Medical herbalist Nicola Parker enlists some herbal help to alleviate return to work anxieties

Adapting to new situations can be both difficult and rewarding, and many of us have been forced into this over the last 18months.

It was difficult adjusting to lockdown restrictions, facing the fear, the isolation and the sudden adjustments to schooling and work life. However, this month, many of us are facing a new situation, the need to adapt to a return to work.

For many people, this will have thrown up a sudden

and unexpected surge of anxiety.

After so long working from home or being away from our jobs entirely, we’re now entering a phase of readjusting to stressors and environments that once familiar, have now become quite daunting. It has surprised me how many people have approached me or my colleagues in the last month, requesting help with feelings of nervousness, uncertainty and anxious temperaments.

Yet nobody seems as surprised as the people asking for help. After waiting so long to return to some semblance of normal, returning to work has become a much more frightening prospect than many had imagined.

This sort of emotional response isn’t unusual. I myself become unsettled by any big change in my life. My own clinic represents my comfort zone. I enjoy the familiar environment. I know where the kettle is, I always have my favourite tea on standby and I’m surrounded by familiar faces, both on the street where I work and by my colleagues, whom I can laugh and joke with.

Whenever I leave my comfort zone to work elsewhere, I feel my mood shift a few days before. I start to become anxious; feelings of excitement start to turn into nerves, I begin to worry about who I might meet, what directions I need to follow to get there and other small issues that can seem mammoth in the days that precede my trip.

Once in this unfamiliar new environment, I am fuelled by a mixture of nerves and adrenaline and for the most part, I return to my home clinic with a sense of achievement, already looking forward to my next big event that takes me beyond my comfort zone.

To do this, I do enlist some herbal help and I’ve been sharing my technique with the people approaching me with their own anxieties about returning to the work place.

In times of need, I use a remedy called Balance for Nerves. It does exactly what it says on the tin. Balance for Nerves is a herbal formula that is designed to calm and settle any anxious state of mind.

One of the key ingredients in Balance for Nerves is L-Theanine, an amino acid known for the relaxing effect it has on the over-active brain. When I start to approach something unfamiliar in my life, I’ll often find that my mind keeps darting towards the event, long before I need to be there. This makes it difficult to concentrate on tasks and it can stop me enjoying my free time. Instead of relaxing into the television programme, book or conversation I’m in the middle of, the smallest thing will remind me of the event I’m nervous about.

This causes my day-to-day life to become scattered by little bursts of anxiety that can keep me on edge, make me feel irritable and generally spoil my day.

L-Theanine helps the mind to focus, blocking intrusive thoughts so that you can focus on the moment. I have colleagues who call it “The Off Switch” because it can help switch off those relentless, whirring thoughts. I use L-Theanine on its own at bedtime, if my brain won’t shut up and let me go to sleep.

During periods of regular anxiety, Balance for Nerves provides the perfect blend of L-Theanine, nutrients and herbs to settle me down over a 24-hour period and keep me focused. It’s such a welcome relief from nail biting worry or even the mild distractions caused by nervousness and anxiety. It is also a fast worker, getting to work immediately after taking it.

So, if you know someone feeling worried about the changes they’re facing and that worry is spoiling their day, let them know there is help out there.

Sometimes we all need a little respite from an over anxious brain.

l For more information about this issue, or to book an appointment with Nicola, contact her clinic on01524 413733.