Natural remedies for anxiety: essential oils

Anxiety is an emotional condition that manifests as a state of alertness to everything unknown externally. It is considered mild when associated with a transient event such as a university exam or a work period; it becomes a chronic disorder when the individual is affected by anxiety in every aspect of their life, at any time. This is exacerbated when we are forced to step out of our comfort zone, out of our balance, or when traumatic events occur, such as abandonment or loss.

Summary:

Essential oils for anxiety: how to use them

Symptoms: stomach tightness, lump in throat, tachycardia

Morning anxiety

Exam anxiety

Anxiety in children

School anxiety

Essential oils for anxiety: how to use them

Aromatherapy, through the subtle energy of plants, works on emotional states and thus on the development of human potential. Essential oils can stimulate us, relax us, relieve pain, contribute to the proper functioning of organs, and provide well-being by awakening long-dormant sensations. Through environmental diffusion, massages, aromatic baths, or simply by nebulizing aromatherapy sprays into rooms, it is possible to benefit from the vital energy of plants, improving our emotional state.

Symptoms: stomach tightness, lump in throat, tachycardia

In moments of intense stress, the body responds with a sensation of stomach tightness, a lump in the throat, or tachycardia.

• A lump in the throat makes swallowing difficult, sometimes almost painful. Very often, these are temporary episodes in specific situations of intense stress.
• The stomach is considered our "second brain"; under pressure, the stomach contracts, digestion slows down, and tension is felt in the digestive system.
• Tachycardia is an increase in heart rate above the value considered normal for a resting heart; generally, the perceived sensation is that of a racing heart and "heart in the throat."

Morning anxiety

Morning is considered a delicate and precious moment because it influences the progress of the activities we will carry out throughout the day. For people suffering from anxiety, waking up can be very intense and unpleasant, manifesting as an irrational fear of facing what might happen when getting out of bed, representing a real limitation.

Essential oils that help us to make waking up positive and dynamic:

• Orange restores the positivity of sunbeams, opening us to a smile.
• Lavender helps us clarify which direction to take.
• Litsea is an energizer, making us active and vibrant.

A good daily practice:

Spray the aromatherapy mist around you, immerse yourself in a fragrant cloud, and take time to listen to the message the plant brings you. Allow yourself three deep breaths to greet the day and decide to face it in the best possible way. If you usually take a shower in the morning, enrich the water vapor with a spray of essential oil to treat yourself to a pampering experience.

Recommended essential oils for panic attacks

Panic attacks can be linked to moments of intense stress, with feelings of fear and palpitations. These essential oils are ideal for restoring a state of calm and relaxation:

• Orange: Imparts the sunny qualities of action, confidence, warmth, vitality, and expansion in a sweet and delicate way. In fact, although it is energizing and invigorating, it remains relaxing, an essential oil that induces cheerful calm and serenity. It helps combat insomnia and nervousness. It brings joy and love for life, especially in winter, when the lack of light leads to a decrease in serotonin and endorphin production.
• Ylang Ylang: Harmonizes contrasts, dispels fear, releases joy, sensuality, and develops intuition and creativity. Calming when inhaled, it has a relaxing effect on the nervous system, alleviating disorders such as anxiety, depression, irritability, nervousness, and insomnia. Ylang Ylang essential oil creates harmony in cases of conflict, anger, resentment, and frustration, as it promotes understanding and forgiveness, dissolves disappointments and offenses, and restores the desire to love. As a hypotensive, the essence can lower blood pressure and mitigate stress-induced cardiovascular disorders such as palpitations and tachycardia.
• Damask Rose: Carries a true message of hope, sweetness, and balance. It reconnects us to our center, opening us to beauty. Its silent and delicate action is very profound: it opens us to understanding, love, and listening. It removes negative feelings, freeing us from suffering and guilt.

Recommended essential oils for anguish

• Lavender: The pronounced relaxing effect of this essential oil makes it suitable for creating a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere: in the evening hours when you want to induce sleep and let go of the day's tensions, in nurseries or children's rooms, during a yoga practice, in spaces where you read and spend your free time. Its expectorant, anticatarrhal, and antiseptic action makes it a valuable ally in cases of colds. Refreshing, Lavender is perfect in warmer seasons and during moments of great fatigue.
• Litsea: Sedative, neurovegetative balancing, antidepressant, and natural anxiolytic. It helps fight fears, phobias, insomnia, and nervousness, creating harmony. Litsea essential oil is perfect for a bright awakening and an invigorating shower. Recommended in cases of anguish and depression, it awakens the desire to live and dissolves inner disharmonies. It helps appreciate the small things of daily life and opens up to greater understanding and happiness. It has a slight analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect.

