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I’m happy to share a little bit about my anxiety journey and how I’ve used essential oils for anxiety as a tool to help. I wouldn’t go as far to say that essential oils treat nor cure anxiety. In my experience, I use essential oils for anxiety as a way to self-regulate. Below, I share some tips and even my own homemade blend to help alleviate the feelings when you need a quick pick-me-up in those moments of overwhelm.
I have dealt anxiety since I was a child. My earliest memories of this overwhelming feeling start from nine years old, which coincided with my parent’s divorce. That’s a story for another time. There are a lot of contributing factors to the different stages of anxiety in my life.
My anxiety eventually turned into panic attacks and was at its peak in my early twenties. It really started to affect my health in different ways. I went to the doctor with some of my health concerns after experiencing some alarming symptoms. Thankfully I wasn’t having a heart attack nor did I have colon cancer. I feared I might have these diagnoses after doom searching my symptoms on the internet. Turns out my diagnoses were pretty minor. My doctor stated that these symptoms were more than likely caused by stress. She seemed genuinely concerned for me. My anxious energy must have been very apparent.
At that point, I decided to do something about my anxiety and find a way to take my power back. There were a plethora of things I have done and continue to do to manage my anxiety. Lots of books, women’s healing circles, yoga, meditation, etc. More on all that in other blogs.
One modality I discovered to help me in a more instantaneous way was essential oils for anxiety. I initially started using essential oils for its physical healing properties that I witnessed. More on that later also.
The first time I figured out I could use essential oils for anxiety was when I was about to have a panic attack in the middle of work. My job was very demanding and understaffed. I was being pulled in multiple directions in that moment; not to mention I hadn’t been able to take a lunch break and needing to “pull a double” unexpectedly. My anxiety and overwhelm put me into a head spin. The hives started forming on my legs, and then my arms. The sight of this catapulted me into a full blown panic attack. I ran into the back office and locked myself in there. I called a close friend who I knew would understand what was going on. Through my hyperventilating, I was able to mutter that I was having a panic attack. I was practically curled up on the office floor holding on to the office chair. My friend stayed on the phone with me and got me to focus just on her voice. She walked me through a calming breathing exercise.
When I was calm enough, I went to the bathroom to freshen up. I noticed my hives were still there. How embarrassing 🙈 I remembered I had some essential oils with me. Coincidentally, I happened to have lavender essential oil on me. I remembered learning lavender has natural antihistamine properties. After rubbing the lavender essential oil on the hives, the hives were gone in a matter of minutes. It was a freaking miracle! That lavender oil gave me some sense of control and healing. I needed that sense after my moment of mental chaos.
*Disclaimers*
Listen, I’m not a doctor or a scientist or any other medical professional. I cannot say that lavender essential oil or anything else will cure hives or any other kind of medical issue. Not to mention, everyone’s bodies and bodily reactions are different. I’m saying this was my real life experience and if you’re not allergic to lavender, you might want to give it a try.
In addition, not all essential oils are created equal. It is critical to use the type of essential oils that can be used topically! AKA on your skin. Many essential oils — especially from the big box stores — are solely made to make your house smell nice. These types are often mixed with other artificial ingredients. The labels usually say “for aroma use only” or “avoid skin contact” or something of that nature. The label will usually state whether or not you can use it topically. Pro-tip: if it has an expiration date, it’s probably not a pure essential oil either.
I primarily use therapeutic grade essential oils called Young Living Essential Oils. I diffuse and topically use all of my Young Living essential oils. However, some oils need to be diluted with a carrier oil in order to safely contact skin without irritation. Usually, the label will give you diluting directions. It’s always a good idea to do a skin patch test first to be sure you don’t have a sensitivity or allergy. Some of these essential oils can be ingested. The label will specify which ones can be ingested and how to do so. Young Living’s “Vitality Dietary” essential oils can be ingested. Some people even use them for cooking! If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult a health professional prior to use.
Now that I have those tips and disclaimers out of the way, let’s get back on topic.
