Mind Your Stress: Essential Oils for Relief of Anxiety, Tension and Stress
There’s climate crisis, inflation, virus pandemic, domestic terrorism and potential for world war - and I’m feeling pretty good about my life right now. Stress, anxiety, fear and being in fight-or-flight won’t help me solve these or any other issues we all face daily. And I am feeling pretty good right now. Mostly because I “mind the stress.” Meaning, I don’t let stress stay in my mind or maintain hyper-focus on stressful thoughts. The conditions that cause stress are real. They are here, there and anywhere. The thoughts about stress are controllable. Mind your stress. OK, I know, this is an easier-said-than-done situation and I’m leaving out some important information. Well, not so much information, as leaving out the answer to, “how the f*ck do I stop stressing about stressful things?”
I can help you with that. I have some essential oil lifestyle methods to make reducing stress easy, somewhat fun, and it will smell really good too. Let’s check it out.
Minding your stress
Let’s begin by having a better understanding to what it means to be aware of stressful thoughts. The term used by self-help professionals is “being mindful.” Yes, that term is somewhat elusive. It’s about being aware of your current and present environment and situation, not future and not past. Along with awareness of your self-talk or inner chatter. What are you thinking right now? If I’m doing my job right, you should be thinking about what I’m writing. Though, that thinking would be more of an active, outward type thought. What we’re focused on here are the words, thoughts and mind-chatter that underlies this. When driving to a repeated location, work, home or similar, we have a tendency to drift in thought. What are you thinking then? This, and similar situations, is when the stressors, concerns or negative self-feelings creep in. You may not be totally conscious of this mental babble, but it is having big-time affect on your nervous system, your emotions and your stress levels. The proposal is to take control of that chatter, even as you may be drifting in and out of awareness of thoughts. Being mindful, minding your stress, is a practice. You need to work on it until it becomes a habit. And it’s not always consistent, which is ok - you’re human.
Ease the stress with meditation
Scary word, that meditation. Well, not scary to those who do it, have tried it, and it works amazingly well for them to control stress, anxiety, and also to promote enlightenment and mindful awareness. There are many people, a vast majority, who do speak of meditation as an effort, or avoid it completely. Quiet, silent mind? Not me. Not possible. Stillness? How can I be still for more than 3 seconds when I have so much to do?
Get over it.
Resistance and setting yourself up to fail is, hmmm, stressful. Give yourself a new definition of meditation, something positive, and describe it as something that will work for you personally.
Start with a simple mindful or focused meditation. Counting the breath is a practice used easily to create a focused mind. Breathe in, counting to 4 while doing it, hold and pause for a count of 4, let the breath out while, you guessed it, counting to 4. Hold again counting to 4. Simple? There are so many variations to this type of breathe work. This can be done for 5 minutes while sitting quietly away from distractions. That’s important so I’ll repeat - away from distractions. The counting-breathing technique can be arranged in any way best for you, eventually sitting in this meditation for 10, 20, 30 and 60 minutes. Just be sure you are being present, consciously focused on the breathing and counting.
There are actually many systems for mindfulness, or focused attention, that can be used.
Not much can get in the brain when it’s being led by conscious breathing. There are actually many systems for mindfulness, or focused attention, that can be used. Check the internet and you’ll find thousands of guided meditations. Some useful and effective, and some are just lame or annoying, which could result in the opposite of mindful relaxation. Point of the story is, meditate to get control over thoughts that create stress. Yes, in case I haven’t made it clear, your thoughts are causing you stress. When feeling stressed and having anxiety inducing thoughts, breathe and count, breathe and count, repeat.
Essential oils to reduce stress and promote a calm mind
Calming may likely be one of the most common effects people know about essential oils. Ask about lavender, and even the most unaware person may have heard it’s ”calming.” And it is, along with hundreds of other essential oils. Even though calming sounds like anti-stress, it's not necessarily that direct. Using essential oils for calming because they have known calming properties is limited and just the start to choosing essential oils for stress relief. Known calming essential oils do have a tendency to relieve nervous tension, physically having an effect on the nervous system through neurotransmitter release in the body. That’s a good stress relieving action.