Essential oils for speech difficulties

• Frankincense: Slows down breathing, making it an ideal essential oil for meditation and prayer. It creates an atmosphere conducive to calm. It exerts a relaxing action on the emotional sphere and stimulates higher psychic faculties. It helps to sever ties with the past, especially when it hinders spiritual growth. Relaxing, it facilitates contact with one's inner self.
• Lemon: Rests the mind and relaxes the nervous system: it dispels anxiety, relieves nervous headaches, and insomnia. It prevents blockages of the sympathetic nervous system, stimulates parasympathetic functions. It supports, instills courage and determination. When forced to endure oppression, persecution, and various forms of bullying, it helps free oneself from conditioning. Improves communication.

Recommended essential oils for insomnia

• Bergamot: The green color of Bergamot essential oil reflects the toning and relaxing qualities of the plant. "The Prince of citrus fruits" gives a sense of pleasantness, dissolves inner blocks, and helps to follow one's path with joy and serenity. An essential oil for flexibility, it instills joy and soothes emotional pain. It relaxes the mind and sharpens the senses.
• Mandarin: The sedative action of Mandarin essential oil is effective in states of tension or restlessness. The tranquilizing effect is particularly reflected in the sympathetic system: this makes it especially suitable for evening use. It induces serenity and joy, helps to re-savor simple things with enthusiasm and wonder. Its subtle action helps to overcome harshness and support one's inner child.

Recommended essential oils for nervous fatigue and exhaustion

• Peppermint: is a great ally for study and work, mental clarity, and concentration. It helps reconcile with existence and the present, dispelling fear. The planetary signature of Mercury reaffirms its belonging to plants that facilitate communication and intellect.
• Thyme: useful in moments of excessive fatigue or stress, when courage is needed or when it is difficult to stay grounded. It strengthens both mentally and physically: the Salernitan School recommended turning to Thyme in moments of anguish and depression because it was believed to heal wounds of the spirit and restore vital energy. It improves mood, invigorates the spirit, and provides support in cases of apathy, fear, or self-depreciation.

Recommended essential oils for agitation and restlessness

• Clary Sage: provides benefits in cases of moodiness, nervousness, stress, and premenstrual syndrome with significant mood swings. It is recommended for those in a moment of particular indecision, confusion, or fear. It stimulates intuition, creativity, and inspiration, uplifting the spirit. It induces calm and serenity in the presence of stress, nervousness, anguish, fears, paranoia. It instills courage to realize creative projects or pass exams.
• Vetiver: gives the depth of a root, reconnects to the earth. It is a good tool for finding balance between mind and body. It is a powerful sedative for the nervous system: it is useful in cases of physical and mental exhaustion, depression, and anxiety. It helps to focus one's strength and achieve goals, improving decision-making ability. It balances more impulsive temperaments, encourages reflection and willpower.

Recommended essential oils to improve self-confidence

• Atlantic Cedar: Supports vital energy, provides balance and strength in moments of vulnerability and instability. Useful during times of change when facing the difficulty of adapting to novelty. Enhances resistance and tenacity, increases courage, and promotes contact with oneself.
• Jasmine: Elevates desire, combining love and spirituality. It brings optimism, trust, and security, facilitating openness to others. It helps overcome external conditioning, including those dictated by a very rigid upbringing.
• Juniper: Provides dynamism and cleanses stagnant situations, helping to regain determination and see new developments. It benefits those who wish to break free from the oppression of negative thoughts, excessive guilt, or unpleasant memories.

Exam anxiety

Fear and tension become part of many students' lives when embarking on a university course of study, the so-called "exam panic." Very often, panic is associated with an excess of perfectionist demands, the fear of making mistakes or failing. Anxiety is an emotional state associated with a condition of fear towards situations that challenge us. The tension felt before taking an exam can lead to communication blocks, sweating, and dry throat. Essential oils are excellent tools that can support us in the weeks leading up to exams and during the exams themselves. The essential oils that can support us during exam preparation are:

• Study: a synergy of essential oils specially created to promote concentration and mental freshness, clarity, and decisiveness. The three oils present are also highly purifying and cleansing, for linear and serene thinking.
• Basil: Increases energy, concentration, enthusiasm, and courage. The planetary signature of Mercury gives it an energetic connection to action, acceleration, and activity. It revitalizes and invigorates a tired mind, warding off stress and tension. As an antidepressant and cephalic, it dispels recurring thoughts that lower vital energy.
• Scots Pine: Restores strength and vigor. As a stimulant of the nervous system, it is useful in cases of apathy and depression. Pine can be helpful in cases of fatigue from excessive work stress, both to strengthen identity and self-esteem and to regain vigor.

