By popular request, I am handcrafting essential oil roll on perfumes with a blend of the oils I personally used and found to be very effective in easing the symptoms of anxiety & depression. These exquisite perfumes are almost ready and can be pre-ordered here in the comments!

Aromatherapy is the art and science of blending essential oils for therapeutic, cosmetic and mood enhancing applications. Each essential oil has its own unique therapeutic properties, exhibiting highly aromatic extracts taken from tiny oil glands in the flowers, roots, stalks, bark, seeds, leaves, gum or rind of plants.

In Biblical times essential oils were used for healing, anointing and as a fragrance for the hair and body; in fact the Hebrew word for anointing means to rub or massage a person with oil. Now this wasn’t just a bottle of vegetable oil poured over someone, we know this by the anointing oil recipe the Lord gave to Moses in Exodus 30:22-31, where the Israelites were instructed to make anointing oil with myrrh, fragrant cane, cinnamon and cassia in a medium of olive oil.

The Bible mentions aroma and incense throughout the scriptures. Frankincense, my favourite, was added to the grain offering as “a soothing aroma to the Lord” (Leviticus 2:1-2, NKJV). In Matthew 2:11 we read how the wise men brought gifts of Frankincense and Myrrh to the new born Jesus and in the Gospel of John, Mary, sister of Lazarus, took a pint of nard, also called Spikenard, a very costly essential oil, and anointed the feet of Jesus (John 12:3). There are many examples of essential oils being used in Biblical times.

Personally, I have found aromatherapy to be an easy and effective tool for when I need an emotional lift; most nights it is prayer and a drop of Lavender oil on my pillow to induce a deep peaceful sleep.

During my journey through depression I had a spritzer (an essential oil blend with a base of water) of lavender, bergamot and rose geranium (all indicated to relieve nervous tension, anxiety, stress and insomnia), which I would use every morning, and some days every hour. Closing my eyes I would spray the beautiful blend across my face, breathing deeply and feeling the almost instant calming effects of the aromas.

Our sense of smell is the only sense that is hard wired straight to the brain

 

When the nose identifies an aroma it travels up the nasal cavity where millions of olfactory sensors are located. Via the olfactory bulb, the aroma is sent directly to the centre of the brain, to the limbic system, the part of our brain that governs our emotions.

When the aroma is processed, neurochemicals are released, causing an emotional or physical response (relaxing, stimulating, sedative etc.) Our brains’ interpretation of the aroma will determine the reaction.

An understanding of the science behind aromatherapy helps explain how a fragrance or applied oil can have some very profound physiological and psychological effects. It works for me, not as some magic potion or an instant “fix” for a problem, but rather in conjunction with other healing approaches for the spirit, soul and body.