Many essential oils are calming due to context, how you identify with them, and your scent history (the memory-emotion connection).
The most popular essential oils known for calming properties are:
Bergamot (Citrus aurantium bergamia)
Cape Chamomile (Eriocephalus punculatus)
Cape Snowbush (Eriocephalus africanus)
Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea)
Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens)
Lavandin (Lavandula hybrida)
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
Roman Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)
Spikenard (Nardostachys Jatamansi)
Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata)
There are so many other oils, like jasmine, neroli, orange, and rose, listed as calming essential oils. Many essential oils are calming due to context, how you identify with them, and your scent history (the memory-emotion connection). The past associations you have with a fragrance and your intention of use is important to acknowledge and understand when using essential oils. I will incorporate these factors into the applications and methods listed later in this writing.
The essential oil choices for stress related “behavior modification”
I like to use a method I call behavior modification to solve emotional challenges along with reduce bad habits, addictions, dietary issues and so much more. Behavior modification in this case will rely on changing the behavior of stressful thoughts. Choosing essential oils for this becomes a more interesting and personal journey than just selecting essential oils based on chemistry, properties or what somebody told you to do.
Before explaining the methods to reduce stressful thinking with behavior modification, let’s walk through how to choose the oils for this system. What we’re looking for in this process are the essential oils that will be best for you, partially ignoring choosing oils based on known anti-stress, calming or other properties of the selected essential oils. This will be influenced by your scent-memory association with the oils as well as your personal connections and “likes” of the oils you choose.
If you’re new to essential oils you can look up some recipes or ways that others have used essential oils for stress and anxiety. When making choices think about the types of fragrances you like. Use words like floral, citrus, spicy, woody or earthy as your scent descriptions. This will help you find an oil or blend that fits your happy place.
Essential oils from your happy place
. . . a selection based on places, things or feelings that bring you comfort
Another way to choose stress-relieving essential oils, along with known properties and the fragrance description, is a selection based on places, things or feelings that bring you comfort. If you like the forest, tree oils or woods would satisfy. Or it could be fields that bring you joy, represented by the herbal oils. Foods may be your thing with a selection of citrus or spices, like cardamom, coriander and nutmeg. Try to choose essential oils based on:
positive associations you may have with the plants
the scent
how you identify with where the essential oil may come from
The possibilities of a positive association are endless. Make this your own and make it personal.
As an example, the exotic, tropical locations of a vacation may provide stress-free and relaxing memories. You can encompass a similar feel using jasmine and ylang ylang for exotic florals or pepper and ginger tropical spices as your primary odor. A deep forest adventure can be duplicated using earth and root scented vetiver, with woody Virginia cedarwood and balsam needle scents of spruce and pine. Imagine and create your own special-place and stress-free environment.
The emotion-scent behavior adjustment
I write about behavior modification often, so you may find some repeating information if you’ve read other writings by me. That said, I’ll review my behavior modifying steps in relation to reducing anxiety and releasing stress-inducing thoughts. There are two main features of this practice.
One is using the scent-emotion connection. Every memory and every emotion has a scent attachment. There is always some smell in your environment. As a result, whatever is happening at the time you smell these odors, they will be connected to the events and feelings that occurred at the time of smelling. When you smell these scents again they will trigger the memory and the feeling/emotion associated. This scent recall may be extreme or subtle, to where it is not even noticed. In this practice of scent behavior modification, we will use this memory-emotion-scent connection to create the feelings you want with the selected odors, the essential oils.
