How to Use Essential Oils to Relieve Stress
If you’re reading this, it is likely that you are under a lot of stress, may or may not have tried different ways to relieve it, and have heard that essential oils can help. The good news is that YES, essential oils can help you respond better to stress. The other good news is that there are more things you need to do alongside essential oils in order to truly deal with your stress. Wait, WHAT?!? Why is that also a good thing? Let me explain…
Here’s the truth. Creating better health for yourself is not just “do XYZ and you’ll feel better”. As a society, we are conditioned to believe that if we take a pill or change ONE thing in our life, it will fix us. That’s just not true. We need to make changes at many different levels.
If someone is under a lot of stress, simply taking a medication does not change the fact that they are under a lot of stress. That person also needs to make lifestyle changes in order to either lessen the amount of stress OR shift how their body responds to that stress. Another example of this - and my favourite - is of someone with chronic heart burn. Taking an antacid may temporarily make him or her feel better but if they continue to eat take-out and inflammatory foods, that antacid is simply covering up the symptoms and not dealing with the cause of the issue (poor nutritional choices).
Honestly, If there is ONE area of health I wish people would put more intention into, it would be how to better manage their stress. Stress influences a wide range of health issues including the aging process, type 2 diabetes, decreased immune response, heart disease, metabolic disease, and more. When people are stressed they have higher tendencies to eat poorly (including increasing sugar, caffeine, and alcohol), work out less, lose sleep, and have a negative reflection on life in general. In a nutshell, when someone reacts negatively to stress, it can have incredibly damaging effects on their health.
How Your Body Perceives Stress
When your body perceives stress, a part of your brain, called the hypothalamus, receives a signal. The hypothalamus is like Mission Control for your body’s most vital functions: breathing, blood pressure, heart beat, and more. At rest, these functions are under “parasympathetic” control and your body in a state of calm and balance, or as it is commonly referred to,“rest and digest”. However, when our body perceives a threat and the hypothalamus receives the signal, it jumps into “sympathetic” control which is commonly known as “fight or flight”.
Ideally, our “fight or flight” response is tempoarary. It is activated for short periods of time when we have to act immediately to remove ourselves from scary situations. Unfortunately, for some, their perceived level of stress has changed and their sympathetic control is “on” more often. Longer work days, exposure to negative images through media and entertainment, activities, social media and commitments all lend to more stress. Add this onto our regular lives including our personal life, work environment, finances, family situation.…our “fight or flight” response can sometimes go for days, weeks, months or even years at a time.
Burnout and Adrenal Fatigue
Human beings aren’t meant to experience high levels of stress for prolonged periods of time. You have two adrenal glands, which sit on top of each of your kidneys, that are responsible for hormone-related functions. As it relates to stress, your adrenals will release adrenaline and cortisol (when in “fight or flight”). If under chronic stress, your adrenal glands become fatigued over time as does the rest of your body’s response to the stress hormones coursing through it.
Burnout and and adrenal fatigue are your body’s natural adaptive response to the overload of demands you put on your body. You may feel exhausted (but can’t sleep), forgetful, irritable, loss of appetite, a decrease in your immune response, heart palpitations, dizziness, anxiety, and sadness. These signs are your body telling you it needs time to rest and heal.
What can you do?
Here’s the truth: stress is inevitable. We can’t avoid it. We can’t make it go away. We can’t live a life without it. However, we can decide how much we choose to take on and how we respond to stress. Choosing to take control of your health is the first step. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that if you are feeling incredibly overwhelmed and anxious, it is important to speak to a health care professional who can determine if more immediate help is needed.
Prioritize what you are doing in your life and start saying “no” to things that aren’t of high importance. If work is non-negotiable but brings the most stress, look for ways to make it a more pleasant experience. If there is a relationship that is bringing undue stress, create boundaries for yourself first and then with the person involved. If you have over-committed in areas of your life, begin to let things go one at a time.
Focus on fueling your body with good nutrition. Whole foods like vegetables, fruits, quality proteins and fats. Decrease your consumption of sugars, including complex carbohydrates, and alcohol.
Get exercise. It can be as simple as a walk around your neighbourhood each day. If you prefer something more, create a routine that works for you.
Meditate. Start by sitting in five minutes of silence each day. If it helps, use a guided meditation app like Headspace or Calm to help you. Meditation is not about controlling your thoughts, it’s to stop letting them control you.
