THERE’S AN OIL FOR THAT

Not much of a pandemic related title…or is it?  Through these weeks of social distancing my partner & I have stuck close to home.  No cheating.  Always mask & gloves when we go out for food & cash (an essential item in Mexico).  Being home so much gives you lots of time to think.  Which isn’t always a good thing.

Depression, melancholy, fear, agitation, loneliness….so many emotions arise.  After too many nights with a nightcap & too many days of tears, lethargy, sadness, I realized I had to do something or I was going to sink into my bed or our couch & refuse to move.  So I got up, showered earlier than usual these days, dressed, & sat down at my computer to make a list of projects I could tackle, because I finally have the time.  (And for me, structure is a good thing.)  One of them was to renew my study of essential oils.  It’s been 4 years since I certified through the online AROMAHEAD INSTITUTE.  What better place to zero in on than the emotions this lockdown has raised in me.  And in many others.

What I love about oils is how you can customize a blend for the combination of emotions you’re feeling.  And your blend might be completely different from the blend I would use.  I don’t want to get bogged down here…there’s sooo much information out there.  But I’ll say this: Essential oils are strong chemicals, not to be taken lightly.  They are subtle but powerful & they must be used with caution.  The #1 rule with all oils is – Dilute! Dilute! Dilute!   Please note, also, that I do not advocate ingestion of oils without a very high level of education.  Now, let’s talk.

Essential oils are the concentrated “essence” of herbs, seeds, grasses, trees, flowers, fruits, etc.  The chemical composition of each oil is different & there is the potential to interact negatively with specific medications & diseases.  Also, sensitive skin can react adversely, especially if an oil (a citrus oil, for example) has oxidized because of frequent exposure to air & sunlight.  In short, don’t use an oil without studying it first.  aromaweb.com is a good source.  And I recently found an excellent discussion of quality & storage of oils on ESSENTIALOILHAVEN.com.

Here are two of my favorite go-to books (I have many!) for using oils with emotional issues, both well known authors in aromatherapy:

Yesterday I knew I needed oils to help get me through so I grabbed these books & started reading.  Situational depression in the midst of such serious global issues, causing the delay of my trip to visit my granddaughter in North Carolina, guided my choices.

Gabriel Mojay teaches oils from a Chinese medicine perspective, breaking emotional issues like depression into different categories depending on cause & symptoms.  This time I picked oils based on “fear of an external or known cause” – Thyme linalool – & depression that causes a loss of “ability to motivate, seek, and aspire”.  Yep, that said it.  His suggested oils for that are Bergamot & Mandarin.  All I did was place one drop of each on a small felted wool ball someone gave me & breathe in (deeply) the aroma several times in the afternoon/evening.  The clue that you’ve taken in too much is simply beginning to feel a headache or nausea.  If you experience these symptoms, just back off. I must tell you that I feel much more clear, focused, & calm today.

My other book led me to a very different list of oils, to be used in three phases as needed. Worwood suggests specific blends totalling 30 drops to be combined with massage oil, placed in a diffuser, or dropped on a cotton ball for simple inhalation.  You can breathe directly from the bottle but I prefer not to open my bottles any more than I have to to protect their integrity.  She suggests Grapefruit, Rosemary, Eucalyptus citriodora (there are several Eucalyptus species), Cypress, Helichrysum, & Clary sage, to be used in different combinations for light, moderate, or deep depression.

I’ve also found myself having mild panic attacks sometimes at night when the lights are finally out & my mind starts cataloguing all the craziness we’re living through right now. Lavender is the #1 first aid oil for that & in this case it’s OK to use it straight, or “neat” as we call it.  So I keep a bottle by my bed now.   All I have to do is open the bottle once & take a couple of deep breaths to calm my “fight or flight” response, or place 1 drop on my inner wrists or my upper chest.  For more serious cases of panic attacks the oils you see in the picture above can be combined in specific proportions to apply in a massage oil or to inhale from the bottle or a cotton ball.  

You probably noticed that I have several brands of oils.  I’ve experimented over the years & these are the brands I’ve stuck with.  Here in Mexico it’s difficult to find oils & shipping costs from the US are outrageous.  That means that any time we’re in the US or someone’s coming to visit us (when will that be???) oils are on my list of must-haves.  

Well, that’s it for today.  I’m happy to discuss any of these suggestions in more detail.  Just send me a message in the comment section.  Don’t self-diagnose depression.  You know how you feel.  Remember my safety comments above.  Don’t forget essential oils when you’re looking for a little help.  Most of all, be safe!