How To Use Lavender Oil For Anxiety Instead Of Taking Dangerous Anxiety Drugs
Modern society has made life more stressful than ever before, so we all feel a bit comprehensive at times. We constantly worry about our future, work, health, family, and so on.
Therefore, people often feel anxious and fail to lead a normal everyday life. In the case of severe anxiety, people worry about too many things without a rational reason, and it severely impedes their normal skills and activities in life.
All around the world, but especially in America, the anxiety disorder is the most common mental illness. Only in the U.S., about 6.8 million adults suffer from generalized anxiety disorder.
Also, women are more prone to this disorder than men. Anxiety most commonly appears in adolescence and its symptoms tend to intensify over time.
Sometimes, depression and anxiety may be caused by a neurochemical imbalance in the body, like a lack of serotonin or dopamine.
Here are the most common symptoms of anxiety in women:
- Unrealistic perception of problems
- Muscle tension, aches and body pains
- Tension
- Worrying about simple, everyday tasks
- Fatigue
- Frequent urges to go to the bathroom
- Irritability and mood swings
- Restlessness and being on edge or easily startled
- lightheadedness or short of breath
- Frequent headaches
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
In most cases, anxiety is treated with benzodiazepines like Xanax, Valium, and Ativan.
Additionally, this oil had no potential for dependence or drug abuse and has no sedative effects.
Precautions
The Best Essential Oils To Calm Anxious Or Stressful Thoughts
One thing I will say about feelings of unrest, stress or anxiety. Giving the body what it needs is the best way to handle those feelings. Feedingit healthy, getting lots of sleep and avoiding alcohol as much as possible because it is a depressant. Also, dealing with the underlying emotional issues and taking care of our mental state. I have personally used all these oils when I feel an attack come on and find them to be extremely helpful.
Add Oils To A Cotton Ball And Sniff
You can still reap the benefits of smelling essential oils on the go by getting a little creative. For example, if you want to get pumped for your stress-relieving workout, drop a cotton ball with peppermint essential oil into your gym bag. It will make you feel like your airways are wide open for deep breathing, and research has found peppermint to be potentially helpful for increasing alertness and enhancing memory. Combine it with wild orange for an invigorating cooling, citrusy blend.
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How Should I Consume Lavender Oil
There are many different options of how lavender oil can be used.
As part of aromatherapy, some people simply choose to breathe in the fragrance of lavender. The fragrance itself is supposed to be relaxing and soothing for the mind and body.
Others use lavender oil by applying it to certain limbs of the body. It is often prescribed to rub some oil on each of your wrists before you go to bed at night. This is particularly recommended for those who suffer from insomnia and have difficulty falling asleep at night. This is also beneficial for those who suffer from an anxiety disorder and have breathing problems as a result.
Slowly breathing in the scent of lavender as they fall asleep can be both refreshing to the nerves and calming to the mind. Once you apply lavender oil to your skin, a message is sent to your central nervous system, via the brain, asking it to calm down and get out of flight and fight mode.
When being applied directly to the skin, it is always best to mix lavender oil with carrier oil. This carrier oil can be any such as almond or jojoba. Make sure the carrier oil you choose is one that is suitable for your skin and does not somehow negatively react to it.
Once you have mixed lavender oil with carrier oil, it is safe to be massaged directly onto your skin, or even used in your bath.
Benefits Of Lavender Oil For Anxiety
There are several science-backed benefits of using lavender essential oil for anxiety. Weve rounded up the top five benefits for you. This will give you a good understanding of how important this oil is for medicinal use.
Lavender essential oil promotes relaxation and treats anxiety. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
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Tolerable For External Use
Researchers have determined that lavender oil is tolerated well by users for aromatherapy. In these cases, toxicity is low, and poisoning by lavender oil is rare. Plus, it has the FDAs seal of approval, which, to us, has an anxiety-relieving name: Generally Recognized as Safe.
To use topically though, you must always make sure to dilute properly in a carrier oil and do a patch test first.
Can Lavender Essential Oil Treat Allergies
Many essential oil proponents recommend using a combination of lavender, lemon, and peppermint oil to relieve allergy symptoms, and claim that lavender is a natural antihistamine. A 1999 study printed in the J Pharm Pharmaceuticals did find that lavender oil inhibits immediate type allergic reactions in mice and rats.
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Topical Application Of Lavender Essential Oil
When it comes to anxiety and depression, the topical application of Lavender oil is considered as the most effective method.
For centuries, Lavender oil, its dried flowers, and extracts have been used both internally and topically for treating anxiety and depression.
According to the study, the topical application of Lavender oil can be a powerful way to reduce anxiety, as rubbing the oil onto the skin will let the medicinal benefits of oil entered into the bloodstream within as little as five minutes.
Following are the methods that you can adapt to enjoy the benefits of Lavender oil by topical application:
- On the wrists: The easiest place to use lavender oil is your wrist. You can even use undiluted lavender oil by putting just one drop on the wrist and rub both wrists together. You can sniff your wrist anytime, anywhere to reduce depression and anxiety.
- Make a roller bottle: Fill up a 10 ml roller bottle with 20 drops of Lavender oil along with fractionated carrier oil. Whenever you feel stressed-out, roll this onto collar bones or back of the neck to calm your mind.
- On the pillow: For a restful sleep and to unwind the depression from the long working day, you can put a drop of lavender oil onto your hand and rub it on your pillow. This will wipe away all the anxious and depressive thoughts and make you fall asleep easily.
How To Use Lavender Oil For Anxiety And Depression
Ditch those dangerous drugs to beat anxiety and try lavender essential oil for anxiety and depression.
Are you having those stressful days and nights that knock you down? Do you feel anxious and apprehensive? Life can be hectic and stressful, but you have to face it.
