How to Balance Your Emotions using These Essential Oils

Essential oils can relax, energize, or calm our emotions. They can help us concentrate on our goals, or bring us more focus and balance.

If you’re like many of us and hate having “off-days”, it may be time to start looking to essential oils for emotional well-being.

Once you’ve found a personal recipe that works, you won’t want to leave the house without it. Trust me, that’s me now after 5+ years with oils. I have learned to trust my instinct and use my oils especially when I’m in a bad mood.

It is really powerful how essential oils can affect our emotional well-being. Feeling in balance is a wonderful thing. I hope this article helps you select the right oil for the emotion you’re currently battling.

Our Sense of Smell

According to research, inhaling aromatherapy oils can influence our feelings, moods, and behaviors. Our nostrils are the gateway to our olfactory system, through which we access the therapeutic effects of essential oils on our emotional well-being.

In The Smell Report(1), published by Kate Fox, Director of Social Issues Research Center, she writes:

“Our olfactory receptors are directly connected to the limbic system … which is thought to be the seat of emotion. Smell sensations are relayed to the cortex, where ‘cognitive’ recognition occurs, only after the deepest parts of our brains have been stimulated. Thus, by the time we correctly name a particular scent as, for example, ‘vanilla,’ the scent has already activated the limbic system, triggering more deep-seated emotional responses.”

Using essential oils can alter negative emotions and spontaneously redirect your feelings to desirable influences.

If you’re looking to take charge of your emotions with the help of essential oils, here is a list of human emotions and the various therapeutic oils that can influence, change, and improve our moods and ultimately, our behaviors.

How to Apply Essential Oils and Influence Your Emotions

There are various ways of using essential oils for emotions, such as:

1. Inhaling the vapors of essential oil from a bowl of warm water. Add 3-5 drops of oil into a bowl filled with warm water and put your face over the streams of vapor. Inhale these vapors from the container for some minutes, and you will get relief from negative emotions and bad temper, and experience enhanced moods or emotional lifting. Moreover, draping or covering your head with a towel over the bowl of warm water will boost the effects of the oil on you.
2. Using essential oils in a roll-on on your body.
3. Perceiving the aroma of your favorite essential oils directly from the bottle after opening the cover and placing close to your nostrils.
4. You can diffuse essential oils using a room diffuser and breathing in the aroma of the oil that is being dispersed through the room or house you’re in. Inhaling the scent fully taking deep breaths.
5. Applying some drops to your diffuser jewelry and inhaling the fragrance from there. This method is especially useful for working towards balanced emotions when in stressful on-the-go situations such as traffic jams or other public places.
6. Adding some drops of oil to your bathing water can help to improve your emotions and moods as well. Plus, the added benefit of the hot bath will aid in overall relaxation of your muscle tension caused by stress.
7. Rubbing essential oils diluted in a carrier oil on the throat and the back of your neck to get relieved emotionally.

Essential Oils and Emotions

Human beings express various emotions to various degrees. Feelings such as anxiety, depression, non-motivation and low energy can be easy for some to handle, yet super hard for others. Some are more prone to pain, stress, anger and irritability, whereas others battle with fear, grief, sadness, or loneliness. Essential oils can also support more confidence, self-confidence, and self-esteem if that is a struggle for you. Lastly, I have included oils in this list that help with poor memory and concentration, and better focus.

Gain control over your emotions by applying essential oils on or around yourself. Here are some commonly felt emotions, and which oils can help to improve the conditions accordingly.

1. Anxiety

You can reduce anxiety and heartaches by inhaling diffused essential oils or applying them on yourself. Experts have suggested that over forty million adults in the United States may be suffering from symptoms of anxiety and emotional traumas (3). Some of the essential oils that can relieve anxiety are:

• Lavender essential oil, Bergamot, Mandarin, Frankincense, Sweet Orange, Palo Santo, Rose, Vetiver, Neroli, Clary Sage, Cedarwood, Geranium, Patchouli, Sandalwood, and Lemon.

2. Depression

Depression occurs when you are experiencing the following symptoms: loss of appetite, sadness, low sex drive, fatigue, low self-esteem, and more (4). Nevertheless, here are some essential oils that can help in relieving depressive emotions:

• Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Roman Chamomile, Bergamot, Sandalwood, Neroli, Grapefruit, Clary Sage, Geranium, Jasmine, Lemon, Palo Santo, Rose, Orange, Mandarin, and Helichrysum.

3. Non-motivation, Fatigue, and Low Energy

You may experience demotivation, fatigue, and low energy towards actualizing your goals and objectives. Therefore, if you want relief, reach for these essential oils:

• Cypress, Frankincense essential oil, Clary Sage, Ginger, Bergamot, Grapefruit, Basil, Helichrysum, Lemon, Sandalwood, Peppermint essential oil, Jasmine, Black Pepper, Rosemary, Patchouli, and Vetiver.

