The Top 4 Essential Oils for Anxiety and Stress Relief

Health Is PowHer Podcast Episode #27

Discover the top 4 Essential Oils and Blends for anxiety and Stress. Aromatherapy is incredible for anxiety and stress. 

Even if we take out the physiologic activity of each essential oil, using our smell sense to self-regulate is incredible at calming our nervous system.

Just the act of slowing down and focusing on the scents and aroma of the essential oils is itself has benefits!

There are different ways to use the essential oils we’ll talk about on this episode:

1. Nasal inhaler - I buy nasal inhalers with little wicks to sop up 4-5 drops of 3 different essential oils. You can find these on amazon or online.  I typically recommend a nasal inhaler 4-5 times daily for 2 weeks (inhaling the aroma through each nostril for about a minute)

2. Diffuser - I love the nebulizer glass diffusers that only need essential oils.  They are super powerful - though more expensive. Plus they aren’t plastic so you don’t have to worry about inhaling endocrine disrupting chemicals.  Some are super easy to clean. Usually, you can use a diffuser once daily for about 30 min to an hour for 1-2 weeks of the essential oil  or essential oil blend. 

3. Massage/topical use - I love topical essential oil blends especially in the winter and the skin absorbs the essential oils quite rapidly.  You have to patch test first by putting a small amount of the essential oil blend on the forearm or leg to make sure you don’t react after 24-48 hrs. Some people have skin sensitivity to certain essential oils as they are quite powerful.  I typically recommend 1-2 times daily application of the topical essential oil blend for 1-2 weeks. 

4. Bath - Essential oils in an epsom salt bath are amazing at reviving you. You do have to use a soluble substance as oil and water don’t mix. Some people use solubol or castile soap. 

Those are some of the top ways I use aromatherapy in my home and practice. 

On to the essential oils for anxiety and stress!

Bergamot (Citrus bergamia)

1. Benefits

   1. Decreases stress and anxiety

   2. Balances our fight or flight cortisol levels to prevent damage to our tissues

   3. Decreases depression

   4. Improves well-being and positive outlook on life

   5. Decreases chronic pain (animal studies)

   6. May improve mood and emotional dysregulation (decreases negative emotions)

   7. Improves fatigue

1. Side Effects or Adverse Effects

   1. Bergamot is super photosensitizing so do not use and then go out in the sun or cover up the skin if using bergamot. 

   2. May interact with anticholinergic drugs, diabetic drugs, NSAIDs, proton pump inhibitors, antiepileptics, antidepressants, blood pressure medication, antibiotics, and more) so use with caution and talk to your healthcare provider if on medications.

2. Contraindications

   1. Avoid if pregnant or breastfeeding and in children under 5 yo

   2. Avoid if prone to low potassium

   3. Avoid near sensitive skin

   4. Avoid if diabetic

   5. Avoid if blood pressure problems

Chamomile (Marticaria recutita for German chamomile) or Chamaemelum nobile for Roman chamomile)

1. Benefits

   1. Soothes overexcitability, mental strain, stress, anxiety, and nervous exhaustion

   2. Classically used for relaxation prior to bedtime to help with insomnia or difficulty falling asleep

   3. Anti-inflammatory benefits demonstrated in research studies (cell studies)

   4. May decrease pain by reducing inflammation and numbing nerves (I often use this in my topical pain relief essential oil blend)

   5. May accelerate skin wound healing processes

   6. Also has some antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungus and the herpes virus

2. Side Effects, Adverse Reactions, and Drug Interactions

   1. Be extremely cautious with topical use of German Chamomile when taking medications (consult with medical provider and your aromatherapist prior to use)

   2. Roman Chamomile tends to have less problems with drug interactions

3. Contraindications

   1. Avoid if pregnant and breastfeeding

   2. Avoid if allergy to ragweed or related plant to Asteraceae/Compositae family

Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis)

1. Benefits

   1. Increases tranquility and resilience to stress

   2. Reduces anxiety, agitation, and tension (study done in adult healthy males)

   3. Has a happy effect (akin to stepping out into sunshine after a long dreary winter)

   4. Reduced depression better than prozac in one clinical trial

   5. Decreases pain (knee pain in one study when combined with ginger)

   6. May have antioxidant activity and reduces mycotoxins from black mold in cell studies

2. Side Effects, Adverse Reactions, Drug Interactions

   1. If old and oxidized, may cause skin sensitivity/irritation

   2. Dilute to 0.5%-1% during pregnancy and with children

   3. Bitter orange is PHOTOTOXIC (avoid use with any UV rays)

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

Benefits

1. Creates calm from any mental chaos

2. Reduces stress and lifts up depression

3. Increases deep sleep in a small study

4. May relieve pain, menstrual cramps, and intestinal spasms 

5. Increases energy especially when nervous fatigue kicks in

6. May be beneficial in skincare and hair regimen and may reduce body odor

7. Has antimicrobial properties

Side Effects, Adverse Reactions, Drug Interactions

1. May interact with antifungal and antiyeast drugs (due to linalool content)

2. May interact with antibiotics by enhancing their effectiveness due to terpene content

3. May cause galactorrhea (milk being produced from breasts) or endocrine disruption after prolonged use

4. Dilute for children and pregnant/breastfeeding women to 0.5-1%

5. Avoid Spike Lavender for those with epilepsy and for pregnant women and children

So how to blend!!

Topical application (massage into skin 1-2 times daily for 1-2 weeks)

In 1 oz amber or blue glass bottle (I buy mine from Amazon):

3 Drops Bergamot

3 Drops Sweet orange

3 Drops Roman Chamomile

3 Drops Lavender

3 drops Vetiver or Cedarwood (optional, but I love this for its grounding properties)

I fill the rest with of the amber bottle with ½ organic sesame oil and ½ sweet almond oil (but you can use other types of oils, sesame oil is just very warming and calming). 

If you have skin sensitivities, use only 1-2 drops of each essential oil above!

Nasal Inhaler (4-5 times inhalations for 1 minute x 2 weeks)

2 Drops Bergamot

2 Drops Sweet orange

2 Drops Roman Chamomile

2 Drops Lavender

1-2 Drops Vetiver or Cedarwood (Optional)

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