Using oils for emotional support may seem a bit strange if you’re new to the holistic health world, but trust us when we say this is one area you can make huge strides with natural tools!
If you need a little more convincing, take a quick trip over to PubMed. Studies over the last decades found that rosemary may enhance alertness, bergamot can reduce anxiety, and orange and lemon demonstrate emotionally uplifting properties – and more.
What is the connection between essential oils and emotions?
The connection starts in the limbic system, often referred to as the “emotional brain”. This portion of the brain contains the hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus and thalamus. It handles emotional response, anger, fear, libido, hormone function, behavior, motivation, long and short-term memory, sleep patterns, reproduction, and… sense of smell. Because of this our emotions can affect SO MANY things in our lives.
When you breathe in an essential oil, molecules enter the limbic system and elicit an emotional response. The exact details of how smells impact emotions are difficult to define BUT we do know that smell absolutely DOES elicit an emotional response.
We can use this knowledge to curate a toolbox of natural solutions for all of our needs! Paring essential oils with intentional habits like journaling, meditation, visualization, emotional processing and even counseling can be hugely impactful on our emotions.
Favorite Oils & Blends for Emotional Support:
- Christmas Spirit: This lightly sweet, lightly spicy, extremely inviting blend can be an effective way to work through the many emotions and memories that crop up during this time of year. Orange is uplifting, spruce is grounding, and Cinnamon
- Lavender: Lavender is great for the many common fears we are tempted to give into – Fear of Abandonment, Fear of New Things, Fear of Moving Forward, Fear or Criticism. Lavender is calming, relaxing, and can help the nervous system move from a place of fight or flight into calm and grounded.
- Stress Away: Stress Away has such a gentle, loving aroma that can be used anytime you need a little extra peace and tranquility. The Copaiba and Cedarwood in this blend are specifically supportive for releasing stress and tension, and the other oils in this blend have very specific ways to support the body physically and emotionally during times of stress!
- Purification: Purification is a purifying blend that we love for cleaning, but it also helps with releasing Anger. This blend can help the body move past anger to a deeper emotion on the spectrum. Anger isn’t a “bad” emotion. In fact, it is a very protective one! When we (or our kids) want to (or do!) act out or explode, it is because we’re protecting ourselves from bigger, scarier feelings. Purification can help us process this and figure out what is lying beneath.
- Essential oils are a great way to help reset our emotions! They work with the physical body to release stored emotions and also can be used aromatically to shift our mood via the limbic system of the brain. It can be as simple as diffusing oils, applying them throughout the day or even breathing directly from the bottle. Two of our favorites for this are Valor and Stress Away!
The next time you feel stressed or anxious or overwhelmed, notice where you feel that in your body. Stop for a minute and check in with your physical body. Sometimes you may feel a knot in your stomach, a clenched jaw or tension in your shoulders.
Grab a bottle of essential oil and breathe in deeply, repeating a calm, strong, and positive statement over your situation.