Relaxing massages

Massages with relaxing essential oils are an excellent practice for feeling regenerated:

• They help relieve the stress accumulated during the day
• They improve the skin for greater elasticity and eliminate dead cells
• They provide multiple benefits for the nervous, circulatory, and lymphatic systems
• Muscle tension is reduced for a general sense of relaxation
• Energy channels are opened, and energy is balanced throughout the body

Recommended points for effective relaxing massages

We can stimulate certain points of the body through localized massages to relax and induce a state of well-being:

• the neck
• the back
• the shoulders
• the feet
• the wrists
• the hands

Neck massage

To relieve accumulated tension during the day, a massage is performed starting from the lower part of the neck up to the base of the skull, and the same procedure is repeated downwards until fully absorbed.

Head massage

A few drops of oil on the hands and massage the temples with two fingers. The pressure should be accompanied by a slow circular motion. Stress and headache will gradually dissolve. Lavender essential oil is highly recommended.

Foot massage

The point under the sole of the foot, in the arch area, can produce pleasant sensations throughout the body. Massage the entire sole of the foot with oil until fully absorbed for a pleasant regenerating sensation.

Hand massage

Between the thumb and forefinger, when an L is formed with these fingers, the skin between them stretches, and it is possible to perform a circular massage in this area with the forefinger and thumb of the other hand. Use oil and also apply it to the wrists until absorbed.

Anmian

The Anmian point is a connection point to sleep located on the head. It is located below the ear, in the neck area. Massage it with oil using the index and middle fingers until a general relaxation begins to be felt.

Orange

Fresh, sweet, and sensual, Orange essential oil is extracted from the fruit peel. Its soft and delicate scent provides balance and emotional well-being. It increases joy, develops intuition and sensitivity, and removes the fear of the unknown. It is much loved by children for its cheerful simplicity.

Litsea

Fresh and persistent, Litsea clarifies thoughts, awakens the desire to live, and dissolves inner disharmonies. Energizing, it helps appreciate the small things of daily life, opening up to greater understanding and happiness. Litsea can have a dual action, both stimulating and calming. Recommended in cases of anguish and depression.

Lavender

Lavender's virtues are fully expressed in the nervous system and the emotional sphere: it calms and soothes, rebalances in situations of anxiety, stress, and apathy. It restores sleep when it is lacking, alleviates headaches and tachycardias due to severe agitation. It helps to regain peace of mind and heart, to let events settle, and to soften more impetuous characters.

Anxiety in children

Anxiety in children is characterized by experiences of strong fear, worry about "bad things" happening. In children, anxiety manifests as vomiting, reduced attention span, distraction, and listlessness. If a child is overloaded with an excessive state of anxiety, it can harm many aspects: the ability to make friends, family balance, and academic performance. In children, anxiety manifests regarding school commitments or sports performance as "a thought" or a feeling of oppression and inability to rebel. The essential oils indicated to relax children are:

• Chamomile: an excellent calming agent, it helps remove negative ancestral memories. It facilitates overcoming shock, anger, nervousness, and insomnia. It counteracts restlessness, providing a sweet sense of balance and protection.
• Lavender: restores sleep when it is lacking, soothes headaches and tachycardia due to strong agitation. It helps find peace of mind and heart, allows events to settle, and softens more impetuous characters. It awakens purity, sweetness, and innocence, creating a calm and relaxed atmosphere. Also suitable for those who engage in meditative practices, to promote contemplation.
• Sweet dreams: a synergy of pure relaxing chamomile, lavender, and orange essential oils designed to accompany the dreams of little ones. Balancing, it cleanses environments and provides the protective feeling of a nest.

School Anxiety

The fear of failure, of negative judgment, the fear of not being able to meet the challenge that must be faced are all manifestations of what is called school anxiety. The signs that appear when a child is subject to anxiety attacks are: crying, trembling, headaches, stomach aches, or muscle tension. In these circumstances, parents must pay attention to listening: a child may find it difficult to describe what they are truly feeling, and for this reason, they feel increasingly distressed, creating a vicious cycle of anxiety.