The Aromatic Journey through Emotions
You know the first inhalation of THAT oil, the one that just locks in and resonates with you on some deep level, the one that stirs something deep inside, the one that literally unlocks that deep breath that you didn’t even know you had? Yes, that oil. I’m sure you could quite possibly call to mind 2 or 3 without even giving time to your thought. Why is that? WHAT is that? How does this happen? As we explore the ways we can use essential oils as tools to support emotional responses, I am going to present to you some personal and professional experiences that will help us to understand this a little more deeply.
Olfaction
A quick search of the term tells us that it’s the sense of smell. For aromatherapy practitioners, that is just the beginning of the definition. The sense of smell, how we detect odors, one of our five senses that allows us to experience our world. It begins in the nasal cavity with our nose as the contact with the outside world. What else happens here? Our breath! We inhale and exhale through the nose. Our life begins with a breath! Did you know that under stressful conditions, cyclic or boxed breathing alone can help us to re-center and reset out brains? How powerful is it that we can add in essential oils to assist us in our emotional response? When we breathe in the aroma of an essential oil, the scent molecule binds or dock on the olfactory bulb and sends a message to the limbic system through a signaling pathway of nerve impulses. The limbic system is comprised of the amygdala, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, the septum, mammillary bones, anterior thalamus, ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex and forms a border linking the cortical and midbrain areas with lower centers that control automatic and internal body functions. (Shutes, 2020) As we look to essential oils for assistance in our emotions, thoughts and behaviors, we must consider this powerful function of olfaction. As much as the aromatic molecules trigger a response for our nervous system, also too, our thought and events of life also trigger these neural pathways as well. When we are exposed to a stressful stimulus, regardless of a positive or negative stressor, the glands and neural pathways in our limbic system are activated causing a variety of physical and emotional responses. The fight or flight response is the way our brain controls our body’s response to stressors. This response uses the same neural pathway as olfaction. Once the stressor is detected, the amygdala sends messages to the hypothalamus to direct the output of necessary hormones and emotions to fight or flee. Using essential oils for emotional support creates a potential to interrupt the way our body responds to known stressors. Through my experience of working with people, one of my recommendations is to use essential oils diluted in a carrier oil so as not to overwhelm the olfactory neurons. Although I have not seen any studies comparing the use of diluted vs undiluted oils via inhalation, I do know that when we are in a state of stress, and especially if it is prolonged stress, our inflammatory markers are elevated, our immune response is suppressed and our short term memory is affected. It would stand to reason when we are overstimulated on all levels and we have the potential for systemic inflammation, adding in one more intense stimulus may just be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. I have found that by diluting essential oils at a lower dilution rate this helps provide a gentle emotional shift. The aroma almost acts as an invitation to calm. Time and time again as I introduce a diluted essential oil blend (2-4% dilution) to someone, the client’s body language speaks clearly. They lean in, sniff once, sniff twice, perhaps take one long inhalation. Prior to handing them the blend on a scent strip, I instruct them to close their eyes and just breathe in the aroma and experience the scent.
Thoughts and emotions
Our thoughts lead us to an emotional response, our emotional response leads us to behaviors and our behaviors become our patterns of living. We can look at an extreme athlete or some other driven person that pushes the boundaries to go further and the self-sabotaging person who limits their success to stay where they are. One thing is common in both, the story we tell ourselves, and the thoughts that drive our emotions and behaviors. Introducing olfaction into this cycle allows us to explore how we can support a mental and emotional shift.
The opportunity here is to look at how our client’s thoughts drive moods or emotions and behaviors. We can refer to the concept of epigenetics and psychoneuroimmunology to allow us to see how this works.
In our thought life, we have our conscious thoughts and our subconscious thoughts. When we can be aware of the dialogue that occurs in our minds, we can work on or grow from the thoughts that perhaps lead us down the road of negative emotions and sabotaging behaviors. Our automated or pre-programmed thoughts can operate how we live our lives. Becoming aware of this is where growth and healing can occur. Research and SPECT imaging by Dr. Daniel Amen has even indicated parts of the limbic system where over or under active glands and areas are visible when we are in both positive and negative thought patterns. (Amen 2015) From this, we can understand a little more clearly that when we have positive thoughts, our body and cells respond one way and with a negative thought pattern, our body and cells respond completely differently. Traditional Chinese Medicine teaches that body organs show a relationship to unprocessed thoughts and emotions as well.
Tying it all together
The function of scent/memory recall is what will tie this all together. When we breathe in an aroma, as we discussed in olfaction, we can understand there is a signaling that occurs in the brain to stimulate, calm, or balance our emotions. Also, through olfaction, we can lock in a feeling or memory by engaging our thought life, behaviors, and our physical body to be in alignment with our desired effect. I like to refer to this as creating a “scent-scape”, a term I often use. It is at the intersection of behavior and thought, we can add in essential oils to lock in a new way of processing feelings and actions. We can see this happening with any aroma that is associated with a good memory. The smell of your baby’s blanket or a fragrance note that reminds you of a loved one, reminds us of how our body and mind respond to scent.
The power of scent
I recently had an experience of the power of olfaction and scent/memory while doing a bride’s hair for her wedding. My client’s mom lives out of town and was unable to attend the wedding, she asked me to surprise her daughter by making a hair accessory out of some decorations of her own wedding dress. Upon receiving these items, I noticed a slight aroma of perfume on the envelope, so I decided to give it to her daughter on the day of her wedding. I know the link of how the smell would remind her of her mom, but I did not anticipate the power of which this would happen. On her wedding day, I handed her the envelope and asked her to see if she could think of anything that it reminded her of. She has used essential oil blends previously for stress, so she automatically thought that I was handing her an essential oil blend. What happened next, honestly, was so powerful. She took one inhalation and literally on the exhale, she started to cry and said, “that’s my mom!” Not even one full breath cycle! We as aromatherapists have a unique understanding of this mechanism and the ability to help someone by using this response to help heal and support our clients through emotional struggles.
How I recommend using essential oils for emotional struggles
After a thorough discussion with the client, I will recommend 3 pre-made, diluted blends. I prefer to use blends since our thoughts and emotions are layered and tangled, and I have gotten positive results with this. I will then instruct them as to how to experience the blend. I put it on a scent strip, tell them to gradually draw the strip towards them, relax and breathe. Once they have experienced all three blends, I ask them to indicate the one that they felt most drawn to. At this point, I share with them information about the essential oil blend they chose and instruct them on creating the scent-scape. If there are known negative thoughts, I encourage the idea of answering that negative thought with a positive thought. If the behavior or stress is of unknown origin, I encourage them to use the essential oil blend while performing relaxing behaviors and to calm and center themselves while slowly and rhythmically breathing in the aroma. I encourage them to do this a few times a day over the next couple days and continue to be intentional about the space, the breath, the thought, behavior, and the aroma. Once they have done this, they can now use this as a tool to help them at any time where the external stressors are weighing in and they need to experience a sense of calm.