Who doesn’t have at least some stress and anxiety in their life? Just living is stressful, and most of the time most people deal with normal life stress and anxiety just fine. But sometimes we all need a little help. When life throws one of those out-of-the-blue curve balls at you, it can’t hurt to know how to help yourself manage the stress and anxiety that will be caused.

There are those who don’t deal with even normal stress in a good way, and these folks do need some help. What they don’t need is the synthetic drugs that cause more serious side effects than the stress did in the first place.

These drugs might relieve the stress and the anxiety, but they cause other problems. There are herbs that have been proven through the centuries to be effective in reducing stress and anxiety. Don’t let the scientific assertions that these herbs are not effective fool you.

They wouldn’t have stayed around for all of these many centuries if they didn’t work. Here are four that absolutely DO work:

1. Kava Kava: In ancient times kava was prepared as a tea. Today it can be purchased in capsule form. Kava takes about a week to work after it is started, but it will work to reduce stress and anxiety.

2. Ginseng: Ginseng has been used for many centuries to reduce stress and anxiety. It relaxes the mind and the body and is also known for its anti-aging properties.

3. Valerian: Valerian root has been used as a sedative for centuries and has now been proven effective in reducing anxiety and stress. Valerian also promotes sleep.

4. Catnip: If you don’t believe that catnip has a calming effect, put some on the floor and watch your cat roll in it. Then see your cat take a long nap. Catnip has been used to treat such human maladies as cancer and migraine headaches. It also relieves anxiety and stress.