Embracing Essential Oils for Emotional Health
Essential oils are the oils extracted from plant parts (flowers, bark, leaves, etc) used for aromatic or even medical purposes. Each oil has different benefits for our physical and emotional health. There are so many testimonies of people experiencing positive changes to their health or their children's health after using a particular essential oil that I just had to give it a try. I've since fallen in love with essential oils and don't know what I would do without them!
With essential oils you get what you pay for, and so I only recommend Young Living or DoTerra essential oils, though I personally am a member of Young Living and enjoy a 24% off discount and would be happy to help you get signed up if you are interested. Some companies dilute their oils or add other (potentially toxic) ingredients to keep their cost down, which defeats the purpose of using essential oils for its healing properties.
We store emotions in our bodies and essential oils can help us release those negative emotions--if you want to learn more about this, I highly recommend the book Releasing Negative Patterns with Essential Oils. If you would like to learn more of the science behind essential oils for emotions, check out the article What Is The Relationship Between Essential Oils And Emotions.
Disclaimer: I have done a lot of research on essential oils and love sharing what I've learned with others, but I am not a medical expert. Please remember to do your own research thoroughly before using essential oils for safety. Also, Young Living products are not intended to treat or cure any disease, though they can assist with general health and wellness.
Essential Oil Blends for Emotional Health
Joy
Joy does what it says, helps you experience joy and self-love and other positive emotions. Joy was one of the first oils I tried for myself, because it came with my starter kit and I thought a little joy just sounded nice. I would place a drop of Joy on my hand, smell it, and then rub it over my heart. It smells amazing and made me feel amazing too. (This oil has also been wonderful for my son with special needs, you can read all about the essential oils I use for my special needs children here.)
Stress Away
This is one of my absolute favorite Young Living scents ever, it smells like lime and vanilla and I rub a drop across both wrists and the back of my neck (where I hold tension when I'm stressed) as well as inhale the smell and ta-da, I feel sooo much calmer. It's a-maz-ing! However, this is a blend that is not recommended for use for young children, so use it on yourselves mamas and use Peace and Calming on the kiddos.
Peace and Calming
When I was feeling anxious, sleep was hard to come by, but some Peace and Calming in the diffuser or rubbed on the bottoms of my feet would calm my mind and get me to sleep in no time. Peace and Calming is also great for kiddos, they love the citrusy smell and it does help create a calm mood and help them fall asleep as well.
Valor
Valor is another one of my favorite oils, and I use it just about daily. This oil helps instill feelings of confidence and feeling grounded or stable. This is another oil I'll rub on my wrists and wear as a perfume, or diffuse, as it benefits the whole family.
Hope
I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the smell of this one, but man oh man does it do what it says. When I was really struggling with depression, my Young Living friend recommended I try Hope essential oil and I'm glad I did. The first time I used Hope, within minutes I found myself crying. Not like a little bit of crying, nope I was weeping. Apparently, I'd been holding in a lot of my stress and grief, and this oil helped me to let it all go. And once I was done crying, I felt so much lighter and free and yes, I did feel hope about the future. I don't use this oil often, just when I'm feeling really down, and it always helps me see life a little clearer and rid myself of those negative emotions.
Release
Release is another oil that can help you release negative emotions, most commonly anger. I like to rub a drop of Release across my liver area, as anger can often be stored in the liver. I remember one day I had a big argument with my husband and was really angry and couldn't let go of the anger. I put a drop of Release over my liver area and also just smelled the bottle for a while and slowly I felt the anger just drift away. Before long I was able to see the argument from my husband's side and we could finish our conversation peacefully.
Christmas Spirit
This blend is amazing, it truly does smell like Christmas (it's a blend of orange, cinnamon and spruce) and it helps lift your spirits, bringing peace, comfort and joy to your heart and home. I love to diffuse this oil year round, not just at Christmastime.
Harmony
Harmony is the newest addition to my emotional health arsenal, and I'm loving it. Like I mentioned before, emotions can be stored in the body and get trapped, blocking energy and healing from occurring in the body. Harmony helps to release those trapped emotions and get the energy flowing. Sounds kind of hippy-dippy I know, but it works. The first time I used Harmony I felt a few areas where fear had kept me trapped start to melt away. I felt free to tackle some things on my to-do list I'd been avoiding due to fear.
Motivation
This blend is great for when you feel stuck or fearful about moving forward in your day or goals or dreams, and also helps if you're like me and struggle a lot with procrastination. I like to put a drop on my wrists and rub together and go about my day. There are so many oils and blends that can help with emotional health, but those are my favorites!
Best Day Ever Protocol
The founder of Young Living, Gary Young, shared a routine he did daily to help him have the best day ever. I do this routine too, just about every day, and it really helps you have an emotionally positive day.
- Valor. Put a drop of Valor on both wrists, and hold your wrists together for about a minute, while smelling your wrists.
- Harmony. Put a drop of Harmony in your hand, rub together, and rub it over your throat, your heart, and your stomach area.
- Joy. Put a drop of Joy in your hands, smell it, and rub it over your heart.
- White Angelica. Put a drop of White Angelica in your hand, rub between both hands, smell it and then put on both shoulders.
- Have the best day ever. :)
Leave any comments or questions in the comment section below, or shoot me an email, I would be glad to help you out!