Work pressure, family struggle, health issues and your inappropriate daily routine could possibly be the major reason for anxiety and depression.
These days, anxiety disorders are common for all ages, but one has to figure out the least harmful ways to get rid of them.
Using the counter anti-depressants and sleep aid supplements is not an ideal solution to treat anxiety disorders.
These anti-depressants pills are harmful to your overall health. Also, they will make you habitual of using sleep aid pills, which is another red flag.
If you want to ditch those dangerous anxiety drugs, why not try Lavender essential oil for anxiety and depression.
From the past many years, Lavender oil has been considered as a natural solution for anxiety and depression because of its amazing relaxing properties.
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Lavender & Mint Foot Lotion
This lavender and mint foot lotion is wonderful to slather on your feet before heading to dreamland. I own this lotion myself and love the light scent and moisturizing quality. I find the Freeman line of products to be both affordable and effective.
Freeman Beauty Bare Foot Lavender & Mint Foot Cream
How To Use Lavender Oil For Anxiety
From time to time, we all experience stress and anxiety. Stressful situations happen every day and that can result in feelings of anxiety. Treatments for anxiety often involve unnatural, addictive medications which cause sleepiness and loss of interest. Why not learn how to use lavender oil for anxiety? The lavender essential oil is easy to use, inexpensive, and has no known bad side effects: just good, relaxing, calming action on your mind and body!
Lavender essential oil is a favorite oil for EO users because of its pleasant scent and many uses! It is both relaxing and calming, but more importantly, when used in aromatherapy, it helps lift the spirits!
There are several ways to use lavender essential oil to help reduce anxiety: use it in massage blends, air diffusers, or in aromatherapy! Here are some ideas and recipes to help you get started with lavender oil as a much-needed relief from everyday anxiety!
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Lavender Essential Oils Can Be As Effective For Gad As Prescribed Medications
United States National Library of Medicine states, Studies comparing effects from the unique lavender oil capsules and commonly prescribed anti-anxiety drugs suggest the anxiety relieving effects of the uniquely prepared, pharmaceutical quality lavender oil are comparable to the effects seen from commonly used synthetic anxiolytic medications, including the benzodiazepine lorazepam and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor paroxetine prescribed in generalized anxiety disorder .
I could go on but I wouldnt want to keep you from the lavender essential oil benefits for anxiety longer. This is honestly one of the most powerful forms of natural anxiety treatment. I highly rely on for overcoming panic attacks. So, grab some lavender essential oil. You wont regret it.
What To Look For
Essential oils are not regulated by the FDA and do not have to meet any purity standards. When purchasing essential oils, look for a supplier who either distills their own material or deals directly with reputable distillers, and uses gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to analyze the quality of the product.
When buying pure lavender essential oil, check the label for its Latin name, Lavandula angustifolia. No other oils or ingredients should be listed. If you see another oil, such as fractionated coconut oil, jojoba oil, or sweet almond oil, the lavender is diluted and should not be used in a diffuser.
Essential oils should be packaged in a dark amber or cobalt bottle and stored out of sunlight.
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Work Essential Oils Into A Deep Breathing Routine
One of the simplest ways to tell your body that youre in control is by breathing deeply. Deep breathing calms the body, regulates the heart rate, and can help reduce cortisol levels.
When you regularly practice deep breathing, it becomes second nature, so I recommend scheduling breathing pauses throughout your day. Start by practicing the following deep breathing routine at the top of each hour, pairing it with the calming essential oil of your choice. Lavender is my favorite essential oil to pair with this ritual . I’ll take a whiff before getting started and let the effects of the inhaled oil circulate through my body as I go:
Where Do You Put Lavender Oil For Sleep
When used before bed, studies have shown that lavender oil can not only help you fall asleep but also improve the overall quality of rest. Begin diffusing lavender oil an hour or so before turning in for the night. You can also rub one or two drops on your pillow, or apply directly to your feet, temples, and wrists.
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Benefits Of Lavender Oil
Lavender oil benefits help one to relieve stress and tension and can be used as a sedative. Due to its stress-relieving properties, it is also beneficial for people who suffer from insomnia.
Lavender oil is one of the most common essential oils used by aromatherapists. Known for its healing properties, lavender oil has for centuries been used to alleviate anxiety, stress, depression and insomnia.
The health benefits of lavender oil are numerous, but the most common ones are: It helps with exhaustion, sleep issues, insomnia, depression, stress, anxiety, headaches and migraines.
Lavender oil blends well with other essential oils like chamomile oil, frankincense oil and ylang-ylang oil.
Lavender oil is very helpful in the treatment of insomnia as it has been shown to have a sedative effect. Lavender has been shown to have an antidepressant effect as well as a relaxing effect on the nervous system. The calming effects of lavender have also been shown to relieve headaches, migraines, and other painful muscle aches and pains.
Lavender oil for the skin reduces inflammation because of its anti-inflammatory properties which help in reducing inflammation caused by injuries and insect bites.
It is an excellent insect repellent as well because it contains camphor that is an effective insect repellent and is also beneficial in getting rid of flies.
Lean Into Lavender For Anxiety
If youre spending money on lavender products, its important to examine whats actually in it and how it was made. As with all essential oils, the growing conditions of lavender plants and the processes used to extract the essential oil will impact the quality.
Lavender research is growing, and there is still much to learn about this enchanting herb. It remains to be seen whether high-potency oral capsules will reach medication status in more countries. In the meantime, lavender provides a natural and highly popular essential oil that shows much anxiety-relieving promise.
Although we may not find the solutions to our stresses in a calming lavender candle, aromatic bath bomb, or pot of lavender tea, this relaxing herb could help us capitalize on those precious moments of calm in an unpredictable, post-pandemic world.
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