Nervine herbs are anodyne (meaning they relieve pain), antispasmodic, and anti-inflammatory. They are used to heal, calm, and strengthen the nerves and alleviate depression. Nervine formulas make excellent pain relievers. BBL is another good nervine formula.

Any of these nervine formulas can be used for anxiety, stress, premenstrual tension, menstrual cramping, hyperactivity, nervous exhaustion, depression, pain relief, heart palpitations, and irregular heartbeat. (If heart palpitations and irregular heartbeats occur frequently, you should probably add some herbs for heart health and see a physician quite soon.)

Nervine herbs are not generally narcotic, at least not the ones that I have used in these formulas. They do not make you feel groggy or disconnected. Although they can help you relax into sleep, they do not present a problem for driving or operating machinery.

Herbs are plant material. As such, it is theoretically possible to find someone who has reacted to every one of them, although reactions are quite rare. Unpleasant reactions to nervine herbs are a little bit more common. This is the reason, there are several different formulas. Valerian is not suitable for everybody and should be used with particular caution with children. Indications of this situation would be that the person, instead of being calmed by Valerian, feels wired, agitated, or nervous. Simply discontinue use and try a nervine formula that does not contain Valerian. BBL, NT, or NS would all make good choices. The NV combination contains 1 part Valerian and should probably be avoided if there has been a reaction to Valerian in the past.

Please do not let this information scare you away from the use of this wonderful herb. Valerian, in both herbal and essential oil forms, is one of the world’s greatest healers. It is one of my favorite and most relied-on remedies. Reactions to it are rare.

You could, if you felt the need, make a tincture of each herb in this category separately and then build a tincture specifically for each individual.