People often think herbs are gentler versions of medicine, but they work fundamentally differently. Come explore what makes them unique and expand your understanding of how these differences help us navigate our options more skillfully
What you’ll learn:
- Why herbs and pharmaceutical medicines work so differently
- How efficacy is defined differently for plants vs. medications
- Why the question “does it work?” misses what herbs actually offer
- How herbs impact multiple body systems and work holistically
- When symbolic work with herbs can support what you’re navigating
Resource Mentioned:
Want to Learn More?:
Herbs Mentioned*:
- Tulsi (Holy Basil), Ocimum tenuiflorum, Ocimum x africanum, Ocimum africanum
- Chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla, Chamaemelum nobile
- Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis
- Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis
- Marshmallow, Althaea officinalis
- Yarrow, Achillea millefolium
- Vetiver, Vetiveria zizanioides
* When an herb has more than one botanical name listed, you can find these varieties.
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Full Transcript:
Welcome in From Out of the Rain, I’m Quai, and this is In Your Hands.
Herbal Self-Care for Emotional Bodies, a podcast about the complexities of building your own wellness blueprint. I’m a psychotherapist and herbalist here to explore gentle, realistic ways to care for ourselves. I’ll delve into plant remedies, trauma work, nervous system support, and building self-care foundations.
And now for that awkward disclaimer I’ve gotta give you, this show is for educational purposes only and is not a replacement for therapy or personalized herbal care. The herbal remedies and practices discussed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please consult your healthcare provider for medical advice.
Now, let’s begin.
When I first started studying herbalism, I was reading all of these herb books and I was really surprised that one herb can have so many different actions and um, at how many things it could support. Then I realized the more I got into it that there was something I had to unlearn, like a particular mindset, and that’s that you can’t apply ways of thinking about medicines.
To herbs or you’ll miss so much. So I wanted to share more about that with you today. Before we dive in, let me clarify terms. When I say medicines, I’m talking about both prescription medications and over the counter drugs, things regulated by the FDA as pharmaceutical products. When I say herbs or herbal remedies, I mean plant-based preparations.
So teas, tinctures. Capsules oils made from whole plants or plant parts and so forth.
One herb that really stood out to me early on was tulsi, which is also called holy basil.
This plant can support our bodies if they’re managing allergies, asthma and anxiety and some other things. That combination puzzled me until I realized the plants were teaching me something.
These aren’t unrelated issues. Respiratory, inflammation, immune response, and nervous system activation are deeply intertwined. So plants work with connections and how things show up in different parts of our body, but also in our mood and different experiences we have. When we work with herbs, we start seeing our bodies as integrated systems rather than isolated parts.
So herbs can really make a difference in your self-care plan when you have realistic expectations about efficacy and with medications. Efficacy is binary. Did it work or not? But with herbs it’s different. We’re looking with a more holistic model. Even when you’re working with herbs for a specific reason, there’s a good chance it’s having supportive effects that you weren’t even looking for.
If you stay open to sensing for them, you’re more likely to find them because plant remedies often impact more than one system. So we’re not addressing symptoms. We’re supporting the underlying places that need support, which then naturally reduces symptoms. Herbs have a broad reach, and we might wanna transform how we think about the word efficacy when it comes to plants.
Herbal remedies are versatile. You can adapt them, adjust them. You can change the dose, the timing, the form you work with. Even combining herbs to create something uniquely suited to you. And you can work with them in ways that are not necessarily internal, whether a remedy accomplishes. The support you’re looking for depends on the quality of the herbs that you’re working with and your knowledge of how to use it effectively.
But here’s what really shifts when we move beyond the question of does it work, you get to discover that the experience of working with the herbs itself is part of the remedy.
Many botanical remedies engage your senses and they tend to lend themselves to meaningful rituals of personal care. Plants can be combined to create synergies and customize in ways that are deeply personal. So instead of asking does it work, we can open up this question and ask ones that are more apt.
It’s like, how might this plant support me? What do I need to know to work with it well, and what does it feel like to bring this into my life? These questions open up what herbs actually have to offer. So let’s go further and explore how herbal remedies and medicines work in fundamentally different ways, and how understanding that helps you make better decisions.
Before we dive in further, I wanna be clear, I’m gonna spend more time talking about herbal remedies in this episode, and it’s not because I think they’re better than medicines. It’s because most of us already know quite a bit about how medicines work. We grew up around them, we use them. The medical system is what we’re most familiar with, but with herbalism that’s less accessible.
There’s less information available and more misinformation floating around, and our society doesn’t invest in educating the general public about plant-based care. So I’m giving more airtime to herbs to fill in what’s often under explored and under recognized. And honestly, even as an herbalist, there are times that I reach for medicine instead of herbs.