Secondly is a system called the “interrupt.” This is where a tool, in this case an aroma, is used to distract from whatever it is you’re trying to be distracted from. In dieting, the interrupt would be used to interfere with the desire to eat or avoid eating something you shouldn’t. In stressful situations, it’s used to distract from the stressful thoughts and feelings. Of course this is not used when the stress is due to a life threatening, abusive or dangerous situation. That requires removal from or resolving the event.
Here’s how to create a “session” for stress relief:
Select your blend or essential oils based on the previously mentioned guidelines. In this system you want to avoid using an essential oil or blend you have used before. You want it to be a new and unique scent experience. Do not use this scent at any other time than what’s written below.
When you are in a stress-free mindset, find a comfortable and relaxing space you can meditate in or something similar that is calming to you.
As you do the following steps, inhale the blend in anyway you desire; diffuse, sniff from bottle, apply to skin, etc.
In a state of focused attention, visualize your goal of being stress-free as happening to you now (at the time of this practice, but thinking always as if this is your natural state).
With as true an emotion as you can summon, feel what it feels like to be stress and anxiety free.
Repeat these steps for 4 to 6 days, only using your selected fragrance during this practice. Do not carry the oil with you outside of this environment during this time.
Once you have completed the time using the blend in your comfort space, start to carry the blend in a bottle, a roll-on, or sniffer.
When feelings or thoughts of stress occur, take the bottle from your pocket or carry bag, remove the cap, and sniff the fragrance. This will trigger the memory-emotion-scent connection you created in your practice and assist in lowering or eliminating the stress.
It is suggested to change the blend you use every 2 to 3 months to create a recharged scent-emotion bond. You can go back to your original blend following the alternate blend’s 2 to 3 month period.
The Interrupt
. . . an excellent system to change or modify behavior
The Interrupt
That would make a great movie, book or series title. Besides the interrupt being a great title, it is an excellent system to change or modify behavior. For you techies, this is not your computer interrupt. Rather than alert you to a problem as the computer interrupt system does, this one alerts you to the solution to that issue, in this case, resolving thoughts of stress.
Here’s how it works:
Go through steps 1 through 7 listed above, carrying the blend with you throughout your day in your chosen container.
When situations of stress or anxiousness arise and with a focused intention of using this to stop or relieve stress,
Take the bottle from wherever you carry it (remember to maintain a focus on your intention to reduce stress)
Remove the lid
Sniff from the bottle, roll-on, spray, or dab like a perfume (depends on what you decided you would put your oil or blend in)
Focus on the aroma and the stress-free feeling you had when smelling the oil during your sessions
Put the lid back on and put the bottle back into your carrying space
That is The Interrupt!
You are ready to ride smooth all day
That’s it. You now have a lifestyle system to assist you in staying calm during conflict, focused in stress-related work conditions, and steady when facing fears. I call it a lifestyle system because for it to work it needs to become a habit, a lifestyle. The daily meditation suggested earlier is absolutely beneficial to the success of this system. When used correctly and with intention and consistency, this lifestyle method will make powerful positive change in your moods, emotion and, as a result, your relationships and work habits.
Try these excellent and proven Jimm Harrison Signature remedies for stress reduction and to ease through anxious times.
An emotionally easing synergy of essential oils to reduce anxiety and fear, and defuse the “fight or flight” response. Good for insomnia, digestive issues and a racing heart.
This essential oil blend relieves negative feelings and anxiety while promoting positive emotions, a sense of ease and completeness.
The emotional, mystical, and healing powers of the forest are released at home or work mimicking the Japanese therapeutic practice of Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing).
Captures a youthful exuberance and ease of mind, while enhancing health and healing, and supporting emotional wellness.
Not a blend, this is one of Jimm’s favorite essential oils to work with for so many reasons. RARE. This essential oil has been unavailable for over 5 years. Jimm’s long-time producer has begun producing small amounts of the most fantastic quality to be found. It’s on sale for a limited time.
An exquisite essential oil with a beautiful ethereal scent and color. One of the most outstanding stress, anxiety and tension relieving oils.