Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses essential oils extracted from plants to treat health issues, improve mood, and promote relaxation. The practice has been around for thousands of years, and it’s been used by cultures worldwide.
In recent years, aromatherapy has gained popularity as a way to treat mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. It’s become especially popular among women trying to balance their busy lives with their desire to care for themselves and others.
In this article, we’ll talk about how aromatherapy can help you better manage your mental health in your everyday life by reducing stress and improving your mood—all while making it easier for you to self-care!
Photo by Chelsea shapouri on Unsplash
What Is Aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is a holistic therapy that uses essential oils to relieve the mind, body, and soul. The use of aromatherapy has been practiced for thousands of years, but it wasn’t until recently that science began to understand how essential oils work.
What Is The Role Of Essential Oils In Aromatherapy?
Essential oils are derived from herbs and plants, which contain the plant’s essence or “soul.” When inhaled or applied topically, essential oils can produce physical effects such as pain relief or emotional effects such as relaxation.
The key to understanding how essential oils affect our mood is to understand how they interact with our olfactory system. The olfactory system is responsible for smelling things and transmitting information about them to our brains.
When we smell something, molecules in the air bind with receptors in our noses that send messages to the limbic system – an area of the brain responsible for emotions like fear and pleasure – where they can be processed by other parts of our brains.
Essential oils have been shown to have a positive impact on mental health by interacting with this part of your brain through its sense of smell. Aromatherapy works by stimulating your limbic system and making you feel good through scents that evoke memories and emotions that remind us of happy times in our lives
How does Aromatherapy (a distillation of Essential Oils) work on Women’s Mental Health?
Women have always been known to be more empathetic, intuitive and emotionally aware than men. This is mainly because of how our brain is structured, with a larger hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex—both areas of the brain that deal with emotion.
The sense of smell is closely connected to memory, emotion, and behavior. Our sense of smell can assist us in recalling memories from long ago or help us feel happy, sad or angry when we smell certain odors again.
Women tend to rely on their sense of smell more than men do (which explains why you probably notice smells much more easily than your guy does). Aromatherapy for women can help them achieve better mental health by enhancing their mood and helping them feel more relaxed.
Here are some facts about aromatherapy for women:
Aromatherapy has been found to be effective at reducing stress levels among women who suffer from anxiety disorders or depression. According to the Mayo Clinic, aromatherapy can help reduce stress and anxiety by promoting relaxation.
Aromatherapy may also positively impact women with depression or mood disorders who have trouble sleeping at night due to insomnia or disturbed sleep patterns.
Benefits of Aromatherapy and Essential Oils for Women’s Mental Health
Aromatherapy is gaining popularity as a natural alternative to antidepressant medications. It has been recognized by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a division of the National Institutes of Health, as an effective treatment for anxiety and depression.
It uses essential oils extracted from plants to improve mood, relieves stress and promote relaxation. The soothing scents help you unwind and relieve mental exhaustion, which can lead to a better night’s sleep.
When used in conjunction with other therapies such as acupuncture or massage therapy, aromatherapy can be an effective treatment option for women’s mental health issues such as postpartum depression (PPD).
There are many benefits of aromatherapy for women’s mental health, including:
Reduced Stress Levels: Essential oils such as lavender have been shown to reduce stress levels by increasing beta-endorphin levels, leading to feelings of calmness and wellbeing.
Improvement in Mood Disorders: Essential oils such as ylang-ylang and sandalwood contain chemical compounds that can improve mood disorders such as depression, anxiety and stress-related disorders.
Decreased Symptoms of PMS: Many essential oils have been shown to help reduce the symptoms associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS), such as bloating, moodiness and headaches. Some of these oils include clary sage and geranium.
Improved Sleep Quality: Lavender is one of the most commonly used essential oils to help promote a good night’s sleep. It has been found to be effective at inducing relaxation, which helps improve sleep quality in those with insomnia or other sleep disorders.
How to Use Essential Oils at Home
Essential oils can be used to help you feel calm, energized, or in tune with your body. You can use them to help soothe an upset stomach or help relieve pain. You can even use them to help you sleep! There are many ways to use essential oils at home.
Here are some of my favorite ways:
-The most common way to use essential oils is by diffusing them in your home. You can purchase an ultrasonic diffuser from your local health store or online and then add drops of essential oil directly into the water compartment of the diffuser. The water will diffuse through an electric fan, which creates a mist that anyone in the room can inhale.
-To use aromatherapy at work: Put some drops on a tissue paper roll (make sure they are unscented) and place it near an air vent, so you’re not overpowering coworkers who don’t want their smells up close! If your office allows candles – set one up next time you have lunch outside!
– Place a few drops on your pillow before bedtime to help you sleep better (lavender is one of our favorites).
– Put a drop on your wrist or behind your ear for when you’re feeling anxious about something.
Conclusion
As we have seen, aromatherapy is a powerful tool for women’s mental health. The evidence is clear: when used correctly and consistently, aromatherapy can help reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses. We hope this article has been helpful in understanding the relationship between aromatherapy and women’s mental health. I encourage you to use these tips to help keep your mind healthy!
Sherry Burton Steine, is an award winning Author, Speaker, RYT 500 Yoga Teacher, Certified Feng Shui Consultant, Certified Interior Environment Coach, and Certified Color Therapist in the Washington, DC Area. Sherry is studying for her Certified Trauma Informed Essential Oil Specialist. Her company is SBW Aligned Expressions. Connect with Sherry!
References
https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/aromatherapy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6127019/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/284991
https://www.health.com/mind-body/5-surprising-ways-men-and-women-sense-things-differently
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/mind/articles/essential-oils-for-anxiety-and-depression
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