This is for multiple reasons, one of which is when I’m not feeling well, I don’t always have the bandwidth to figure out the plant route. Unless it’s something that I’ve become familiar with and there’s no shame that all of us sometimes just need a quick relief or a resource, that’s an easy lift in the moment.
But what I think this reveals is something important. Sometimes plant remedies could actually be a better fit for what we need when we want support. However, we don’t reach for them because we’re not as practice inversed in working with them. That’s a real loss. It’s not that medicines are always the best choice, it’s that they’re the familiar choice.
If it’s unexplored, you don’t have the information to make an informed choice about what might work for you. I think it’s helpful to know when we’re working with limited options. And part of what I hope this show does is make plant-based care a little more familiar so you have more options when you wanna work with them.
Herbalism is vast. There are entire traditions, lineages, and approaches I couldn’t possibly cover here, but I wanna focus specifically on how herbal remedies differ from medicine. Because that’s the foundational mindset shift most people need when they’re starting to work with plants. I think understanding this distinction opens up the door to so many more facets of it.
Okay, here’s several reasons why we can’t think about herbs as just natural medicines. The first is that plants have intricate therapeutic potential. This means that they can work in various ways depending on how you choose to work with them. So one example would be chamomile. You can drink it as a tea.
When your nervous system needs support, it helps you relax and settle. You can also use it to support digestion, and you could apply it as a compress on irritated skin for its anti-inflammatory properties. Rosemary might be another good example. You can drink the tea to support your focus and memory. So it’s great for working with when you’re studying, you could also use it as aromatherapy for the same reasons.
Another example is if we think about dosing and you’re working with a calming herb, like lemon balm. You might work with it once as a a bit of a subtle relaxation, a bit of a mood lifter, but if you take that same herb in larger doses and throughout the day, it could be a more significant ease to anxiety and support you with sleep that night.
By mitigating what’s getting accumulated during the day. You just can’t get that type of versatility with, say, a standardized pill or capsule. Another reason we can’t consider plants as just natural medicines is that medicines work with isolated active ingredients and herbs are either working with the whole plant or parts of the plant, and we encounter a range of chemical compounds.
That’s part of the versatility. Plants manage stresses through sophisticated adaptations because they do that in their natural environment and they help us do that with our stresses. And we can benefit from these adaptive properties. The other reason is that plant remedies literally bring nature to us, so the experience of working with them is entirely different.
Now let’s talk about what herbs and medicines do have in common. I’m highlighting five things here because understanding these similarities actually makes the differences clearer. They both have potential therapeutic benefits. They both have potential contraindication. Both of them have research, but herbal research doesn’t include every single plant in every single context.
There’s a lot of things to think about with herbal research. That is definitely another episode to get into that. Both of them can also have misinformation floating around about them. And then lastly, they can each create a idiosyncratic response in people, which means that. Someone can have a response that varies or is different from the majority of how most people may respond to the particular medicine or herb.
Now we’ve established what’s similar between herbs and medicines or some of what is, let’s look at some key ways herbal remedies and medicines differ. There definitely are dozens and dozens of these, but I’m only gonna walk through six of them because I think these are supportive in making this transformation of understanding them as really different to work with.
First difference has to do with active involvement versus take it and move on. We wanna notice the effects and track what’s happening with our bodies, with our moods, whatever it is that we’re targeting, so we can adjust the way that we’re working with their herbs. Medicines are designed for convenience and usually we take them as they’re packaged and we sort of move on with our day.
Again, not in every situation. Lots of times. It is important to be tracking things as you’re working with medicines. But just in general, herbs really require our active involvement. So when you meet your plant allies, you’ve gotta see yourself as their collaborator, not just a passive receiver. Okay? Okay.
Sometimes the preparation might take time, like if you’re preparing a tea, and a lot of times you’ll be dosing multiple times throughout the day to get the. Best benefit of working with herbs. And that doesn’t mean herbs can’t fit into your daily life. They absolutely can. But the more active you engage with them, the more you’ll benefit.
Herbs, ideally engage your senses and they can create meaningful rituals. And this participation is part of how they work. Okay. The second is that herbs can be personalized and flexible versus standardized because medicines are made with standardized dosing in mind. They’re designed to work similarly across a broad population, whereas herbs have flexible dosing that we adjust.
Based on our individual responses and effectiveness can grow with attention to how you, your particular body and system cues are responding to the plant. With herbs, we have endless combinations that are possible. Formulas can be adjusted and readjusted through times. Medicines can be adjusted around dosing, but they don’t offer as much flexibility in that way.
Medicines are typically designed to, uh, target specific symptoms, and they tend to do things like suppress cure or slow progression, and that’s valuable for many situations. But herbs work differently. They tend to support the body’s own process rather than working on it. Uh, they tend to work with it. So marshmallow as an herb is a good example.
