Depression and anxiety are often experienced independent of one another. However, it is possible to experience both at the same time to different degrees. Such comorbid expression of depression and anxiety can be highly debilitating, and such a state is often much more difficult to treat than when either depression or anxiety is present in isolation. In particular, comorbidity between anxiety and depression can be particularly problematic in the workplace. Estimates suggest that comorbidity between depression and anxiety are quite prevalent and some estimates suggest that 50 % of people with anxiety also have depression. Treatments that address both the anxiety component and the depression component can therefore be of importance at improving the quality of life of those with both anxiety and depression. St John’s wort appears to be a highly effective treatment for mild to moderate depression. And valerian may be a useful treatment for anxiety. Combination therapy may therefore be used in anxiety depression comorbidities.
Herbal medicine can be very useful in the treatment of common ailments. Combination therapy of St John’s wort extract with valerian root show that it may be useful in the treatment of anxiety and depression when present together. The St John’s wort is effective as a treatment for mild to moderate depression and valerian root can improve sleep quality and may be effective against anxiety. The use of St John’s wort and valerian is not so well reported in cases of severe depression and severe anxiety, but in cases where the symptoms of mental disorders are severe, even the best treatments offered by medicine often fall short of providing relief to the patient. One of the biggest benefits of both St John’s wort and valerian, is their relative lack of adverse effects. Generally both herbs are very well tolerated.
In one study, researchers investigated the effects of St John’s wort and valerian combination therapy on the symptoms of individuals with anxiety and depression. The patients were treated with 500 mg of valerian root extract and 600 mg per day of St John’s wort, or 1000 mg valerian root extract with 1200 mg st John’s wort. The researchers reported that the treatments were well tolerated by the patients and no severe side effects were encountered. Drowsiness was not increased by the treatments, even at the high dose valerian treatment. St John’s wort treatment improved the depressive symptoms in 83.7 % of the patients at 600 mg per day and 86.9 % of the patients at the 1200 mg per day dose. The addition of valerian root extract to the treatment cause a significant improvement in the anxiety felt by the patients including tension, anxiety and poor sleep quality. The authors noted that the improvements in sleep were particularly beneficial because low quality sleep is a large factor in the debilitating effects of depression and anxiety.
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