There are a number of essential oils that are currently in use as aromatherapy agents to relieve anxiety, stress, and depression, and often improve sleep too. Here is some feedback from individuals who use essential oils and share some of their favorites and some ways that they use them.
Tana really likes myrtle and a combination product called Peace and Calming:
My favorite for anxiety is Young Living Myrtle. I originally bought it to use for thyroid support and found it really helped when I felt anxious. Now I wouldn’t be without it. Another favorite of mine is Peace and Calming [which contains tangerine, orange, ylang ylang, patchouli, vetiver, bergamot and some others]
Drew likes to use a blend of oils:
I diffuse a blend of oils including lavender around bed time in my LUMIE Bodyclock Iris 500 which helps create a wonderful calming sleep haven. Low level warm lighting switched on too.
Joy uses her essential oils in candles, incense, or in a homemade spray and shares that she:
loves lavender oil and sandalwood oil for relieving anxiety. I either have them in candles, incense, or in a homemade spray.
Laura has great way of using her essential oils when she is out and about. She shares:
I love lavender, frankincense and geranium (rose geranium when I can find it). I use them in our home and I like to put a couple drops on cotton balls to carry in a sandwich bag. There are times when I like to take them with me.
Evan’s son uses essential oils for anxiety and insomnia:
My son uses Peace & calming with lavender in the diffuser and/or Valor (sometimes vetiver) on his wrists for anxiety and sleepless nights.
There is, of course, research supporting how many of these essential oils help to reduce anxiety. This paper looks at myrtle and the GABA connection: Anxiolytic-like effects and mechanism of (-)-myrtenol and states that:
results suggest that MYR [myrtle] presents anxiolytic-like activity and that effect can be mediated by GABAergic transmission
Here are a few of the many papers supporting aromatherapy for anxiety and stress:
- Bergamot: Citrus bergamia essential oil: from basic research to clinical application
- Lavender, ylangylang, and bergamot: The effects of the inhalation method using essential oils on blood pressure and stress responses of clients with essential hypertension
- Lavender, rose, orange, bergamot, lemon, sandalwood, clary sage, Roman chamomile, and rose-scented geranium: Essential oils and anxiolytic aromatherapy
Here is systematic review published October 2015: A Systematic Review of the Anxiolytic-Like Effects of Essential Oils in Animal Models
The essential oil with the best profile is Lavendula angustifolia, which has already been tested in controlled clinical trials with positive results. Citrus aurantium using different routes of administration also showed significant effects in several animal models, and was corroborated by different research groups. Other promising essential oils are Citrus sinensis and bergamot oil, which showed certain clinical anxiolytic actions; along with Achillea wilhemsii, Alpinia zerumbet, Citrus aurantium, and Spiranthera odoratissima, which, like Lavendula angustifolia, appear to exert anxiolytic-like effects without GABA/benzodiazepine activity, thus differing in their mechanisms of action from the benzodiazepines.
Have you used any essential oils for anxiety? I’d love to hear which are your favorites and how you’ve used them? Do you/did you use only essential oils or other approaches to help your anxiety too? Do you continue to use them? Do you recommend them to clients or patients?
I love lavender (it’s in my facewash) and neroli (I use this as a spray instead of using perfume). I also travel with lavender essential oil in case sleep is an issue in noisy hotels.
Meredith Barr says
January 1, 2016 at 3:07 pmTrudy,
Thank you for your helpful emails! I found you after starting to feel increasingly anxious as I transition toward menopause. I have been given amazing relief from my anxiety from two roll on diluted oil combinations from Plant Therapy called “Self Esteem” and “Stress Free”. They are both very inexpensive, free shipping on Amazon, and make me feel like I am wearing armor against anxiety. Free from it! I hope this helps someone else!
Trudy Scott says
January 1, 2016 at 8:27 pmThanks for sharing Meredith and what lovely results.
I see Plant Therapy has some organic essential oils which is great. I do wish they were all organic though. I do love the idea of the roll-on application!
For other readers: Self-Esteem contains a blend of Spruce, Frankincense, Blue Tansy, Rosewood; Stress-Free contains a blend of Lavender, Marjoram, Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Roman Chamomile
Pam says
January 1, 2016 at 4:05 pmI read this with great interest 🙂 I learned about Vetiver from Dr. Axe, so I gave it a try, along with a variety of essential oils to test out. Vetiver is my VERY FAVORITE of all. It is a very thick essential oil, so you have to take the reducer out of the bottle top to even get any out. When I first started using it, I used it full strength. I am recovering from amalgam mercury nervous system damage, so I need intense help. The Vetiver was a home run, knock out of the ball park for me 🙂 It is a sedative if you use enough of it. I had to lighten up after a while, by mixing it with a carrier oil. I apply it to my lower spine at night and on the bottom of my feet. It gives me deep wonderful sleep and I wake with Very Calm nerves. I buy my Vetiver on-line from Mountain Rose Herbs. They seem to have high quality essential oils that are not SO expensive. They also sell them in various sizes to help with the cost as well. Vetiver is the largest bottle of essential oils I have ever bought, after I tried out a small sample bottle to start off 🙂 Blessings, Pam
Trudy Scott says
January 1, 2016 at 7:16 pmPam
Thanks for sharing. Great to hear how much it’s helped. Would you mind sharing how it helped i.e. how you felt before using it and then afterwards?
And thanks for sharing how you use it. And I like that Mountain Rose Vetiver is certified organic. In fact I love that all their amazing products are organic! As with foods and nutrients, quality is also important with essential oils.
