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Teenagers experience an immense amount of stress and pressures in high school. Sometimes it can be chaotic getting caught up in drama or worrying about future plans. Some students may ponder about choosing how to continue their future in the military, college, trade, etc.

With all of this stress, teenagers experience hormonal changes that can also lead to acne. Two teachers share their thoughts and feelings about their favorite ways to calm and relax the body, mind, and soul.

“I use essential oils to manage stress, raise energy levels and relax. My brother and I routinely use peppermint or eucalyptus in our classrooms to keep everyone awake and help set the ambience. I use lavender at night for calming effects,” Laura McAdams said.

Essential oils are amazing for managing stress levels and relaxing. They are great to use in the classrooms, but there are other methods for reaching the same results; such as tea.

“If I had to pick one herbal remedy it would be chamomile tea. Perfect for unwinding in the evening, great benefits for the digestive and immune system, an ever-reliable friend,” Eric Cole said. “The primary benefits are that most herbs pack a lot of nutrition into a small package. And steeping them as a tea to water to extract the nutrients, is a quick and easy way to add much needed nutrition to the diet.”

When most people think about natural remedies their mind goes to teas: such as lavender, chamomile, peppermint, etc. However, there are other less commonly known types of teas that are great for this as well: such as mushrooms.

“I also love medicinal mushrooms: chaga, reishi, lion's mane, cordyceps are some of my favorites. Volumes have been written on the benefits of these,” Cole said. “The neatest thing about mushrooms is that they are closer to animals than plants in terms of their physiology. So the nutrients that they concentrate are all in a form that is immediately bioavailable to us, meaning they work on our system powerfully and right away.”

There are so many different ways to incorporate herbalism and other types of natural remedies into our lives daily. This can be in forms such as essential oils, teas, aromatherapy, and so much more. There is so much to learn about in terms of how all of these things have such a significant impact on us.

Herbalism isn't just about herbs. It’s about lifestyle, environment, practice, beliefs, and wholeistic approaches. It’s about knowing your body, mind, and simplifying your routine, as well as knowing what to look for. There are some things that are out of our control that affect why we eat unhealthy. But, we can control things like our thoughts, feelings, actions, and results. Once we think and feel the way as someone who eats healthy, we think and feel the same positive way as they do.