As many of you may be aware essential oils can be very helpful in times of Emotional Stress. Our sense of smell is hot wired directly into the limbic system of the brain, aroma can elicit a mood or memory response before you are even aware of what you have smelled, or sometimes even before you realize you have experienced an aroma at all.
Whether you are experiencing an emotionally challenging time or not, sometimes you just want to shift your mood or create that special ambiance. Using essential oils can be an easy and very effective way to achieve your goals. Your preferred method of use will depend on many things but to name a few – baths, diffusers, body products and body creams. Essential oils have aromatic, fragrant molecules that can actually pass right through the blood/brain barrier, having a direct effect on the areas of our brain in charge of controlling feelings of stress and anxiety and even panic and depression. Essential oils may affect a number of biological factors, including heart rate, stress levels, blood pressure, breathing, and immune function.” Furthermore, what’s interesting is that essential oils can be both calming and stimulating. The same oil can have a different “effect” depending on what is required of it. So a restless person may find that they feel calm after using a particular oil, while another individual who is feeling low and depressed may get an uplifting and invigorating effect using the same oil. This is why some essential oils are referred to as “adaptogens” because they can literally “adapt” to the needs of the person using the oil. This is also why essential oils work so well for stress as they have the unique ability to adapt to the different types and levels of stress different individuals battle with. Unfortunately anxious feelings and stressful situations are not going to simply disappear. This is where dealing with our stress becomes a priority. Managing a lot of daily stress comes down to some simple and quick solutions listed below. While this list is not comprehensive, it is a start in helping you identify ways to help yourself. We recommend that you pick the easiest solutions for you, and then practice them on a daily basis or whenever you feel the need.- In any situation, take two minutes to breathe. Breathing only through your nose, count to four as you deeply inhale, then count to seven as you hold your breath, and count to eight as you breathe out. Repeat the cycle three more times. This should take around two minutes to complete. This will help you focus on your body and help you breathe more deeply on a regular basis without even needing to think about it.
- Drink herbal or fruit tea. If you’ve never tried fruit or herbal tea, now might be a good time to give it a try for some stress relief. Teas like lemon, peppermint, strawberry, chamomile, or passion flower are helpful. You can incorporate essential oils into your tea as well—infuse a drop of essential oils like Roman Chamomile, Lavender, or Melissa into herbal teas like chamomile to soothe the body and mind. Just the act of drinking warm tea can also be soothing and relaxing and just the boost you need for the day.
- Go for a walk in the fresh air. Although this is easier to do when the weather is nice, even when the weather is not ideal, it is a good idea to at least get a few minutes of fresh air each day and get your body moving. Reconnecting to the outside world and nature can help you feel better. If you can’t go outside in this moment, reach for Vetiver. Its calming and grounding effect on emotions is great to diffuse, or to put directly in your palms, cup your hands around your nose, and inhale. If you have a dog this will be a great idea to get outside into the fresh air.
- Exercise for at least for 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Exercise is known to bump up the level of endorphin production and also can improve your current mood.
- Time for reading, mindfulness or meditation. Quiet time is so powerful this is about being grounded physically and mentally. You can start meditating by choosing a consistent time and place, counting your breath as in point number one, or visualizing your favourite spot in nature and trying to keep your focus. Don’t be discouraged if your mind starts to wander. You can also increase the effects of mediation by diffusing calming oils like Frankincense while you practice. There are many other ways to meditate, try different kinds before you determine how to incorporate it into your daily life. Reading a relaxing book is also so beneficial to your soul.
- Give yourself a hand massage. A five-minute hand massage can lower stress levels. If you can’t find anyone to give you one, you can massage your own hands. To reduce the effects of daily stress, put a drop of Ylang Ylang or AromaTouch and some Fractionated Coconut Oil into your palms and massage your hand slowly using the AromaTouch Hand Technique.
- Drinking water. Make sure you are drinking water on a regular basis this will keep all of your body well hydrated and working in the optimum way.
- Ensure that you get enough sleep. Sufficient amounts of rest provide bodies with an opportunity to recover from the day’s activity, improve energy levels, and reduce the effects of stress.
- Make sure you are eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Make sure you are eating the rainbow of fruit and vegetables on a daily basis.