Rita says
January 1, 2016 at 5:16 pmWow, this was great Trudy! Yes, we use Young Living theraputic oils and have used them for my son with OCD. He uses Vetiver as well as Peace and Calming. RutaVala as well. I’ve been using it for agitation in my mom with mild dementia and Frankincense really worked one day like a charm. There is alot of clamp down on what we are allowed to say because of the FDA now, which just tells me that they must be working. So thankful to see all the research coming out about them now.
Thanks for all you do ! Happy NEW YEAR TRUDY! 🙂
Rita
(4 boys, 3 with autism, mom with dementia, house fire….that’s me) 🙂
Trudy Scott says
January 1, 2016 at 7:14 pmHi Rita (I know you!)
Great to get this feedback and I love that they help your son’s OCD and your mom’s agitation.
For others who read this RutaVala contains: Ruta graveolens (rue) oil, valeriana officinalis (valerian) root oil, and lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil. Ruta graveolens (rue) is new to me and I’m curious why it’s included as it seems to be antifungal/herbicidal (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25553803)?!
I’m curious as to what FDA clamp down you’re referring to?
Happy new year to you and your family!
Rita says
January 5, 2016 at 2:21 pmHi Trudy!
So glad you remember me…hard to forget me! LOL
Hmmm well Young Living warned us to not discuss cures/diseases publicly or they would revoke our membership. They are trying to get their oils to be FDA compliant. Thats about all I know. It was pretty annoying for me even though we use them. I’m not sure if there is anything online about it?
The RutaVala Young Living says, “RutaVaLa promotes relaxation of the body and mind. It helps ease tension and relieve stress. The blend helps overcome negative feelings while encouraging a positive attitude and comfort.”
They are much more cagey with their descriptions now..but http://www.oil-testimonials.com is a great resource for users.
Happy NEW year to you!!!
THank you for all you do!
Rita 🙂
Trudy Scott says
January 7, 2016 at 2:49 pmThanks for letting me know!
Michele says
January 1, 2016 at 6:02 pmI’m an occupational therapist and I worked on a violent locked mental health unit for 6 years of my career. I swear by the use of lavender in a nebulizer for calming a crowd. I remember staff meetings being much calmer when I had left it running after my groups. I attempted to get it piped throughout the unit, like they do in big casinos in Vegas, but it was quickly dismissed as crazy voodoo science. It works!
Trudy Scott says
January 1, 2016 at 7:04 pmMichele
Thanks for sharing. Did you actually use it and see benefits with violent locked down mental health patients? or just the staff?
With all the new research I’m sure it’ll be less likely to be dismissed in the future!
I’m curious what you know about what is piped into big casinos in Vegas?
Michele says
January 1, 2016 at 8:13 pmHello Trudy,
Yes I saw results with my patients. I no longer have my research, but I had found that casinos did use essential oils that had been specially blended for them. There were several commercial size delivery systems available at the time.
I believe there were several clinical settings in America that were utilizing essential oil delivery systems to effect change in the behavior environment. I found it fascinating. I also baked chocolate chip cookies every morning during one of my groups. It was transformational for both patients and staff.
I’m rediscovering oils and have been using them in my yoga practice. I appreciate your knowledge and enjoy reading your blog.
Trudy Scott says
January 2, 2016 at 1:32 pmMichele
Great to hear the lavender worked with the patients too. And yes to essential oils and yoga. I’ve heard of baking cookies to improve your odds of selling a home and love the concept for behavior change in groups. Maybe making a big stew or roast chicken could help too!
I was curious about the commercial aspect of this (thanks for enlightening me!) and just found this: “AromaSys is the leader in providing custom fragrance solutions and scenting casinos products for the gaming industry” …”Independent studies have shown that customers tend to have a longer onsite engagement and spend more money in scented scenting casino environments. In a controlled experiment conducted by Alan R. Hirsch, M.D., found that the amount of money gambled in slot machines placed in scented areas of a casino increased by 45% versus those in unscented areas.” http://www.aromasys.com/gaming/
And this longer article on casinos and fragrance http://vegasmagazine.com/vegas-resorts-realize-the-power-of-fragrance. Of course it’s not always essential oils they are using – often it’s synthentic scents which has it’s own set of issues.
The Aromasys site recommends this commercial scenting for hotels, gyms, offices, spas etc
Sheri Mowery says
January 2, 2016 at 10:16 amTrudy,
Thank you so much for this article! I have been suffering from anxiety and insomnia as I go through perimenopause. I also have MTHFR which I am sure makes things a little worse. I am just learning about essential oils, and the feedback here has encouraged me to spend some more time researching. Thanks to all who left a comment!
Trudy Scott says
January 2, 2016 at 1:34 pmWonderful Sheri! Adding essential oils into the mix (of food changes, addressing nutritional/hormone imbalances etc) is a great plan!
Debbi says
January 2, 2016 at 3:10 pmHey Trudy, do you have recommendations re essential oils or aminos that might help with a 6 yr old boy with reactive attachment disorder? His anger is out of control much of the time. Thanks so much for any advice.
Debbi
calle says
March 7, 2016 at 12:52 pmWow, who knew they did this.
I worry about chemical ladened odors.
But would love to have these used to calm children, and mental patients.
Now don’t take this wrong, but wonder how this would work in Prisons as well as work environments?
How would they be used with Alzheimer’s patients who become upset?
I am into learning what ever I can about EO’s and healing.
It would be a great study for gardeners, green house workers etc to see if they responded to the smell of roses, etc.
Although most roses now have no scent.
I worry about artifacial scents and chemical exposures at stores, hotels, bathrooms etc.