Essential Oils For Depression
Depression is real. It is not something to be ignored, laughed at, or scoffed at, nor is it something to be ashamed of. It can come from many different causes-hormonal imbalances, diet, exposure to chemicals, as a side effect of medication, and more. Essential oils for depression can help.
There are also different kinds of depression, seasonal depression, postpartum depression, panic disorders, anxiety, and others. I’m not going to go into the various types and causes here. Be aware that to rid yourself of depression entirely, you will need to explore diet, environment, and health. That’s a step you can take a little further down the road.
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Aromatherapy, or essential oils, can incredibly affect your emotional outlook. We all know that scents can affect us emotionally. We use perfumes and colognes to make us more attractive. We associate memories with various smells. A newborn baby learns to identify his mother by a sense of smell before his eyes are developed enough to focus.
Diffusing an essential oil (spreading the aroma throughout a room) can profoundly and immediately affect mood. Scent is a vital part of our lives. The limbic system is considered the oldest system in the human body. The limbic system comprises several organs that together process scents and determine how the body will respond.
These responses often involve emotions, especially those related to survival, such as fear and reproductive urges. The limbic system is also tied in closely to determining which memories will be stored and how they will be recalled. The hypothalamus is also a part of the limbic system. It has a significant role in monitoring and regulating hormones.
Essential oils for depression have an aroma that activates the limbic system through smell. Essential oils also can affect our hormones and eliminate unwanted toxins from the body. They can help ease the pain. They can carry oxygen to the cells of our body. Essential oils applied to the skin can be detected in the blood in as little as twenty seconds!
The essential oil molecules are smaller than our cells; they permeate our bodies and affect us on a cellular level. There are ten central systems in our body: integumentary (skin), skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine (hormones), digestive, respiratory, circulatory, urinary, and reproductive, and essential oils can affect them all!
Here’s a quick list of essential oils that are commonly used in relieving depression:
- Basil (perfect for manic depression and anxiety)
- Bergamot
- Blossom blend
- Brain Gem blend
- Cedarwood
- Chamomile, Roman
- Clary Sage
- Frankincense
- Geranium
- Grapefruit
- Helichrysum
- Juniper Berry
- Lavender
- Loving Care blend
- Marjoram (especially helpful with grief-based depression)
- Orange
- Palmarosa
- Peppermint (beneficial if you can’t stay awake)
- Quiet Scent blend (perfect for when you can’t sleep)
- Ravensara
- Rose
- Rosemary (especially helpful if you’re anxious)
- Sandalwood
**A warm or hot essential oil that you will want to use diluted with carrier oil before applying to the skin. If you operate without a carrier and it feels hot, DO NOT rinse with water; it will get hotter; apply carrier oil to the area and cool it.
As you can see, there are quite a few to choose from. The best way to select an oil is to smell each one. If you smell an essential oil and it’s just nasty smelling, you won’t want to use it; you’ll hesitate because it’s not a pleasant experience.
When you find that oil you want to crawl in the bottle and live there, that’s the one for you!
Diffusing an essential oil is a powerful way to impact your mood. You can set a timer to release the oil into the air at specific intervals. I use a diffuser set to diffuse fifteen minutes out of every hour. You can also purchase a pendant diffuser. This is simply a necklace made of clay you add the oil to or a hollow necklace with a wick inside you put the oil on.
Some people prefer a sniff stick-it looks like a tube of chapstick, but inside is a cotton wick to which you add the essential oil. You open it up whenever you need a whiff, and the aroma comes out. Some people carry the actual oil bottle with them and open it up when needed; be careful the lid doesn’t come undone in your pocket, so the oil spills. Find what works best for you.
Frankincense is perhaps the most often used essential oil for depression. Many people have been able to discontinue using antidepressants by using Frankincense. First, ensure you have a 100% pure essential oil of Frankincense. Frankincense is an expensive oil, so it is often cut or synthesized.
Suppose you’re unfamiliar with the various essential oil companies. In that case, you can get a good idea of the oil’s purity by its price.
If you’ll recall, up in the first paragraph, I listed some of the causes of depression, among them being exposed to chemicals. If an essential oil is synthesized (made with chemicals) or improperly extracted (with chemicals), those chemicals are now a part of that essential oil. They can be carried into every cell in your body.
Ways to use essential oils for depression:
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- Diffuse or use the essential oil as a room spray (To make a room spray add 10-12 drops of essential oil to 1-2 ounces of filtered water in a glass spray bottle. Shake and spray. Always shake before each use and use a glass bottle as the essential oils will eat through a plastic bottle.)
- Apply a drop to the back of the neck and the temples
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- Use in a massage (add 5-6 drops of essential oil to an ounce of carrier oil and massage with this blend)
- In a bath (Add 5-6 drops of your chosen essential oil to 1/4-1/2 cup bath salts or Epsom(TM) salts, then add to your bath water. Soak for twenty minutes and rinse off. Always rinse off; the combination of salt and essential oils will pull toxins from your body to the skin’s surface. If you don’t rinse off, you will reabsorb those toxins and may develop a rash. Always add to the salts before the water, or the essential oils will float on top of the water.)
- Open the bottle and inhale.
- Use as a perfume; apply a drop or two to your pulse points.
- If you’re feeling anxious, apply a drop to the tops of your ears.
After you start feeling better, you’ll want to begin modifying your diet. Often depression is caused because toxins block various chemical receptors within the body.
A lack of calcium can often contribute to depression. Carbonated beverages (especially those in the cola category) leach calcium from the body. The neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin control depression. Trace minerals allow our bodies to use these neurotransmitters.
Some fun recipe blends you may want to try:
Recipe #1
10 drops Bergamot
5 drops of Clary Sage
2 drops Rose
(Note, Bergamot can cause photosensitivity in some individuals, avoid direct exposure of skin with Bergamot oil applied to the sun or tanning beds for 24 hours. As long as the skin is covered by the clothing, you should be fine.)
Recipe #2 (guilt and depression)
15 drops Geranium
5 drops Lavender
10 drops Bergamot
This should give you some good ideas.
Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed; pick one direction.
Try a different oil; some modification, add something in addition to; significant change, congratulations!
Start making modifications (slowly, one step at a time) to your diet and environment, and enjoy your journey to better health and happiness!
