the oils even more.

Once you’ve filled the jar to about an inch from the top, fill the jar up with 80 to 100 proof vodka until it completely covers the lemon balm. You don’t want any of the leaves to be exposed. Using strong vodka and covering the leaves completely will help prevent potentially harmful bacteria from forming.

Screw the lid on tightly, label the jar with the date, and store the jar in a cool, dark place for about a month, shaking the jar often. After a day or two of settling, you may have to add a little more vodka to cover the leaves again as all the pockets of air fill in.

After a month, you can repeat the process to make the tincture doubly strong. Since we already had our frost and the lemon balm will likely be gone in a month, I won’t be able to do this. Otherwise, after a month, it’s ready to use. Just strain out the leaves!

 

How to use lemon balm tincture:

Common advice states that 1/2 to 1 tsp of tincture is the proper dosage for anxiety and tummy aches. There are other recipes out there for making this tincture with gelatin for a more kid-friendly tincture as well.

And there you have it…

I felt like some kind of medicine woman making a potion or something! I think it’s so cool that God has tucked so much “magic” away in nature for us to use. There’s nothing more fulfilling than making a medicinal concoction from something you’ve grown in your own yard.

I can’t wait to try it! The more natural remedies I can use for my anxiety, the better.

 

How about you?

Have you ever made or used a medicinal tincture before? Have you ever used lemon balm for anxiety? Any other natural remedies for anxiety that I should try?

 

*Please exercise caution and consult your own medical health professional before using this tincture. I am not a doctor or natural health practitioner and this article is purely based on personal experience. 

Plant Your Own Backyard Anxiety Garden

Every year for my birthday, my mom buys me plants for my garden. Best gift ever!

At our new house though, we have deer, which does not bode well for a vegetable garden. So I wasn’t going to plant anything this year.

But then I realized we had a few garden beds that were filled with only weeds, so I did have some space to fill, with flowers at least.

We are also obsessed with butterflies and hummingbirds at our house, so the more butterfly- and hummer-friendly flowers we could find, the better.

Our backyard is becoming quite the magical fairy land.

We’ve seen at least four different hummingbirds on our feeder, we now regularly have lightning bugs and deer and caterpillars and all kinds of whimsical things.

 

I also created an anti-anxiety garden kind of by accident.

 

At the nursery, I thought, oh it would be amazing if I had lavender. So, on my quest to find it, I found a section called the “tea garden” where I also found chamomile and lemon balm. They not only sounded fabulous for fresh homemade teas, they are also all renowned for their anti-anxiety properties. I need all the nerve calmers I can get!

 

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Quick profiles of these amazing anti-anxiety herbs:

 

I love that I can go heal in my own garden!!!

I won’t stop taking my anxiety medications, but these are a great natural way to supplement my anti-anxiety regimen.

These plants were super easy to find at my local nursery, so they should be for you too.

As I gather and try out new recipes, I will share what works on here. Last night, I put a sprig of the lemon balm in my chamomile tea and it was delightful! I certainly felt relaxed afterward.

What are you favorite natural calming techniques?

Lavender Earache Compress

Kayne complained one day when he had a cold that he had an earache. Unsure whether we needed to call the pediatrician for antibiotics yet, I thought I’d give a home remedy with essential oils a shot.
First, I consulted my book about essential oils for children. Did you know many essential oils that are safe for adults are not safe for children and especially babies? Do a little extra research before you use them with abandon. I also consulted the book for advice about earaches.
Out of the essential oils I already had in my cabinet, what I found was that lavender and tea tree (melaluca) are great for children’s ears. So, here’s what I did:
Supplies:
Sweet almond oil (or other carrier oil)
Lavender essential oil
Tea tree oil (optional)
Washcloth
Warm water
Directions:
  1. Pour a small pool of oil in the palm of your hand. Drop in one drop of lavender oil. Add one drop of tea tree oil if you wish, too. Use your finger to stir the mixture in your hand.
  2. Rub the mixture around the outside of the child’s ear. DO NOT put any inside the ear.
  3. Dip a washcloth in a bowl warm water (you can add a drop of lavender to the water too) and have your child rest their affected ear on the washcloth for about 10 minutes. You may want to put a plastic bag underneath so the wetness doesn’t get on your furniture. Re-warm the washcloth if necessary. Alternately, you can have the child rest their head on a low-heat heating pad.

My son said his ear didn’t hurt anymore after using the heating pad method. So, it worked! Some of the cure might have just been the coziness and tender loving care from his momma, but that just comes with the recipe:)
Any other home remedies for earaches that you’ve tried with success?