Essential oils are extracted from plants. These oils are made up of various parts of a plant. These include flowers, fruits, roots, and leaves. Therefore, they are also known as scented liquids. Essential oils can be useful in treating anxiety in individuals.
Now, we provide a brief overview of essential oils to calm stress and anxiety in people.
Quick Outlook of Essential Oils with their Types
Stress and anxiety are common problems that occur in everyday life. Essential oils are wonderful tools to reduce these problems in people. These oils promote relaxation, control mental problems, and balance emotions in individuals.
There are several essential oils, which help to reduce stress and anxiety in people. These are as follows:
Lavender oil
It is one of the essential oils, which relaxes the body and mind. This essential oil is used for the treatment of mental stress and exhaustion in individuals.
Rosemary oil
It is an essential oil, which decreases the breathing rate and blood pressure. This calms the stress and anxiety in people.
Jasmine oil
It is another great essential oil, that relieves the stress and anxiety in people when they are uplifting their mood. It also relieves depression and can be effective for sleeping medication.
Chamomile oil
The drinking of chamomile tea relaxes the body and mind of people. Chamomile oil reduces the production of stress hormones in the body. It also contains Vitamin A or (retinol) and Vitamin B which is also good for your skin as well.
Geranium oil
A sweet and bold scent of geranium is beneficial to elevate a person’s mood. This essential oil reduces labor-related anxiety.
Patchouli oil
When people experience a strong and earthy scent, they can add patchouli to their routine. This essential oil decreases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system by up to 40% in the body. The activity of the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the response of the body.
Lemon balm oil
The scent of lemon balm oil reduces agitation among dementia patients.
Bergamot oil
It is one of my favorite oils, which is used by Mariza Synder D.P. (a practitioner and public speaker). It produces a beautiful, rich scent and can lower blood pressure and cortisol levels in individuals. This essential oil has significant positive effects on the symptoms of anxiety, especially in rats.
Marjoram oil
Marjoram oil is used to reduce chronic pain in people. When this essential oil is combined with peppermint, eucalyptus, and rosemary oil, it decreases pain, and depression and increases the satisfaction of life in arthritis patients.
Ylang-ylang oil
This essential oil reduces blood pressure and the rate of heartbeat in people.
Causes of Anxiety
Anxiety affects people in their everyday life. People suffer from anxiety in different ways.
There are several causes of anxiety that affect people. These are as follows:
- Sleeping problem
- Tiredness or weakness in people
- Fast breathing or hyperventilation
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Rise in the rate of heartbeat
- Panic disorder
- Agoraphobia
- Social phobia
- Specific phobia
- Concentration or thinking problem
Anxiety problems also cause diabetes, asthma, heart attacks, thyroid disorders, etc. in individuals.
How to Get Rid of Anxiety Using Essential Oils
Below are the several ways to get relief from anxiety with the help of essential oils:
1. Apply oil at the time of deep breathing
Deep breathing is one of the simplest ways to prevent your body from several problems. It reduces the cortisol, controls the rate of heartbeat, and calms your body.
The practice of deep breathing regularly becomes second nature to a person. Start breathing practice at each hour by applying the essential oil of your choice to calm your body. Lavender oil is the best oil to use while deep breathing.
After the circulation of the effects of inhaled oil, follow these steps:
- Get your comfortable position and pay attention at the time of deep breathing.
- Count to 10 in your mind to allow the rhythm of your breath.
- Counting to 5 allows the flow of air into your nose, which controls your lungs.
- Pause the deep breathing exercise for 5 seconds gently before exhaling the air from your mouth.
2. Use essential oil for body massage
It is effective to apply essential oil for body massage in people. The inhalation of essential oil absorbs your skin, which increases the effects of this oil on the body.
Lavender, frankincense, and bergamot oils are the most effective trios of essential oils used for body massage. Mix 1 drop of each of these three oils in 1 carrier teaspoon and apply them behind the ears, wrists, ankles, on the chest, temple, etc. Avoid rubbing your eyes from the mixture of these oils. Use this aromatherapeutic mixture at the time of deep breathing to reduce your stress and tension.
Warning: You should combine essential oil with jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, or coconut oil when applying on the body. The skin gets irritated due to the high concentration of oil.
3. Put oil on a cotton ball and sniff
Drop a cotton ball with peppermint oil into a gym bag, if you are practicing exercise for stress relief. It will help you with deep breathing exercises. Researchers suggest that peppermint oil helps to increase your alertness and enhance your memory.
The combination of peppermint oil with citrus fruit provides you with an invigorating cooling sense.
4. Apply essential oils on jewelry
Adding a few drops of essential oil to your jewelry will provide the benefits of aromatherapy. It includes balancing emotions, improvement of mood, and positivity in the brain.
Wearing a piece of jewelry with essential oil on your wrist will provide a diffusion of small and continuous doses of essential oil into your body.
5. Use essential oil in your car’s vents
Add a few drops of essential oil on a small piece of cloth and place it in your car’s vents. Its scent will relax your nerves and free you from stress and anxiety while driving.
You can calmly drive your car and enjoy with your family.
6. Diffuse essential oil blends for stress
The inhalation of essential oils allows it to travel through the olfactory system and into your brain. This regulates the response of the nervous system and promotes calmness against stress and anxiety. You can also use a diffuser to fill your room with a fresh scent.
There are two types of blends used for diffusion when anxiety occurs. These are as follows:
- Diffused blend for focus and calmness: Apply a mixture of 1 drop peppermint oil, 2 drops wild orange essential oil, 2 drops lavender oil, and 3 drops rosemary oil on the body to calm your stress and anxiety.
- Diffused strong blend: Apply a mixture of 1 drop of ylang-ylang essential oil, 2 drops of clary sage oil, 2 drops of geranium oil, and 1 drop of patchouli oil on the body, which helps reduce stress and anxiety.
Conclusion
This blog shows different ways to reduce anxiety by using essential oils. You can also relax your body and mind with deep breathing exercises. It frees you from several symptoms such as chronic pain, irritation, panic disorder, phobia, etc.
The anxiety-relieving methods given above provide you healthy life and proper sleep at night.