Trust as the Ground for Healing

🌱 Healing Often Begins Before Remedies

Healing often begins well before an infusion is poured, a capsule full of benefits is swallowed, or a tincture is taken — and even before any change in lifestyle.

It is born in the mind and the heart, in that VERY subtle and loving movement that leads from tension to trust.

It does not come from willpower, but from awareness and understanding 👀

A trusting state of mind — one that allows the nervous system to release — is not only a poetic image.

If it has not yet been experienced, if every attempt to surrender has been betrayed, or if this experience is far in the past, it is worth remembering: trust is the key 🔑 to healing.

Many scientific studies show that reducing fear and cultivating calm directly influence recovery after chronic stress, restore sleep, and even help regulate the delicate balance of the thyroid.

And everyone knows how much a hospital room with a view of nature can change everything. Of course, concentration, good sleep, and the presence of kind people are also essential.

Healing belongs to an ecosystem.

And this ecosystem has a key ingredient: trust.

When trust is present, the body finds its rhythm again.

Each time a therapist, a friend, or a new adventure appears — even if the path is uncertain or seems completely crazy, like a mysterious attraction to someone or something very different from oneself, or far outside the comfort zone — and an inner voice whispers to trust without rational reason… even if outside voices judge… it is precious to listen to that inner whisper.

🌿 Symphony of Remedies

Medicinal plants then appear as precious companions, messengers who bring the body elements that reassure it and sometimes even guide the healing process.

It is a symphony.

Each plant carries its own melody:

To ease stress and support sleep: lemon balm (*Melissa officinalis*), passionflower (*Passiflora incarnata*), chamomile (*Matricaria recutita*), linden (*Tilia cordata*).

To strengthen resilience (adaptogens): ashwagandha (*Withania somnifera*), rhodiola (*Rhodiola rosea*), schisandra (*Schisandra chinensis*).

To nourish the thyroid and endocrine system: motherwort (*Leonurus cardiaca*), nettle seed (*Urtica dioica*), bladderwrack (*Fucus vesiculosus*) and other iodine-rich seaweeds.

For the heart and circulation: hawthorn (*Crataegus monogyna*), rose (*Rosa gallica*), and many others.

To protect the liver and support detoxification: milk thistle (*Silybum marianum*), dandelion root (*Taraxacum officinale*).

To nourish the nervous system:milky oat (*Avena sativa*), skullcap (*Scutellaria lateriflora*), lavender (*Lavandula angustifolia*).

To this are added micronutrients: living food, carefully chosen vitamins or supplements.

And of course, among so many possibilities: dance, Nordic walking, yoga, or a few morning practices.

🌳 Abundance… this Challenge…?

This abundance is an immense gift, a treasure.

But it is sometimes — very often even — a source of confusion.

With so many plants and alternatives available, how to know which ones truly resonate with unique needs, at a precise moment in life?

Whom to trust? Where to turn?

One says this plant is the miracle solution, another says a different one is… and yet, inflammations or chronic stress still awaken in the night.

🎼 Coherent Guidance

At the heart of this forest of possibilities, the herbalist — both medical and intuitive — listens deeply: to stories, to bodies, to rhythms, to hearts.

And step by step, each person grows with the plants and learns to become their own herbalist.

Yes! Each person is their own herbalist.

Even without much time available. Because once results appear, listening becomes more natural… and the music draws us in. Then we learn to trust the melody — the melody of nature, and what Pythagoras called the symphony of the universe.

💡 The Finale of the Symphony

What to do when doubt is always present around any new step, anything we cannot control?

What if, at that moment, we told ourselves the opposite of what we were used to? It is counterintuitive, but often, if something makes sense in the gut, in the heart, it means the mind may have been telling stories ready to be transformed…

For example, based on Jungian insights, we might say:

* I do not need immediate proof to know that trust can grow within me.

* Even if I do not yet see the path, I choose to open to the possibility of trust.

* My fear of betrayal is welcome here — it is also part of my healing.

* Not seeing does not mean it does not exist: trust can live in the invisible.

* I welcome my doubts and let them soften, without trying to force them.

* Every small step toward trust, even in the dark, strengthens my roots.

* I forgive the part of me that struggles to trust, and I hold it in my inner arms.

* Trust is not the absence of fear — it is the choice to keep my heart open despite it.

This state of mind is that of nature itself.

Plants are powerful, but it is the harmony between them, the mindset above, and the wisdom of experience that makes healing last.

Trust becomes the baton that keeps the rhythm.

When trust, plants, and enlightened guidance come together, what once seemed like noise and confusion becomes coherence.

Sleep deepens. Stress lightens. The thyroid and other delicate systems begin to regulate.

And above all, a sense of support is felt — not only through plants and science, but through life itself.

With trust,

Erika Scheidegger

📚 References

An ABUNDANCE of serious references 🧐 — grounded in science and deeply respectful of human potential — already exist. I haven’t read them all, and there are many more I haven’t mentioned (the whole mystical or spiritual dimension is not included here; the Bible, for example, is considered by Barbara O’Neill to be the most “alive” medical reference, and I understand her enthusiasm).

I’ve noted just a few here. And please don’t hesitate to ask during sessions if you’d like to borrow some of my favorite books (a new library is now available here @petitherboristerie.ch).

Stress & Adaptogens

Panossian, A., & Wikman, G. (2010). Effects of adaptogens on the central nervous system and the molecular mechanisms associated with their stress–protective activity. Pharmaceuticals, 3(1), 188–224.

Lopresti, A. L., et al. (2019). An investigation into the stress-relieving and pharmacological actions of ashwagandha. Medicine, 98(37), e17186.

Sleep & Calming Herbs

Cases, J., et al. (2011). Pilot trial of Melissa officinalis L. leaf extract in the treatment of volunteers suffering from mild-to-moderate anxiety disorders and sleep disturbances. Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 4(3), 211–218.

Kennedy, D. O., et al. (2002). Modulation of mood and cognitive performance following acute administration of Melissa officinalis (lemon balm). Phytotherapy Research, 16(7), 657–669.

Lakhan, S. E., & Vieira, K. F. (2010). Nutritional and herbal supplements for anxiety and anxiety-related disorders: Systematic review. Nutrition Journal, 9(42).

On Thyroid & Endocrine Support

Sharma, A. K., et al. (2018). Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha Root Extract in Subclinical Hypothyroid Patients: A Double-Blind, Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 24(3), 243–248.

Panda, S., & Kar, A. (1999). Withania somnifera and Bauhinia purpurea in the regulation of circulating thyroid hormone concentrations in female mice. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 67(2), 233–239.

Rayman, M. P. (2011). Selenium and human health. The Lancet, 379(9822), 1256–1268.

On Jungian work

McLaughlin, R. G. (2014). Shadow Work in Support of the Adult Developmental Journey. Doctoral dissertation, Lesley University.

Jagatdeb, S. (2024). Externalizing the Internalized: Exploring Externalizing Conversations in Narrative Therapy. Contemporary Voice of Dalit, SAGE Journals.

Hu, Y., et al. (2024). Effectiveness of Narrative Therapy for Depressive Symptoms: A Meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology.

Narrative Therapy Review (2022). Narrative Therapy: Applications and Outcomes – A Systematic Review.

Group Narrative Therapy Study (2010). Effect of Group Narrative Therapy on Self-Esteem and Self. Journal of Practice in Clinical Psychology.

Hancock, P. A., et al. (2023). How and Why Humans Trust: A Meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology.

Narrative-based Psychotherapies for Mood Disorders (2023). Lancet Regional Health – Psychiatry.