Every essential oil fan can probably give you essential oils for stress, essential oils for calming, and a whole list?of mixes for sleep. However, it’s a bit trickier to talk about mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, since they manifest differently from person-to-person.
When it comes to anxiety, there is no one universal cure ? instead, treatment through oils is a combination of what works well for each and every individual. In this article, we will be discussing how essential oils help anxiety, hand-in-hand with tried-and-tested anxiety management tips.
How to Use Essential Oils to Combat Anxiety
1. Essential Oils?and the Importance of a Peaceful Home
Managing mood disorders such as anxiety requires a high degree of self-care and love.?Sufferers should never downplay the importance of having a peaceful home environment. The clutter-depression-anxiety is a thing all sufferers should be aware of.
Some lovely oils and blends from Neal’s Yard… #AromatherapyAwarenessWeek #essentialoils pic.twitter.com/jpykxzPdG8
? NYROrganic GAdams (@NYROGillianA) June 14, 2017
This is how essential oils help with anxiety: by adding the relaxing touch to the safe haven that is the home. Having an oil diffuser has a long list of positive effects, most notably,?reducing stress. Coming home to an apartment or a house that smells nice can do wonders for an anxious?psyche.
2. How Essential Oils Help Anxiety via?Physiological Approaches
Massages? Yes, please! Physiological massages using essential oils help anxiety sufferers calm down. This UK study addresses the positive effects of aromatherapy massage on mood, anxiety, and mental health. Massages and essential oils go hand-in-hand as a holistic approach to combating mood disorders and other psychological issues. Don’t have time for a full-body massage? Try out vetiver, bergamot, or chamomile, dilute?with a carrier oil, and rub it?on the bottoms of the?feet or rims of the ears.
3.?How Essential Oils Help Anxiety via Oral Application
Though oral application is a controversial topic, some swear by its positive effects.?One should remember to ensure the quality of the oils prior to ingestion: that includes the oil’s source, its condition, and its contents. “You can simply add a drop of two [of essential oils] in a glass of water or in a teaspoon of honey, […] this is beneficial because the blood capillaries are so close to the surface of tissue under the tongue, allowing them to pass more quickly into the bloodstream and travel to the different areas of the body where they’re needed,” advises Dr. Josh Axe in this article.
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? Wonderful Scents (@1derfulscents) June 5, 2017
For safe-to-ingest aromatherapy oils approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), please check their website.
4. How Essential Oils Help Anxiety Sufferers Through Bath Relaxation
Sylvia Plath once said, “there must be quite a few things a hot bath can’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.” That quote resonates more loudly for those who have tried and proven the wonders of essential oil drops in a bath. For anxiety sufferers, the tub is one of the best quiet places to relax and practice calming the mind. Stirring a?variety of essential oil mixes?into a bath?can help make this unwinding easier.
Imagine the effects of these baths: a study conducted in Taiwan, and quoted in this article from American College of Healthcare Sciences, indicated that “10-minute-long inhalation of aromatherapy resulted in a significant reduction of blood pressure and heart rate, and drove autonomic nervous activity towards a more balanced state.”
5. How Essential Oils Help Anxiety Sufferers Sleep
What is the most effective oil for a peaceful night’s sleep? A?scientific study on the sleep-enhancing effects of essential oils?showed a significant prolonging of total sleep time in rats after the inhalation of valerian oil, whereas?lemon oil significantly shortened the rats’ snooze time.
essential oils for anxiety, chronic pain, or just sleeping better. don’t even need a diffuser, just put some drops on your pillow ?
? ellie (@lifeofelliemack) May 24, 2017
Sleep is one of the biggest issues someone afflicted with anxiety could face. People with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) can even worry about getting sufficient sleep.?This causes them to remain lodged and helpless in a hard-to-break cycle of fear?and insomnia. How could essential oils help with insomnia-addled anxiety sufferers??Lavender oil is the go-to oil for insomnia sufferers everywhere, but everyone has a preference. Find out which one suits you best.
6. ?How Essential Oils Help Anxiety Sufferers Through Mood-Improving Exercise
Exercise is one of the most common advice to anxiety sufferers.?A study published in National Center for Biotechnology Information?found out that exercise?increased “the synthesis of new neurons in the adult brain“?one of the effects anti-depressants aim for.
Essential oils can help anxiety by being incorporated in common exercise routines: bask in the energizing scent of citrus oils, such as orange and lemon before a workout, and apply soothing lemongrass on aching muscles.
7. How Essential Oils?Help Anxiety Sufferers?Anywhere and Everywhere
Anxiety doesn’t choose places: panic attacks strike anywhere and everywhere. Essential oils help anxiety sufferers through its availability?it can be brought anywhere. Aromatic spritzers filled with calming oil recipes, or perk-me-ups (whatever works for every individual) are handy things to have in an event of a panic attack.
What do you think of ylang-ylang, clary sage, and lavender? How about grapefruit and peppermint? There are lots of recipes to choose from.
We now know how essential oils help with anxiety, but did you know they could also help ease symptoms of other mood disorders such as depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? Check out?this video by licensed psychologist Sandra Johnston.
Anxiety is a dreadful disease, and we should all work together towards understanding it and providing support towards those who suffer from it. If you have felt the wonderful effects of essential oils in other aspects of your life, consider the value of lovingly giving them as a gift to loved ones who are dealing with anxiety. Don’t forget about yourself too!
How about you? How have essential oils helped you combat anxiety? We could use your insight?please don’t hesitate to share them in the comments below.
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