It has this mucilaginous property where it creates a soothing protective coating in key areas of the body, mainly the mucus membranes. So when there’s, uh, inflammation in these areas, whether that’s a sore throat, a respiratory irritation, um, or in the digestive track, there’s inflammation. Marshmallow can provide a soothing quality while it’s also supporting immune function there.
So it’s not suppressing the symptom or targeting us. Specific disease. It’s creating a condition that helps the bo, the sys, the bo, I’m sorry, that helps the body’s system to do its work. So herbs can help with uncomfortable symptoms. It’s just how they help is, uh, different than with medicine. Okay, so this other distinction has to do with frameworks, how the medical field approaches health versus how herbalism does.
Herbs are sometimes selected for quality of life, even without distinct health issues. So things like comfort, sleep, supporting ease. Stress and anxiety, not to suggest that medicines would never be used for those purposes, but with herbs, you’re not necessarily working with that. Healthy, unhealthy, binary medicines are typically diagnosis based or used for prevention, targeting things that are considered outside of a normal range.
And the last key distinction I wanna talk about today is knowledge sources. Herbs have been used for thousands of years, and knowledge comes from healing traditions, cultural lineages, oral transmission of information and research. And I wanna be clear, these traditions come from peoples across the world, indigenous communities, African traditions, Ayurvedic tradition, Chinese.
Medicine, European herbalism, and many others. These traditions face deliberate suppression. Some knowledge was lost, some survived. There’s much more to say about these histories, which I’ll explore a little more in depth in a future episode, but I wanna give that context here because when we compare herbs to medicines, it’s easy to assume that medicines are the default or that they always were, or that they’re the only.
Legitimate choice. That assumption has roots in these histories and what got preserved, what got dismissed, and what knowledge systems were valued. And so connected to that and in this list of comparisons, the other piece of context that’s helpful to have is that with medicines they’ve been developed over the past 200 years and their origins are primarily research based.
All right, so here’s a synopsis on what we’ve covered. Herbs and medicines share some important things. They both have therapeutic benefits, potential contraindications, research behind them, and both can create unexpected responses in different people, but they have key differences. Herbs require your active involvement.
While medicines are designed for convenience, herbs can be personalized and flexible while medicines are usually standardized, herbs typically work through frequent gentle doses that support your body’s process while medicines use. Concentrated doses to target specific symptoms. I’m simplifying here to highlight the key patterns.
There are always exceptions and nuances, but these general differences help us understand how herbs and medicine tend to work. Herbs can be used for quality of life and comfort, not just diagnostic conditions. And herbs draw from thousands of years of healing traditions while medicines are primarily research-based and developed over the past 200 years.
If this kind of critical lens is resonating, questioning what got dismissed, what systems we inherited, what options we actually have. My monthly newsletter in your hands continues this work. It’s like a care package in your inbox. Perspectives on plants, self-care, and untangling assumptions that keep us disconnected from what actually serves us.
Lincoln show notes.
Now that we’ve explored some of these key differences, I think the natural question that arises is, when would you reach for one versus the other? I think understanding these differences helps us consider each approach. Generally speaking, medicines tend to work quickly and target specific issues, while herbs tend to work more gradually to support your body’s overall process.
These aren’t hard rules. Some medicines work systemically and gently, and some medicines need to build over time before their medicinal effect reaches its peak. So recognizing these general patterns helps us navigate our options more skillfully.
So some general times when you might wanna consider working with medicines in the medical system are for acute conditions, life-threatening emergencies, uh, traumatic injuries, situations where you need treatment to kick in quickly, and for diagnostics, lab work, imaging, and testing that helps you understand what’s actually happening in your body.
One place where herbal remedies can shine is for chronic health conditions where aiding the body and its systems can be really useful. And then there’s a few other places I also wanna highlight, and this is not an exhaustive list, it’s just expanding your ideas if you’re new to plants. So one would be as needed supports for when things come up, like organ system flareups or emotional first aid.
This is when having herbs on hand means that. You can respond to your body’s needs in the moment. Another place is for comfort and wellbeing, and for this I’m talking about body, mind, comfort, sleep support, easing anxiety, intense stress and grief are some examples. Herbs work really well when you’re not dealing with a diagnosis, but in need of support for what you’re going through.
Then I’d like to bring up harm reduction and sobriety or recovery work because I don’t think this is very well known. Herbs are super supportive for soothing. Um. For soothing period, but also when you’re trying to work with moving away from a quick fix, they can support working with some cravings and the impacts of substances.
Plant remedies tend to offer like gentler alternatives and help with the underlying patterns.
And on that note, I wanna describe some ways that are overlooked in working with herbs. One is that because they work with our senses, not all forms or types of verbal remedies do, but a lot of them work with our senses. And aromatically is an overlooked way of working with herbs. Essential oils reach your limbic system, which bypasses the thinking mind and works directly with the systems that hold tension and overwhelm.