4. Pain

According to Kim Saeed, (6) emotional pains and trauma can lead to anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. However, essential oils are made to handle such conditions at cellular levels by deleting wrong information and re-ordering the right information. They balance and harmonizing cellular functions accordingly. Examples of essential oils that can handle emotions of pain are:

• Lavender, Hyssop, Melissa, Basil, Bergamot, Cedarwood, and Frankincense.

5. Anger and Irritability

Are you worried over your sudden bursts of anger and irritability? If you’re a woman, are you perhaps struggling with symptoms of PMS or hormonal imbalance? You can begin to manage your temperament by using these essential oils:

• Ylang-ylang, Orange, Lavender, Patchouli, Bergamot, Myrrh, Roman Chamomile, Peace and Calming, Neroli, Petitgrain, Orange, Rose, Vetiver, and Jasmine.

Research has shown that these essential oils can help in anger management. They can reduce blood pressure, ensure emotional balance, and release frustrating thoughts. (2)

6. Loneliness

Do you know that you can fight loneliness with essential oils? (5) The feelings and emotions of loneliness may begin to affect your productivity and longevity because it usually leads to depression, anxiety, and stress. Here are some essential oils that can aid in fighting the thoughts and feelings of loneliness:

• Rosemary, Marjoram sweet, Bergamot, Roman Chamomile, Palo Santo, Frankincense, Clary Sage, and Helichrysum.

7. Confidence and Self-Esteem

Regain your self-confidence and self-esteem by using essential oils. These oils can help you overcome inferiority complex, feeling of worthlessness, and hopelessness. Some oils in this category include:

• Cypress, Orange, Rosemary, Jasmine, Grapefruit, Bay Laurel, and Bergamot.

8. Stress

Reduce stress and other related ailments by using these plant oils:

• Lavender, Geranium, Clary Sage, Roman Chamomile, Palo Santo, Jasmine, Mandarin, Sandalwood, Bergamot, Frankincense, Grapefruit, Neroli, Vetiver, Rose, and Patchouli.

9. Poor Memory and Concentration

Do you know that you can improve your memory and concentration by inhaling and rubbing essential oils on your body? Experts have shown that you can enhance your cognitive skills and maintain positive emotions by using these organic plant oils. Go for oils such as:

• Peppermint, Hyssop, Basil, Lemon,  Rosemary, Black Pepper, and Cypress.

10. Fear

Fear provokes the feelings of anxiety, grief, and pain. It paralyzes your willpower and weakens our nervous system. Moreover, fear is the primal cause of high blood pressure in most adults. You can overcome this negative emotion by applying these essential oils to help calm your nerves:

• Bergamot, Grapefruit, Lemon, Vetiver, Roman Chamomile, Orange, Palo Santo, Jasmine, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Frankincense, Clary Sage, and Neroli.

11. Grief and Sadness

Several conditions can lead to grief and sadness such as the death of a loved one, loss of fortunes, treasures, properties, and many more. Many folks have developed hypertension during their moments of grief and sadness. Here are some essential oils, which you can apply for alleviating these painful conditions:

• Rose, Helichrysum, Neroli, Vetiver, Cypress, Sandalwood, Palo Santo, and Frankincense.

12. Happiness and Calmness

Do you want to enjoy peace, happiness, and tranquility? Apply these essential oils on yourself and encounter the wonders of nature in calming and effusing peace of mind, happiness and joy into you. Some of the oils that can transform your mind into a blissful state include:

• Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Ylang Ylang, Rose, Neroli, Bergamot, Geranium, Palo Santo, Frankincense, and Sandalwood.

Essential Oil Safety

The most important thing to remember is to never use essential oils undiluted on your skin. This could lead to irritations, rashes, or skin burns.

If you are taking any prescription medications, speak to your doctor prior to essential oils use.

If you are unable to help yourself emotionally, please call 9-1-1- for a professional to guide you through your thoughts.

In Summary

Essential oils are powerful for balancing our emotions. Each person will have slightly varying responses to different oils. But once you’ve found the oils that make you happy or less stressed, it’s an immensely powerful tool.

Know how essential oils affect emotions. Carry your favorite blends or single oils with you in a roll-on bottle, ready to go whenever you need. If you like, purchase a car diffuser to be able to enjoy aromatherapy during longer commutes or if you tend to get anxiety while stuck in traffic. Incorporate essential oils for mood-lifting today and let us all know how you’re doing in the comments below.

To your well-being,

Resources

• http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell.pdf (1)
• http://www.meetpenny.com/2014/03/essential-oils-anger-management/ (2)
• https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics (3)
• https://draxe.com/essential-oils/essential-oils-for-depression/ (4)
• https://medium.com/@meetjennifer/fight-loneliness-with-essential-oils-97271414b6da (5)
• https://kimsaeed.com/2016/03/21/the-top-8-essential-oils-for-emotional-healing/ (6)