Valeriana officinalis
Made from valerian root — the European sedative with genuine modern evidence behind it, and the classical remedy of the changeable, restless hysteria.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a nervousness that changes by the hour: trembling and restlessness with sudden changes of mood — laughing then weeping — a hysterical state with sleeplessness, the sensation of a ball rising, and the books' great changeable-sedative. The changeable-hysteria remedy: that is Valeriana.
The substance, in plain words
Valerian is the strong-scented root of European riverbanks, the sedative of every grandmother's cupboard — and a genuine, studied modern medicine: standardised extracts have real clinical evidence for sleep and anxiety, and valerenic acid is a documented pharmacological agent. The proving gave the remedy its changeable-hysteria portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Sudden changes of mood. The keynote of the mind: laughing then weeping within the hour, on no cause — the changeable hysteria of the books.
- Trembling and restlessness. The nerves tremble and fidget; the whole frame cannot settle.
- Anxiety and fear. Fear of death, worse in the quiet hours; anxiety with the changes.
The body
- Hysteria with the ball sensation. The books record the hysterical state with the sensation of a ball rising in the throat.
- Sleeplessness of restlessness. The over-wrought tossing of the changeable nervous system.
- Trembling of the whole body. Generalised trembling with the excitement — the root's own signature.
- Worse at rest and evening. Rest and the evening hours bring the state on; motion relieves.
- Spasmodic complaints. Hysterical choking, catching of the breath, the spasmodic chapter.
- Better for motion and open air. Walking about and fresh air ease the restless nerve.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| rest; evening and night; the quiet; emotional excitement. | motion; open air; change of position. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Mind and nerves (changeable hysteria), sleep, general spasm.
Where the classical picture comes from
The grandmother's sedative's proving gave the changeable-hysteria portrait; Valeriana became the classical remedy of the laughing-weeping, trembling nervous state, standing in the hysteria chapter beside Ignatia and Nux moschata.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
Valerian is among herbal medicine's most-studied sedatives: standardised extracts have genuine clinical-trial evidence for sleep quality and anxiety, modest but real, and valerenic acid's action on the brain's calming pathways is documented. The root the grandmothers steeped is one of the few folk sedatives modern pharmacology partly confirms.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Ignatia amara | Changeable moods | Ignatia's changes are grief-born, with sighs; Valeriana's are the changeable hysteria with trembling. |
| Nux moschata | Absurd changeability | Nux-moschata is drowsy, dry and absurd; Valeriana is restless, trembling and walking. |
| Crocus sativus | The mood pendulum | Crocus swings with dark stringy bleeding; Valeriana with the trembling and the ball. |
| Passiflora incarnata | The calmatives | Passiflora is the gentle over-wrought sedative; Valeriana the changeable, restless one. |