So that’s really fast when you’re working with an essential oil, and sometimes that can create a pretty profound relaxation or ease in the body and helps you navigate. Things aromas are good at setting an atmosphere in your physical environment too. Another overlooked way is having plants externally just in your environment.
Most people are able to relax more easily when they have plants around them. And this brings me to how we can work with plants in subtle ways. There are plant essences, also called flower essences. Plant materials collected and placed into water where the influence or the imprint of the plant, oftentimes the flowers is imbued into that water.
After the plant material is removed, the water is stabilized with either alcohol or glycerin. Um, and these remedies are very dilute. They work in subtle ways, usually supporting on emotional and energetic levels. They can be part of inner journey work.
The last overlooked way I wanna talk about is working with plants symbolically. This is when you’re not just using an herb for its physical effects, but. Bringing in a quality or energy you want to cultivate or working with something that’s difficult in your life.
Let me give you some examples. Yaro is often thought of as a plant that supports boundaries, and interestingly, it’s stops bleeding, so you can see it as like. Sealing off creating a boundary at the physical level. I also work with Yaro for discernment,
bringing it in when I need to decide what to hold onto and what to let go of or when I’m considering. Different paths or big decisions. Another example is you can think about root remedies that support grounding. Maybe you’re around someone’s energy that makes you feel ungrounded. You might work with veer aroma therapy, which has this earthy scent that for some people, helps them stay centered so you’re not just inhaling something pleasant.
You’re working with the plant’s quality of being deep. Rooted. So symbolic work is about the energy and intention you bring to working with plants and that you’re wanting to bring to your own work with yourself, not just what they do in your body. It’s overlooked ways of working with plants, aromatically externally.
Symbolically subtly show just how different herbs can be from what we’re used to with medicines. But here’s what I don’t want you to take away from these distinctions that you have to pick aside. This isn’t either herbs or medicine. It expands what’s available to you so you can make informed decisions about how and when to work with each.
Remember, some medications can be gentler than most. Some herbs can work quite acutely. Sometimes you may wanna work with both, sometimes neither, and sometimes just one. These guidelines can exist on a continuum, and I hope this will help you create a more complete approach about what’s possible.
Everything I’ve shared today gives you a foundation for understanding how herbs work. And you may take this and start exploring on your own, which is wonderful, but if you’re thinking, this sounds interesting, but I need help figuring out what’s right for my situation. That’s exactly when working with an herbalist makes sense.
Here’s why personalized guidance can be invaluable. Herbs often work best when combined in ways that match your particular body’s needs, but sometimes what you’re trying to address has roots that you can’t easily see on your own. So a knowledgeable herbalist helps you see those connections and create an approach that actually fits.
They’re especially helpful when you’re taking medications and need to navigate contraindications when your situation feels complex or when you’ve tried herbs but you’re not getting the support you hoped for. I’ll put links in the show notes to herbalist directories as well as a blog post that I wrote about finding an herbal practitioner.
This doesn’t mean I’m personally recommending anyone on these directories, just providing you places to start your research.
All right. Let’s bring this all together. Today I explored with you how herbal remedies and medicines work differently, focusing on what’s often misunderstood about herbalism. I talked about where herbs shine and overlooked ways of working with plants. So what’s one thing you can do with this? Start paying attention the next time you reach for a medicine or herbal remedy.
Notice what the influence is on you that had you choosing what you’re reaching for. You can also ask questions like, what am I looking for? Like relief, gentle support, something that engages my senses. Something to create ritual and or maybe something that I’ve seen that is most effective for me. Notice of what that tells you, and I’d love to know what you discover.
All right. I hope this leaves you in a better place. If this episode was useful, please share it with someone who might benefit. That’s how the show grows and reaches people who need it. You can also subscribe to my newsletter for monthly insights on Herbal Self-Care and building your wellness blueprint.
Links in the show notes. If today’s episode sparked a question or perspective you’d like to share, reach out, especially if you’re speaking from lived experience or you are a practitioner working with similar themes. Take care however that looks for you today, and I leave you with birds I recorded on my city block to wherever you are.
Hi, I'm Quai - psychotherapist, herbalist, and host of In Your Hands: Herbal Self-Care for Emotional Bodies. This show is for anyone deepening their self-care practice, exploring intergenerational patterns, navigating harm reduction or recovery work, herb-curious folks wanting practical guidance, and practitioners looking for resources to share with clients.
I combine herbalism, trauma work, and a critical lens on the systems that shape wellness. Whether you're piecing together care skills that weren't modeled, working with your relationship to coping strategies, or thinking deeply about how oppression impacts wellbeing, this show offers context, frameworks, and practical tools.
We explore plant remedies, nervous system support, and the often-overlooked infrastructure that makes sustainable self-care actually possible. Join the newsletter at for care tips, episode announcements, and herb recipes.
