Skyfire's Aromatherapy Ramblings

By Skyfire
(Written for Ecclasia)

Of all the benefits derived from Aromatherapy, in this witch's opinion, the most intriguing are probably its effects on the mind and the emotions. There are many ways to get at the mind-body connection by using aromatherapy techniques.

Maybe feeling a wee bit anxious or panicked about an approaching job interview or a speech? Then eat an apple, says University of Arizona researcher Gary Schwartz, M.D.—and be sure to sniff it. Dr. Schwartz, who says he was inspired by the old saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," believes that our sense of smell directly affects the part of our brain that controls fear and anxiety. To put his theory to the test, he organized a study in which he asked a group of people questions such as "What kind of person makes you angry?" As expected, everyone tensed up. That is, until they sniffed an apple. When they inhaled that scent, they breathed easier, their blood pressure and heart rates dropped and their muscles even relaxed. They also felt less anxious and embarrassed, and reported that they suddenly felt much happier. When they sniffed a little clove and cinnamon with the apple scent, the results were even better.

In fact, a whole fruit bowl of fragrances may be able to help you overcome fear and anxiety. The researchers at International Fragrance and Flavor found that, for most people, smelling an orange reduces anxiety. They also found that the scent of peaches calms people experiencing panic attacks and combats the sleep disorder narcolepsy.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Paolo Rovesti, M.D., director of the Instituto Derivati Vegetali in Milan, Italy, turned to fragrance to help patients suffering from anxiety. He used scents that perfumers describe as "herbal" or "green," including Lavender, rose, marjoram, cypress and violet leaf. To ease migraine headaches caused by anxiety, the twelfth-century Muslim herbalist Al-Samarqandi suggested sniffing violets. Aromatherapists use these same fragrances to help someone who is feeling lonely or rejected, or undergoing a major life transition. The sixteenth- century herbalist John Gerard also suggested smelling marjoram, "for those given to much sighing," and said that it comforts some specific states of anxiety: grief, loneliness and rejection. In some Greek and Roman texts, it is stated that marjoram "strengthens" the brain and emotions.

A contemporary practitioner who successfully treats anxiety disorders with aromatherapy is J. J. King, M.D., a psychiatrist at the Smallwood Day Hospital in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. He uses pleasant, natural scents combined with relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, positive visualization, soothing music and heat treatments. Once these patients learn to associate a particular fragrance with deep relaxation, they relax whenever they are given a sniff. Some of Dr. King's favorite anti-anxiety scents are Lavender, rose, Bergamot, Cypress and balsam fir.

Aromatherapy can also help most people overcome episodes of grief and sadness. Most of the research on this subject comes from historical texts. The fragrances used historically correspond to modern ones suggested for anxiety. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks sniffed Hyssop, cypress and marjoram to ease grief. Hyssop was said to help clear the mind and help a person think more clearly during trying times. Several ancient cultures, such as Indian and Egyptian, used sandalwood to comfort mourners during funeral ceremonies. Europeans used Sage, clary Sage and rosemary to help them overcome grief. Rosemary was carried to funerals, then thrown into the grave.

Caregivers who work with dying patients, have found that fragrances are helpful not only for those who are dying, but also for the family and friends. These fragrances can even be used during an emotional or stressful transition in one's life, such as a job change or while ending a romantic relationship.

Mood swings are a normal part of life, and temporary states of depression are quite normal, but ongoing depression is a complex problem that limits the quality of life for more than 30 million Americans. Statistics show that depression has been steadily increasing in North America since the beginning of the twentieth century. It affects general health by suppressing your immune system and can lead to insomnia and other seemingly unrelated problems by causing changes in the brain's chemistry. Professional psychiatric care is often necessary, but aromatherapy can also play a role (in conjunction with therapy). In fact, many professional therapists are beginning to incorporate aromatherapy into their practices

Pulling yourself out of the dumps may be as easy as taking shower—if you use a shampoo containing orange, Tangerine and peach that is made by the Japanese cosmetic firm Shinsen and is designed to "lift the spirits." Perhaps someday you will literally be able to wash depression "right out of your hair." Aromatherapy may eventually be accepted by medical doctors as a drugless alternative for depression. According to the latest research by biochemist George H. Dodd, Ph.D., and psychologist Steve van Toller, Ph.D., at the Warwick Olfaction Research Group in England, the effect of fragrance on the brain is similar to that of some antidepressant drugs. This means that certain scents, such as orange, alter brain chemistry that causes depression, anxiety and probably other mood changes.