Turn off or significantly reduce the TV and social media in your life. The negativity in all forms of media is rampant and can have a significant impact on our mental and emotional health. Instead consider picking up a book, listen to music, play a board game or journal to fill the time.
Create self care rituals that you can anchor to each day. Interested to learn more?? Scroll to the bottom and snag my FREE Self Care Guide!
Essential Oils for Stress
Emotional aromatherapy can be an incredible support of our body’s response to stress. Your olfactory system, or sense of smell, is directly connected to a part of the brain - the limbic system - that regulates emotional well-being. It helps us associate aroma with feeling and memories. The limbic system will trigger other areas of the brain for secreting hormones, for example the pituitary gland will release endorphins which are our “feel good hormones”.
Essential Oils work quickly on our emotions because they bypass the “conscious” part of our brain and affect the limbic system directly. It’s the reason why when I smell a drop of Wild Orange oil, I immediately feel a lightening in my heart and I have a smile on my face.
I personally trust the dōTERRA brand of essential oils for their commitment to purity and quality. Below is my collection of oils that I go to when I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed.
Bergamot
This essential oil has been researched for it’s uplifting aroma and it’s ability to help relieve stress. An eight week trial in a mental health treatment centre proved positive results with Bergamot. Diffusers were set up out of sight in the waiting room 15 minutes before patients arrived. The study alternated between using Bergamot essential oil and a placebo (water only). It was found that those in the trial group reported higher positive affect scores (17 percent higher) and slightly lower increases in negative affect scores (they reported a smaller increase in negative thoughts) compared to the control group. (1)
Adaptiv
This oil blend by dōTERRA has been researched for it’s impact on stress and feelings of anxiousness. Study participants were put into two separate rooms (one room diffused Adaptiv oil and the other diffused nothing) where they were asked a series of math skills questions. Heart rate and temperature during the experiment were tested and the participants were questioned as to how they felt throughout the tests. In the room with Adaptiv, participants noted less stress and their heart rates were lower and consistent throughout. (2)
Lavender
Lavender has been clinically proven to affect GABA in the brain (3). GABA is a neurotransmitter in your brain that blocks nerve impulses between neurons in your brain. If levels of GABA are low, it can lead to feelings of anxiousness and other mood disorders. Lavender is thought to have similar actions than many medications used to treat anxiety.
Balance
Balance essential oil blend is known as the grounding blend and is made up of Ho Wood, Spruce Wood, Frankincense, Blue Tansy and Blue Chamomile. It’s high level of Frankincense is attributed to it’s ability to provide a sense of calm and well-being. (4) It can also be noted that chamazulene found in Blue Tansy and Blue Chamomile has a positive impact on cellular health and the body’s immune response.(5)
Frankincense
Part of the chemistry of Frankincense, Incensole Acetate, has been shown in animal studies to help regulate emotions. (6) Frankincense has long been touted to help with feelings of balance and ease within the body.
How to use Essential Oils for Stress
The easiest way to use essential oils is to diffuse them. This is also the most popular way to use essential oils. You can diffuse essential oils throughout your day or during a specific period of time, for example during times of yoga or meditation.
Secondly, create a roller bottle of these oils to apply to your skin when needed. The average adult can apply one drop of essential oil to a teaspoon of carrier oil to apply to their skin. {Note: not all essential oils have the same chemistry and it is best to discuss the use of essential oils in detail with a professional. You can book a time with me to discuss adding doTERRA essential oils to your self care rituals by clicking HERE.}
Lastly, internal use of essential oils can also be helpful however, only if using essential oils that have been thoroughly tested for their safety, purity, and quality. I would highly recommend speaking with someone qualified on the internal use of essential oils.
Using essential oils can have a positive impact on your feelings associated with stress. Find an aroma that you love and use it as an anchor point for you during your day. During times of stress, take a deep breath, close your eyes and sit with the smell for a few moments.
Have you been using essential oils for stress? I’m curious as to which is your favourite and if you have a ritual or routine for it’s use? I’d love to know in the comments below.
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RESOURCES:
(1) https://www.doterra.com/US/en/blog/science-research-news-doterra-bergamot-study
(2) https://www.doterra.com/US/en/blog/science-research-news-stay-relaxed-with-adaptiv
(3) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23524167/
(4) https://www.doterra.com/US/en/blog/science-research-news-balance-grounding-blend
(5) https://www.doterra.com/US/en/blog/science-research-news-chamazulene
(6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2493463/