The Best Essential Oils for Anxiety and Stress

 

Feelings of worry, uneasiness and anxiety can be detrimental if they prevent you from experiencing joy and happiness in your daily life. If you have a difficult time with periods of intense worry or anxiety there are essential oils that can help.

 

Anxiety is an extremely tough battle for anyone to face, which makes having a natural solution, such as an essential oil blend important to have on hand. With all of the stress we go through in our daily lives combined with all of the added on stress the past couple of years it’s no wonder that more of us are experiencing stress on a daily basis.

 

In a recent 2014 study that was done by the American College of Healthcare Sciences, over 50 hospice patients were given hand massages once a day for one week with an essential oil blend. The essential oil blend consisted of equal parts of bergamot, frankincense and lavender. All patients who received the aromatherapy hand massage reported less pain and depression. This study concluded that aromatherapy massage with this essential oil blend is more effective for pain and depression management than massage alone. 

 

Many essential oils that are high in the chemical constituent linalool are well known for their ability to reduce sadness and anxiety. Lavender is high in linalool and when taken internally reduces anxious feelings. Lavender’s calming aroma can also help cut through feelings of stress and promote relaxation.

 

 

Here are some of the best essential oils for anxiety and stress

 

1. Lavender

Lavender is considered one of the most common essential oil, it has a calming, relaxing effect on the body. Lavender is considered to be a nervous system restorative and helps with inner peace, sleep, restlessness, irritability, panic attacks, nervous tension and nervous stomach. Lavender is considered to be one of the best essential oils to help with anxiety.

 

To promote relaxation, add lavender oil to a diffuser, bath water or a spray bottle filled with water. It pairs well with many essential oils, including geranium oil, ylang ylang oil and chamomile oil. You can also use lavender topically on your wrists, temples and back of neck.

 

4. Ylang Ylang

This popular essential oil can treat anxiety and depression due to its calming and uplifting effects. Ylang ylang helps with cheerfulness, courage, optimism and soothes fearfulness. It may calm heart agitation and nervous palpitations and is a moderately strong sedative, which can help with insomnia.

 

A 2006 study conducted by Geochang Provincial College in Korea discovered that using ylang ylang essential oil, along with bergamot and lavender oils, once a day for four weeks reduced “psychological stress responses and serum cortisol levels, as well as the blood pressure of clients with essential hypertension.”

 

3. Bergamot

Bergamot is commonly found in Earl Grey tea and has a distinctive floral taste and aroma. Bergamot essential oil is calming and often used to treat depression by providing energy. However, ylang ylang can also help with insomnia induce relaxation and reduce agitation.

 

Bergamot is generally safe, but it is photosensitizing, meaning it can increase the risk of sunburn and rash. It is best to avoid use within 12 hours of sun exposure.

 

 

4. Frankincense

Frankincense essential oil is great for treating depression and anxiety because it provides a calming and tranquil energy as well as spiritual grounding. In aromatherapy, it helps deepen meditation and quiet the mind, which can relieve issues like chronic stress.

 

When frankincense is mixed with bergamot and lavender oils in a 1:1 ratio in an aroma hand massage, frankincense was discovered to have a positive effect on pain and depression in hospice patients with terminal cancer in a Keimyung University study in Korea.

 

5. Rose

One of the many benefits of rose essential oil is that it’s very settling to the emotional heart and perhaps the second most popular after lavender for relieving anxiety and depression. Rose essential oil helps with panic attacks, grieving and shock.

 

In study of women who were pregnant for the first time published in the Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, one group of women received a 10-minute inhalation and foot bath with rose essential oil, another group received a 10-minute warm-water footbath, and they were compared to a control group. The findings showed that aromatherapy and footbath reduces anxiety in active phase in nulliparous women. 

 

6. Vetiver

Vetiver essential oil has a tranquil, grounding and reassuring energy. Vetiver is often used in trauma helping with self-awareness, calmness and stabilization. A nervous system tonic, Vetiver helps decrease jitteriness and hypersensitivity, and it is also useful in panic attacks and shock.

 

A study published in Natural Product Research showed that the anxiety-like behavior in rats concluded that vetiver oil may be useful in lowering anxiety effects, though more research is needed to confirm this finding. 

 

 

 

STRESS BUSTER ROLLER BALL BLEND

• Lavender – 6 drops
• Rose – 2 drops
• Vetiver – 4 drops
• Ylang Ylang – 4 drops
• Frankincense – 3 drops
• Bergamot – 5 drops

 

Add essential oils to a 10ml roller bottle. Fill to the top with a carrier essential oil of choice (ex. Fractionated coconut oil). Roll on pulse points daily and/or as needed – neck, wrists, over the heart, forehead

 

Need high quality, leakproof roller bottles? Take a look at all of our high quality, beautiful roller bottles that are available HERE from us at Holistic Oils. We promise you’ll be impressed with our quality, fast shipping, and customer service.