Stress is an omnipresent fact of life for most people. Usual stressors related to job, school or physical exertion have all been exacerbated by recent events such as COVID-19 and political challenges. According to a recent poll by the American Psychological Association, eight out of 10 Americans report that COVID-19 represents a significant stressor in their lives while over 75% of American are significantly worried about the future of our nation. In addition to psychological or mental stress, other factors such as environmental (noise, pollution), physical (hard physical labor, chronic noise, toxic exposure) represent significant stressors. Serious physical and psychological outcomes of chronic unmitigated stress have been described. Adaptogens, a special category of herbal medicines, have been proposed as effective mitigators of or adaptors to chronic stress. Several characteristics which make adaptogens safe and effective for this indication will be considered. In order to understand the context of the adaptogenic effect, the natural stress response will first be described. Next, the abnormal or unhealthy stress response will be contrasted with that produced by adaptogens. An intimate association exists between the arousal system of the human body and immunological responses. Thus, the ability of adaptogens to modulate immunological activity has been observed. Proposed molecular and hormonal mechanisms of action of adaptogens proven in pre-clinical, animal and human studies will be elucidated. Specific herbal apoptogenic herbs will be identified such as Eleutherococcus senticosus, Siberian ginseng, the first adaptogen identified by the Russians. The definition and a short history of herbal adaptogens will be given stressing the traditional sources of information that lead to the consideration of adaptogenic herb use in modern times. The evidence base for the most common adaptogenic herbs will be considered. Outcomes will include the effect on perceived stress as well some of the adverse outcomes of stress such as anxiety, sleep quality and depression. Human clinical evidence for specific herbs such as Eleutherococcus senticosus (Siberian ginseng), Panax ginseng (Asian Ginseng), Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng), Rhodiola rosea (Rhodiola), and Withania somnifera (Ashwaganda) will be shown.