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Any Respectable Recipe for Relaxation includes a glass of wine? Right? Or something just as good, if not better?

Putting your feet up and relaxing with a glass of wine has become almost a cliche in our culture for managing the effects of stress. How often do you hear "Good grief, I need a drink!" or "You deserve to go home and have a drink" or "Oh, it's nothing a stiff drink won't fix"?

Consuming alcohol is a relatively common response to dealing with excessive stress. Probably because for most people, a feeling of greater relaxation comes quickly. In short, it works. There's something almost instantly soothing about drinking a glass of red wine before dinner, or, for many a busy mom at the end of the day, as she prepares dinner.

When asked why Skullcap is my favorite herbal supplement (or why there is such an abundance of it in my cabinet), I tell people it's because it agrees with me better than red wine (no migraine later), and yet offers the same relaxing benefit as my favorite merlot. Without the calories!

At least once a week, when I've had a particularly rough day of meeting deadlines, chauffering children, housebreaking a puppy, and/or sitting in traffic, I will turn to my Skullcap to take the edge off. More often than not, within a half hour or so, I'm feeling much more relaxed, less agitated, less irritable, and generally more myself. Annoyances become more minor, and even the biggest worries seem more manageable. Life is returned to its proper perspective. What a powerful little herb!

I've decided that Skullcap is also an aptly named herb: potentially a comfy, protective "cap" for the head (skull) -- or at least the worries contained within. I refer to taking this herb as "putting on my Skullcap."

Not everyone responds to Skullcap in the manner than I do, of course. And until you know how you respond, you should be careful with the dosage, and avoid operating heavy machinery or driving. It's also wise to consult a physcian when adding herbs to a regime of prescription drugs, to avoid contradications.

But if you're like me, or the many others that make Skullcap such a popular product, you'll probably count yourself among the lucky!