What is Aromatherapy?
As the name indicates, aromatherapy is a therapy that uses aromas. Aromatherapy is a branch of botanical medicine that uses volatile and aromatic plant compounds. Because of the unique direct relationship between emotions and olfaction within the brain, aromatherapy can help “unlock” stored memories and emotions. An aversion to a particular smell may indicate something more than just personal preference. It could actually be stirring an unpleasant emotional reaction. Conversely, smells that bring about positive emotions are likely favored.
What is an emotion?
There are so many definitions for that single word. This is possibly because there is no scientific consensus on a single definition. Emotion represents a mental state associated with thoughts and feelings. It is a conscious experience with intense mental activity and a high degree of pleasure or displeasure. Emotion is often intertwined with mood, temperament, past experiences, personality, disposition, and motivation.
The Limbic System: Emotional Center of the Brain
The limbic system, often referred to as the “emotional brain”, resides within the cerebrum. This portion of the brain handles emotional response, hormone function, behavior, motivation, long term memory, and sense of smell. Several other specialized areas reside within the limbic system, including:
Hippocampus – responsible for forming short- and long-term memories
Amygdala – perceives emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness; plays a role in controlling aggression; helps store memories of events and emotions; also plays a role in sexual activity and libido
Hypothalamus – controls reproduction, sleep patterns, and body homeostasis
Thalamus – relays sensory information to the cerebral cortex
In addition to being closely tied to the sense of smell, you can see why our emotions can affect so many other things in our lives. The portion of your brain that governs emotions also plays a part in memory, sexual desire, reproduction, sleep, and overall homeostasis.
Using Essential Oils to Impact Emotion
The exact details of how smells impact emotions are difficult to define. But let’s consider what happens when we inhale an aroma. When an odorant molecule floats through the air into your nose, it lands on tiny hairs inside your nose called cilia. The cilia then start to vibrate, generating an electrical signal. The signal travels up to a receptor cell, which starts to bundle packets of smell information, and sends projections into the olfactory bulb. The smell information is even further bundled into packets that travel to the limbic system via pyramidal cells. Here in the limbic system, an emotional shift occurs in response to the smell. For example, we all know the experience of smelling something that triggers a memory, or knowing that you do not want to date a certain person because you can’t stand the way he or she smells. Although it is not exactly clear how the emotional response forms, it is very clear that it does. Furthermore, studies show that olfactory-evoked memories often create a higher emotional arousal than simply recalling a memory with no associated olfactory stimuli.
Intentional imprinting is a POWERFUL way to take control of your emotions by using essential oils, well, intentionally!
Below are the steps:
1. Choose four different essential oils and/or essential oil blends to correspond with one of the following emotions:
Anger / Frustration
Sadness
Overwhelm / Stress
Anxiety / Fear
2. Now, keep these oils on you or in places where you experience the opposite of the emotions above. You will inhale your selected oil to start imprinting your limbic system to elicit the particular emotional response you want to occur when you want the emotion experienced.
For example, the opposite emotion of anger/frustration is calm. I choose to use lavender essential oil in times of calm or when I experience a sense of calm in my life. Examples of calm moments in my life might be in the evenings after my little one has gone to bed or when I am in the shower taking a few moments to myself for self-care and relaxation. I will inhale lavender at these moments of calm as consistently as I can. Now, when I am feeling angry or frustrated, I need to take my bottle of lavender and inhale deeply. If I have been consistent for about 30 days, then my limbic system should be triggered by the lavender aroma to bring about a feeling of calm.
3. Be consistent. Try to inhale your chosen oil when you are feeling calm, happy, peaceful, or courageous every time you feel that emotion. It will take about 30 days to imprint your limbic system. Be patient with yourself if it takes longer. You need to remember to be intentional and conscious of your use of oils with your emotions.
Below are listed the emotions and the opposite emotions that we want to elicit. There are also suggested essential oils and blends for your consideration. Honestly, there is no right or wrong oil to pair with an emotion. I suggest trying to pick oils that you are drawn to.
Anger/Frustration - Calm
- lavender, bergamot, cedarwood, cypress, rose, melissa, orange, frankincense, geranium, helichrysum, lemon, mandarin, sandalwood
Sadness – Joy, happy, blissful
- orange, geranium, helichrysum, lime, lemon, bergamot
Overwhelm/Stress - Peace, tranquil, relaxing
- vetiver, cedarwood, lavender, tangerine
Anxiety/Fear – Courage, valor, bravery
- sandalwood, bergamot, clary sage, geranium, juniper, marjoram, orange, Roman chamomile, myrrh, rose, ylang ylang.