I came to a realization that there are a lot of places I have to go to and people I have to see that naturally give me anxiety. For example, the DMV or certain family members always give me anxiety. I thought if I could just have something to calm my nerves right before I enter that DMV or go to that family gathering, it would help me feel more in control and calm. Lavender was great for hives, but it didn’t always help to calm my mind as a preventative. So I experimented with different oils and came up with a blend of 6 different essential oils for anxiety. This is what I call the “Anxiety Freedom Blend”. Here’s what I use and why…
Lavender
I already knew has some calming effect on me in addition to it having natural antihistamine properties and anti-inflammatory properties. Some people call Lavender EO the Swiss knife of essential oils.
Cedarwood
I noticed that Cedarwood has an ultra calming effect on me when I smell it. It has this sweet and slightly woodsy smell to it. To me, it smells like happiness and grounding in a bottle.
Frankincense
Frankincense essential oil also makes me feel very calm when I smell it. Not that I’m religious, but if it was good enough for baby Jesus, then it’s surely good enough for me! Frankincense is consistently acclaimed to be the best oil for meditation. Why wouldn’t I include a meditative essential oil?!
Lemon
I also noticed that citrusy essential oils bring a sense of joy and cleansing when diffusing. So I decided to add a citrus essential oil that I have on hand all the time; lemon essential oil! I like the idea of countering or replacing the negative feeling with a positive one. Replace the anxiety with joy.
Ylang Ylang
I honestly had never heard of Ylang Ylang. I found out it is a flower commonly found in the Philippines. And just now, I learned it comes from the same tree as a custard apple. I know I have custard apple trees in our yard, so now I will have to pay attention to when it flowers and take a whiff. I always loved the smell of ylang ylang, but turns out some people find that it stinks. It’s so interesting to me that our olfactory systems can be so different from one another. Anyway, I like the smell and I had read that it helps with anxiety and helps with blood pressure.
Copaiba
Copaiba essential oil is another one I hadn’t heard of before. Apparently it’s a tree commonly found in Brazil. Copaiba also has properties that act in a similar fashion that CBD does to help with inflammation and stress. The molecule beta-caryophyllene binds the CB2 receptor, just in a different area from CBD. Another tip that I received from other oilers about copaiba essential oil is that it acts as a magnifier. So if you want to amplify the effects of another essential oil, then layer it with Copaiba essential oil.
V-6 Vegetable Oil Complex
In any roller blend, you’ll need some kind of carrier oil to top it off with. Exclusive to Young Living, the V-6™ Vegetable Oil Complex is made of fractionated coconut oil, sesame seed oil, grape seed oil, sweet almond oil, wheat germ oil, sunflower seed oil, and extra virgin olive oil. All nourishing, antioxidant vegetable oils that are colorless and odorless and can be used to dilute essential oils and create custom blends, formulas, and massage oils. The odorless factor is important to me because I want to be able to smell the essential oils to get the full aromatic and therapeutic effect.
Roller Bottles
Roller bottles are such an easy application tool to take with you on-the-go. I got my roller bottles from Amazon. For this recipe, I got the 10ml roller bottles, which is equivalent to 3 ounces. Perfect for the airplane… *wink wink* I love that these have the stainless steel ball and a stylish golden cap. These are the amber colored ones, but you can get any color that you prefer. My tip is to not get a clear bottle, so any sunlight doesn’t effect the essential oils. If you think about it, the essential oil bottles that it comes in are colored for a reason.
Labeling
Of course it’s always a good idea to label your roller bottles. You may find other roller blend recipes on Pinterest or intuitively create your own blend like I did! So you’ll want to know which roller contains which blend in it. I first started with stickers that I could hand write my own labels. However, I recently got a mini label maker, which is useful for more than just roller bottles.
How and Where to Apply the Blend
For this particular blend, I like to roll it where I can easily smell it, where my veins are and anywhere I feel anxious tension in my body. I start with my wrists and bring my wrists up to my nose to get three good whiffs. Then I roll it on the sides of my neck where my veins are. If I’m already anxious, I will roll the anxiety freedom blend on my chest as well since I tend to get tight in that area when I’m feeling anxious.
Save the recipe for my Anxiety Freedom Blend below:
