Edited to Add: Essential oils aren’t perfect. There have been studies showing that lavender and tea tree oils specifically can disrupt your hormones. It’s always best to be cautious about trying different methods for your health. To learn more about the latest research on complementary, integrative, and alternative health methods, check the NCCIH.
We like things to smell good. It can increase our mood, make things feel more pleasant, and make us nostalgic. It can be a perfume, or the scent of bread baking, or the smell of rain as it hits the pavement and grass (known as petrichor).
Using essential oils has become more and more popular recently, and it isn’t hard to find guides about the best diffusers to use or the benefits of certain oils. Essential oils are usually associated with self-care and as a source for stress relief. Some of the more popular essential oils include lavender, which helps relax you and help you fall asleep, and clary sage, which can have antidepressant effects. Lavender has also been shown to help with headaches when applied to the temples in studies too.
The most popular ways to use essential oils are through diffusers and by diluting oils and applying them to the body. You can put them on your desk to help keep yourself relaxed as you’re working on homework, or have one next to your bed if you’re having trouble sleeping, which can often be an effect from anxiety and depression. Even the process of finding what combination of oils works best for you can be fun, and can almost feel like you’re creating a potion that makes you happiest and calmest.
Using essential oils should not be a substitute for treatment, nor can it cure or prevent mental illness. However, they’re a quick and easy way to relax, calm the body and nerves, and literally release tension in your muscles that can arise from stress. At the very least, there’s nothing wrong with your surroundings smelling good.
Have you ever tried using essential oils? What did you use them for? Did they help? What are your favorite scents?