Anxiety is a physical response to a small or sometimes non-existent problem, and it takes its toll on you. It’s often coupled with stress, which has never done you any favors.
Stress is the number one cause of anxiety, and can also cause restlessness, lack of motivation, anger, and depression. They work in tandem; when you have one, the other is usually to blame, or follows soon after.
Stress triggers seriously harmful, negative effects on your body as well. It’s not just your mood that is affected.
Stress (and anxiety) can kill your sex drive, cause chest pain, make you feel more fatigued more often, give you headaches, tension, muscle pain, and higher blood pressure.
It’s a big deal, and essential oils are here to help you out.
Essential oils are a holistic approach to a problem that most people believe can only be solved with western medication.
They’re wrong. Meds can help, but if there’s a natural approach, it’s always the better option.
What Exactly Are Essential Oils and Diffusers?
In short, essential oils are plant essences. Also known as volatile oils, they quickly evaporate when introduced to oxygen. This is why you need a diffuser when using them.
They can be extracted from plants thanks to modern methods. Essential oils, and oils in general, are very volatile. If you don’t use them properly you can get injured (we will cover safety shortly).
Essential oils can be made from plant leaves and herbs, but they can also come from bark, rinds, and other mediums from nature.
Diffusers are the key. While you might be able to directly apply some weaker essential oils, they should almost exclusively be taken through diffusers.
When you use a diffuser, you’re changing the oil on a molecular level. Those molecules go into the air that is dispersed from the dispenser, and gently weave into the air in your space.
You breath the oil particles in, they get sucked into your respiratory system, and travel through the bloodstream. That’s how they enter your body in safe levels, and work to help combat anxiety.
Now that you know how it works, let’s go over the best ones to help with anxiety.
Best Essential Oils for Relaxing
Whether you’re combating anxiety or just trying to relax in general, each of these oils have their own properties that you can benefit from.
Lavender
Lavender is known as the most common essential oil, but that doesn’t mean it’s basic by any means.
It’s been used in medicine dating back to World War II, and in modern day, it’s sometimes used before a patient undergoes surgery to help calm them down.
As one of the most vibrant scents there is, lavender is often used in aromatic products like candles and odor-reducing sprays. Personally, it’s something I like to smell on my pillow to help me relax at night.
Because it helps the body relax, it also calms down your anxiety. I put this at the top of the list because I find it to be the most helpful, and there are plenty of online firsthand accounts that would agree.
Lavender is also known to help ease the symptoms of depression when used consistently over a short period of time, and battles insomnia in many patients.
Wild Ginger
Ginger is used in a lot of Asian recipes, and has been a staple in their diet for longer than history can truly date back.
It’s perfect for anxiety, both in essential oil form and if you actually include ginger root in your recipes at home.
Anxiety comes with stress, and stress actually attacks your body on a biological level. It elevates blood pressure, heart rate, and can even cause inflammation across your body.
Wild ginger combats inflammation, is known to reduce cholesterol (in edible form), and act as a pain reliever.
However, there’s a difference between ginger and wild ginger. Wild ginger contains a certain element that should not be ingested, but can be breathed in with no problems.
Bergamot
Bergamot is peculiar, because it’s not the most fragrant, but it still brings this feeling of calm that just washes over you. We’re used to there being a flowery aroma that eases us into it, but this just hits you hard and holds you steady.
Bergamot includes amazing benefits such as blood sugar reduction, short-term depression relief, and can even be used to reduce pain.
I believe in what can be proven, and one thing you should not believe about bergamot is that it is supposed to speed up healing. Don’t get bergamot for this reason, but to relieve stress and anxiety, it works a treat.
Jasmine
By this point, you might be wondering what doesn’t help with depression. Jasmine has been used for thousands of years, from embalming practices in ancient Egypt to medical applications across Europe and Asia.
Jasmine helps with depression, but it also helps with insomnia, similar to lavender. There is one thing that jasmine can help you get back that most people don’t talk about.
Sexual desire. It’s one of the many things anxiety steals from you, but it’s not gone, it’s just on lockdown. Consider jasmine to be one of the keys to getting it back.
Chamomile
Chamomile might be the safest essential oil of them all. If you’ve ever had a relaxing cup of chamomile tea, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Similar to lavender, it’s a very soothing and relaxing essential oil.
In women, chamomile has been proven to help with menstrual cycle symptoms and bring some comfort in that department. In general, it helps with a variety of things, including insomnia.
When you aren’t getting enough sleep, your body tries to use adrenaline to make up for energy deprivation (which just makes anxiety worse). Get better sleep, and get a grip on your energy levels with chamomile.
How to Use Essential Oils for Anxiety
Diffusers, as mentioned before, are going to be your best bet. Even if you make your own soap and include an oil like lavender, it doesn’t get absorbed into your skin properly. Your body won’t see much benefit from it.
Due to the possibility of adverse reactions, you should not directly ingest or apply essential oil to your skin. The best way to intake essential oils is through the air, by a diffuser.
This is actually the quickest way to get it into your bloodstream. You’re constantly breathing in oxygen that gets filtered through your lungs and introduced into the bloodstream, and blood only takes sixty seconds to circulate through your entire body.
So that means in about sixty-five seconds, you could be under the calming and positive effects of essential oils.
A Word of Warning When Using Essential Oils
With anything that you ever encounter that is considered to be highly concentrated, as essential oils are, you need to exude extreme caution.
Just to blow you mind a bit, some essential oils require immense amounts of natural ingredients to make.We buy them in two ounce bottles, but per pound, the ratio of materials used versus essential oil gained can often be 256:1.
That means that you can be using the equivalent to dozens of pounds of product without fully realizing it. You have to be careful.
Most of the time, essential oils should not be directly applied to the skin. Since they are concentrated, you would have to use a dilution recipe (which sort of defeats the purpose of having concentrated essential oils) before applying it to the skin.
When essential oils are used in cosmetics and beauty products, as well as homemade soaps, it’s such a small amount in a large volume of product. You need to dilute.
When it comes to inhalation, there’s another warning I have to pass your way.
Every oil is different, so they will respond differently when inhaled. Because essential oils are known to contain terpenes, which can turn into the result of toxic oxidation, you have to be careful to avoid this from happening.
Use your diffuser in a well-ventilated area. Do not use your diffuser for more than a half-hour at a time, even if your anxiety hasn’t fully subsided. We don’t want to trade mental health for physical health when we can avoid it.
Last but not least, take four-hour breaks in between diffuser uses. Get some fresh air for ten to twenty minutes in the meantime. You can reap the rewards of essential oils, just don’t overdo it.
Slow the World Down
Anxiety can often run your entire life, from the friends you keep to the things you eat, but you can fight back holistically.
Medication often takes more away from you than it gives, so try essential oils, and you’re more than likely to see a massive positive change in your life in no time.