People in Japan experience a lot of shuffling, like company personnel rotations, in March and April. These two months are full of events for shifting our energy such as Girls’ Day, school entrance ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, company orientations, the end of the Japanese financial year and so on.

We shuffle schedules and priorities about things to do during this season. After all that shuffling, we have a weeklong vacation called Golden Week waiting for us from the end of April to the beginning of May. Some people lose their balance and experience depression after that.

I want to recommend something to support you during this hectic time. It is peppermint. Peppermint is used widely as a medicinal ingredient. Some of you may have peppermint tea in the summer, because it helps to lower your body temperature.

Peppermint is also a calmative which cushions stress and pain. Many of you already know that stress can cause stomach discomfort. Peppermint settles the ends of the nerves of the stomach. It helps you to be released from emotions which stop you based on your unreleased memories. From that point of view, an appropriate amount of peppermint can assist your smooth start.

March and April is still cold in Japan. If you take too much peppermint, your stomach lining will become dry and cause stomach pain. In addition, too much peppermint makes you feel cold. In sum, please choose carefully an appropriate amount of peppermint and add it in your medicine chest.

初出：2015年3月15日