I can honestly say that I have never experienced raw, breath-taking, life-halting grief as some people have. Yes, I’ve lost friends and family, and while some of these losses have taken time to heal, they have healed. Sure, the memories and the feelings of loss are still there, but the grief itself is not.
Over the past year, I’ve come across several different people who have experienced great loss, and every one of these losses has resulted in a kind of grief that is unyielding and suffocating for them.
Grief is a healthy, normal response to loss—any kind of loss, and I believe that there is no specific time period for grieving. Grief is a complex thing and is a subjective experience for each individual. But what is it about grief that is, oftentimes, so deep, so embedded in a person that they can’t seem to find their way through it?
As a friend and herbalist, I’ve often wondered what I can do to help in these specific situations?
As I was recently thinking about this, I came across an article in The Herbarium called “A Materia Medica For Grief” by herbalist Naomi Ullian. In this article, Naomi speaks of heartbreak and how the physical body is affected by it. She looks at how healers in various cultures and traditions have approached this deep-seated type of grief, and she provides a short list of herbs that have been known to bring support to the grieving mind and body.
As I read this article and thought about what I could do to support someone through their time of grief. I realized that when I’m feeling a little down, one thing that never fails to calm my spirit and help me feel centered and grounded is a quiet place, a blank journal, and a nice, hot cup of herbal tea. For whatever reason, it helps me to shut out the noise, look inward, and simply dump everything in my mind and heart on that paper, whether it makes sense or not.
In today’s article, I’d like to share a simple recipe for an herbal grief tea that you can make and give to someone (along with a handwritten note and a blank journal) anytime someone you know is grieving in some way.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article over on the Herbal Academy blog.
Link to tea doesn’t work. Is there another way to get the recipe
Sorry about that, Melini! It’s working now. Thanks for letting me know.
[…] petals tincture, and 1 part tulsi flowering herb tincture and take 2-3 droppers full 3x/day. Here’s another version of Grief Tea with roses and hawthorn as […]
1
I am going to try this tea my husband die 6 months ago and I can’t stand this pain ? I feel and the things people till me I should think that don’t help me. Yes I don’t know if he loved me anymore when he died or if he wanted to be with the other woman instead of me if that’s why God took him away from me or if I will ever be his wife again what the after life will be like. Only God knows but I pray he does love me,I will be his wife again.
I’m so sorry for your loss! Loss is hard no matter the circumstances surrounding it, and it’s okay to feel pain and sadness. I hope this tea nourishes your heart and mind and helps make the entire grieving process a bit more bearable. Sending prayers your way.
Where might I find violet? Do you have link?Also when you use cardamon is that the pods??
I normally harvest violet leaf and flower in the spring, but you should be able to find it at Mountain Rose Herbs, Amazon, or Etsy. And yes, I use cardamom pods. You can crush them first before adding them to the blend to enhance the flavor.