Essential oils date back centuries. China, Egypt, India, and Southern Europe have used them for millennia. Embalming has even used essential oils. We know this because 2,000-year-old graves contain remnants. Essential oils are natural, produced from plant blossoms, leaves, bark, or roots, which is beautiful. According to Healthline, essential oils, especially pure ones without chemicals or additives, can relieve many diseases, including anxiety. A natural treatment like an essential oil combination is crucial because anxiety is a daily battle.
58 hospice patients received daily hand massages with an essential oil blend in 1.5 percent dilution with sweet almond oil in a 2014 American College of Healthcare Sciences research. The essential oil blend had equal parts bergamot, frankincense, and lavender. Aromatherapy hand massage with this essential oil blend reduces pain and depression in all patients, making it more effective than massage alone.
Breathe Easy: Your Guide to Anxiety-Busting Essential Oils
1. Lavender
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), the most prevalent essential oil, calms and relaxes. It soothes the nervous system and helps with sleep, restlessness, irritability, panic attacks, tension, and stomach issues—one of the greatest essential oils for anxiety.
Clinical research has shown that lavender essential oil reduces tension and anxiety, according to “The Handbook of Essential Oils: Science, Technology, and Applications, Second Edition”.
One study indicated that oral lavender essential oil capsules increased heart rate variation compared to the placebo while watching an anxiety-provoking video. This suggested lavender was anxiolytic.
Further research shows lavender reduces anxiety in coronary artery bypass surgery and dentist patients.
Add lavender oil to a diffuser, bath, or spray bottle to relax. It blends wonderfully with geranium, ylang-ylang, and chamomile oils. You can apply lavender on your wrists, temples, and neck.
2. Rose
Rose essential oil (Rosa damascena) is particularly soothing to the heart and second only to lavender in treating anxiety, depression, panic attacks, grief, and shock.
The Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal published a study of first-time pregnant women that compared a 10-minute oil rose inhalation and foot bath to a 10-minute warm-water foot bath. In nulliparous women, aromatherapy and foot baths minimize anxiety in the active phase.
3. Vetiver
In trauma, vetiver oil (Vetiveria zizanioides) calms, grounds, and reassures. Tonic for the neurological system, it reduces jitteriness and hypersensitivity and helps with panic episodes and shock.
Vetiver oil may reduce anxiety, according to a Natural Product Research study on rat anxiety-like behavior. More research is needed to validate this.
4. Ylang Ylang
This popular essential oil calms and uplifts, treating anxiety and sadness. Ylang ylang (Cananga odorata) boosts confidence and optimism, and calms fear. It can relieve sleeplessness and reduce heart tension and anxious palpitations as a moderately strong sedative.
In 2006, Geochang Provincial College in Korea showed that using ylang ylang, bergamot, and lavender oils daily for four weeks reduced “psychological stress responses and serum cortisol levels, as well as the blood pressure of clients with essential hypertension.”
Avoid using ylang-ylang with low blood pressure since it can irritate the skin. Start by diffusing at home. It mixes well with lavender and jasmine.
5. Bergamot
Bergamot provides a floral taste and aroma to Earl Grey tea. Bergamot oil (Citrus bergamia) calms and energizes depression, but it can also aid insomniacs in relaxing and lessening tension. According to Healthline, It reduces corticosterone reaction to stress in rats, and a 2011 study hypothesized that bergamot-infused essential oil treats depression and anxiety. This essential oil combination included lavender and bergamot.
Blended essential oil naturally lowered blood pressure and pulse rate, and participants reported feeling “more calm” and “more relaxed” than the placebo.
Bergamot is typically harmless but photosensitizing, increasing sunburn and rash risk. Avoid use within 12 hours of sun exposure.
6. Chamomile
Chamomile reduces irritation, overthinking, anxiety, and concern with its soothing aroma. An exploratory study at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that chamomile essential oil “may provide clinically meaningful antidepressant activity that occurs in addition to its previously observed anxiolytic activity.”
Chamomile tablets may alleviate anxiety, according to another National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health study. Chamomile oil (Chamaemelum nobile) is harmless, although ragweed allergies may increase the risk.
7. Frankincense
Frankincense (Boswellia carteri or Boswellia sacra) eases depression and anxiety by providing healing energy and spiritual grounding. Aromatherapy deepens meditation and calms the mind, relieving chronic tension.
In a Keimyung University study in Korea, frankincense used 1:1 with bergamot and lavender oils in an aroma hand massage reduced pain and sadness in hospice patients with terminal cancer.
Beyond Incense: Creative Ways to Use Essential Oils for Body and Mind
Aromatherapy, ingestion, and topical usage are all possible with essential oils.
1. Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy for anxiety is popular because smell evokes strong emotions. As Marcey Shapiro and Barbara Vivino explain in “Freedom from Anxiety: A Holistic Approach to Emotional Well-Being,” our sense of smell processes a lot of information. This is emotional processing and memory recall.
Essential oil molecules enter the nasal cavities and activate the limbic system. These stimulants control heart rate, respiration, hormone synthesis, and blood pressure. In a bath, direct inhalations, hot water vapor, vaporizer or humidifier, fan, vent, perfume, cologne, or aromatherapy diffusers—one of my favorites—provide aromatherapy.
2. Oral Application
The mouth can absorb many essential oils, but they must be safe and pure. Diluted or blended oils may include harmful synthetics. Some essential oils are GRAS for human consumption since the FDA has cleared them for internal use.
Researchers recommend adding a drop of oil to a glass of water or a teaspoon of honey for best results. Just place a few drops under the tongue. Because the blood capillaries are so close to the tissue under the tongue, they can enter the bloodstream faster and get to their target sites. Other oral uses include capsules, tea, cooking, and adding a drop or two to your favorite beverage.
3. Topical Use
Many prefer essential oil topicals. Topical application involves applying essential oils to skin, hair, mouth, teeth, nails, or mucous membranes. When oils touch the skin, they absorb quickly. They are strong, so dilute and combine with sweet almonds, jojoba, olive, avocado, or coconut oil. Apply the blend to the affected area directly, on the feet, ears, compresses, baths, or massage.
Essential Oils: Power in a Bottle, But Use with Caution!
Without training or medical supervision, never drink or apply undiluted essential oils. Knowing how to use them is crucial. Consult a doctor and test the region carefully since they may react differently in youngsters and pregnant people.
Calming Scents, Clear Mind
Relaxing essential oils are simple and natural ways to alleviate anxiety. These essential oils are great for anxiety: lavender, chamomile, ylang-ylang, bergamot, and frankincense. The aromatic usage of these oils creates a calming atmosphere. Applying a few drops of essential oils to your wrists and temples helps reduce stress.
Read More: Eating fermented foods like sauerkraut and yogurt may help your mental health
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