Top Essential Oils for Mental Health & Wellness

I often refer back to my experience as a massage therapist/bodyworker and yoga teacher. These experiences developed me just as much as any other training, degree, or employment--and took up a lot of my 20s. These lessons and insights of working with the body, and with deep respect for the mind-body connection, show up as a strength in my clinical practice with the integration of somatic techniques. One tool that I used, and continue to use in a variety of personal and professional applications, is essential oils. I wanted to write about their potency in the context of mental health and wellness for this blog post for anyone interested in learning more--without pushiness, or any kind of multi-level marketing business involvement. This is purely for sharing the benefits of essential oils and what they offer in terms of enhancing and healing our feelings and our lives. 

Natural Health Shouldn't Be a Privilege 
Whether a client is interested in lifestyle changes, or natural health tools, methods, and treatments, I begin with not assuming that things like supplements, bodywork, and nutritional supports are widely accessible. There are a number of barriers that may present for many, not the least of which being financial barriers to wellness through things that cost money, or involve a financial commitment. 

I begin with this acknowledgement, with respect and sensitivity to the limitation of means for many readers. If you do not have access to tools like the ones I mention in this blog post about essential oils, the knowledge and information can still be a benefit to you, now and in the future. I believe that plant-based medicine and health supports should be accessible to everyone who wants to explore or use them. 

No Pitch, No Pyramids
Second, this is not a post to get you to buy something, or sign up for regular orders with a pyramid kind of company like doTERRA or Young Living. While therapeutic-grade essential oils are touted as the most effective, my intention here is not to steer you to buy any particular brand of product. I hope you will find an affordable, sustainable, organic source for your oils and do your olfactory research before buying online. 
Tips for Purchasing Essential Oils

Essential Oils: Not the Only Tool, But Oh So Cool
Now, to the good stuff: the sniffing aromas of plant essences to help our brains function properly, or better. How cool is that? I've been nerding out on it for about twenty years now--and I've definitely not over how cool the chemistry of it all is. When inhaled, the essential oil's constituents can activate certain neural regions, like our limbic system (think: lizard brain behavior). That has some powerful implications when it comes to caring for ourselves when stressed, triggered, afraid, or upset. While EOs won't be the only tool you will rely on in the care and keeping of you over time, your mind and your space will benefit from you learning how essential oils can work for you and boost your sense of wellbeing in your life and home. 

To smell the sweet, mild stimulation of the scent of tangerine diffused in the air enlivens the space  with a kind of lightness and vigor. I've experienced the mood-boosting effects of citrus oils diffusing in a space, and recommend using citrus oils like grapefruit, bergamot, and lemon specifically for lifting the spirit, energizing and clearing a space, focused activities, and concentration enhancement. 

Application of EOs
I recommend diffusion, aromatherapy baths, and/or topical application if you want to use EOs to influence the mood, or for mental health benefits. Pure, organic, therapeutic grade essential oils are best.
Ways To Use Essential Oils
Pet-safe Guide to Diffusing Essential Oils
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Queen Lavender: Still Ruling
Good old lavender oil, clinically proven to be effective in lowering hypertension and anxiety, has quite an impressive resume. It consistently ranks the #1 oil for overall mental health benefits. Lavender essential oil has been found to be effective in:

• calming anxiety without being sedating;
• lowering adrenaline and cortisol levels in the blood, as well as lowering high blood pressure and heart rate; 
• reducing restlessness, insomnia, agitation, and nervousness that may be connected to symptoms of anxiety; 
• improving mood, quality of sleep;
• interrupting the body's stress response (fight, flight, freeze, fawn); and 
• soothing depressive symptoms and the impacts of stress and fatigue.

8 Recipes for Relaxing with Lavender Oil 

Top EOs for Mental Health & Wellness:

• Basil Sweet Essential Oil
• Bergamot Essential Oil
• Clary Sage Essential Oil
• Frankincense Essential Oil
• Grapefruit Essential Oil
• Helichrysum Essential Oil
• Lavender Essential Oil
• Lemon Essential Oil
• Neroli Essential Oil
• Palo Santo Essential Oil
• Patchouli Essential Oil
• Peppermint Essential Oil
• Roman Chamomile Essential Oil
• Rose Geranium Essential Oil
• Sweet Orange Essential Oil
• Vetiver Essential Oil
• Ylang Ylang Essential Oil
  
  

My personal favorite oil is Palo Santo. You may have seen or used palo santo sticks to purify space. Bursera Graveolens, known as "holy wood" from South America, clears spaces as well as calms the nervous system and soothes the skin. Geranium oil and Clary Sage are fantastic for women's health and healing. Cedarwood, Patchouli, Peppermint, Ylang Ylang each have properties that boost the mood and can be soothing in treating addiction, trauma, health, healing, and grounding in their own ways. 
Palo Santo: How to Use It & Buy It Sustainably

Let Your Sniffer Be Your Guide
I encourage you to get to know essential oils over time, their personalities, profiles, benefits, and scents. Learn and experiment with them at your own pace, and let your sniffer be your guide--it won't steer you wrong in selecting what your whole self can benefit from.