The smells that will help you eliminate sadness and discouragement
Any proposal is valid if it takes our part in our fight against depression. For this reason, we continue to search for the most effective and least harmful therapies that can improve our mood and help us feel better.
Alternative therapies are becoming more and more popular due to the side effects of conventional medical treatments and one such therapy, which is starting to become almost an art, is aromatherapy . Discover how to overcome depression through aromas.
Essential oils in depression
- Just as light influences our state of mind, so do the colors and also the aromas with which we surround ourselves. For this reason, we must also take into account certain domestic details that help us overcome depression, such as the color of the walls or even the distribution of the furniture, as Feng Shun tells us.
- Scents are also a powerful resource to improve our mood, and aromatherapy can reveal a whole world of benefits to achieve the mood you want. Whether you need concentration, relaxation or calm, or if you need more energy and vitality, essential oils can help you achieve it.
- You should bear in mind that essential oils can be used in different ways, but in massage, in bath water and in burners so that the entire room is filled with the aroma that you prefer, they are the most popular and most effective options.
The aromas you need to overcome depression
When treating depression through aromatherapy, you must take into account each symptom of depression, which ones are hurting you the most and which ones you must solve first. Take note of the aromas you need to overcome depression.
Your great ally against depression: lavender
Lavender is the true protagonist of aromatherapy, since it is used to treat many problems, not just depression. In cases of depression, lavender has relaxing properties that help you fight insomnia, but also to recover a certain emotional balance due to that characteristic aroma that induces calm and meditation.
Orange essential oil
Orange essential oil is perfect to combat mood swings and eliminate the feeling of loneliness. In fact, any citrus aroma lifts your spirits and gives you the feeling of having more joy and more vitality.
Bergamot against depression
It is the ideal aroma to reduce sadness, desolation and lack of interest. One of the main consequences of depression is precisely the lack of motivation, which eventually becomes a lack of energy and desire that invades all areas of your life.
Geranium essential oil in aromatherapy
Geranium essential oil is a true balancer, in the sense of restoring the union between body and mind. We cannot forget that depression is also a mismatch and disconnection between body and mind. Hence, they always recommend maintaining healthy lifestyle habits both physically and psychologically.
Jasmine to heal the soul
The aroma of jasmine, in addition to being the most pleasant, is used to improve mood in cases of depression. It acts above all on a more spiritual level, not in vain in India this plant is considered to promote love and compassion.
The aroma of sage can help you
The scent of sage directly influences the nervous system, recovering energy and vigor. The aroma of sage can help you when depression has caused you lack of concentration and memory problems, since it seems to improve cognitive abilities.
The benefits of rosemary to treat depression
Similar benefits that you get with sage with rosemary essential oil, widely used to treat both depression and anxiety, as it promotes calm and a general feeling of well-being.
The power of rose essential oil
If there is an essential oil that can be useful for almost everything, it is rose. Perhaps because it is a flower that has an immense symbolic power, perhaps because it smells wonderful, but in any case it is one more of the resources for depression in aromatherapy .
St John’s worth against anxiety and depression
Also called St. John’s Worth, it is a kind of natural antidepressant, with benefits that do not take long to appear. If the therapeutic effects of this plant have been proven since ancient times, it is also true that it can present interactions if it is taken with some drugs. So you better consult your doctor about the convenience of using St. John’s Worth for anxiety or depression.
How aromatherapy works for depression
More than replacing pharmacological treatment, what we are looking for is an extra ally in the process that leads us to overcome depression. We remember the importance of psychological therapy for this disorder, which is really the pillar on which recovery will be based. And while the process continues its course, we can look for other support.
Aromatherapy works by unleashing different physiological responses and favoring certain moods. It all depends on the aroma, of course, and the problem to be treated. If you’re wondering how to use it, let’s start from the beginning. What do you need for aromatherapy? Well, simply the essential oil of the plant or plants that can help you overcome depression.
With the essential oil you can do several things. The most common is to inhale it. As stated in the work by Laura Yesenia Fajardo Hurtado (Effect of essential oils on the emotional symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress) for the University of Applied and Environmental Sciences, “inhaled odors activate the release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, endorphins, and norepinephrine in the hypothalamic pituitary axis and modulates neuroreceptors in the immune system, altering mood, reducing anxiety, and disrupting the stress response.” So if you’re feeling more down than usual, open the bottle and smell the fragrance for a few minutes.
But the aromatic molecules do not only act through inhalation, they also act through the skin. For this reason, the second most practiced way of using essential oil is to drop a few drops on the skin, for example on the wrist, and gently massage the area. Another way for the essential oil to penetrate the skin is to put a few drops in the bath water. Who doesn’t need a bath when he wants to feel better?
We insist that neither aromatherapy nor other alternative therapies should ever replace pharmacological treatment, much less psychological treatment. Only if you’re at the point of withdrawal from antidepressants, for example, essential oils can help you come off the pills a bit sooner.
Don’t risk it with your mental health, don’t put your depression in the hands of gurus or expect miracles. Because overcoming a depression requires work, effort, time and trusted professionals to guide you in the process.