Who's to say? Maybe someday be we shall be able to get an aromatherapy prescription to treat depression. This is already happening at an experimental convalescent clinic in Baku, Azerbaijan. A prescription from a doctor at this clinic typically recommends spending ten minutes twice a week in a special sunroom sniffing certain live plants. One of the fragrances that they use to overcome general neurosis, headaches and insomnia caused by worry and depression is rose geranium.

When it comes to herbal antidepressants, I find citrus scents to be particularly effective. orange essential oil, which is produced from orange peel, is easy to find and quite inexpensive. Even smelling an orange as you peel it helps—when you tear the skin, minute amounts of essential oils are propelled into the air to cheer you up. However, this whiff of scent may not be sufficient for someone who is severely depressed. In that case, try the refined scent of the orange blossom, called neroli by aromatherapists, or the less expensive petitgrain, which comes from the stem behind the flower.

Although I did not care for petitgrain when I first sniffed it , I learned to love it after using it in my bath to counter a bout of depression. I figured that money was no object in my pursuit of health, but if a less expensive oil worked, why not use it? It blends nicely with Lavender, which is also used as an antidepressant.

Science has not yet investigated the use of aromatherapy to counter compulsive behavior that is associated with depression, including eating disorders. Aromatherapists, experimenting with various oils, have discovered that the fragrance of another citrus, Bergamot, along with Grapefruit often does the trick. (Do not confuse this with the herb garden plant called Bergamot, which is in the mint family.) Dr. Paolo Rovesti, whom I've already mentioned here for his work with anxiety, has helped pull many people out of serious depression using the citrus scents of orange, Bergamot, lemon and lemon verbena. He also found that Jasmine, sandalwood and ylang-ylang alleviated depression. This is how Dr. Rovesti described the effect of these aromas: "Patients felt as if transported by the perfume of the essential oil into a different, more agreeable and acceptable world, so that many of their reactive instincts are curbed and they gradually return towards normality."

In sixteenth- and seventeenth- century European herbals, clary Sage and lemon balm were suggested to counter depression and to help with paranoia, mental fatigue and nervous disorders associated with depression (though, of course, these disorders were not known then by these names). Modern aroma-therapists concur. Writing in the sixteenth century, John Gerard said that sniffing lemon balm, called melissa by aromatherapists, would "gladden the heart" and recommended Basil to "taketh away sorrowfullness... and maketh a man merry and glad." Indians traditionally use Basil in a similar fashion to prevent agitation and nightmares.

Many aromatherapists have suggested an essential oil for a physical problem, knowing that the fragrance also works as an antidepressant. Only later did their clients confide that they had suffered from terrible depression and were surprised to find their depression lifting with the help of their aromatherapy oil!

Below you shall find a few receipes this witch reccomends to combat anxiety or depression. Enjoy!

 

Anxiety Diffuser Blend

15 drops clary sage oil
10 drops bergamot oil
10 drops geranium oil
8 drops chamomile oil
8 drops marjoram oil
5 drops ylang ylang oil

Drop the essential oils into a small glass bottle and gently turn the bottle upside down a few times or roll it between your hands to blend. Add some of the mixture to your diffuser or lamp bowl. Run your diffuser or lamp as necessary to prevent or reduce anxiety.

Anxiety Bath Blend

2 drops frankincense oil
2 drops geranium oil
2 drops neroli oil
2 drops patchouli oil

Disperse the essential oils in a bathtub filled with warm water. Enjoy a calming soak for twenty to thirty minutes.

Quick-Fix Anxiety Inhalant

3 drops neroli oil
2 drops benzoin resin
2 drops geranium oil
2 drops rosewood oil
2 drops ylang ylang oil
1 drop frankincense or 1 drop rose oil

Drop the essential oils into a small glass bottle with an airtight cover and blend. Inhale directly from the bottle to prevent or alleviate an anxiety attack. Repeat as often as needed.

Antidepressant Fragrance

4 oz sweet almond oil
10 drops Bergamot oil
10 drops petitgrain oil
3 drops rose geranium
1 drop neroli oil (optional)

Combine ingredients. For children, replace petitgrain with Grapefruit or Tangerine oil.

 

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