Essential oil for relieving depression

Currently, no essential oil can cure depression, nor can it replace regular drugs or psychotherapy. It can only be used as a supplementary method to help relieve mood swings and physical discomfort under the premise of following medical advice. There is no so-called "specific antidepressant essential oil".

I have been doing aromatherapy for almost 8 years, and I have met too many people who come to me with the keyword "depression essential oil". There are college sophomores who have just been diagnosed with moderate depression, mothers who cannot get out of their emotional lows six months after giving birth, and managers who have been on the Internet for five years and wake up crying for half a month. Most of them start with the expectation of "will they be better without taking medicine and just smelling it?" Every time, I have to explain the conclusion I just made before going on.

Research in the field of evidence-based aromatherapy can indeed support some of its effects: a 2021 controlled experiment in the "Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine" showed that depressed subjects who sniffed the sweet orange + real lavender blend for 30 minutes every day for 2 weeks had an average decrease in serum cortisol (stress hormone) by 27%, and feedback on anxiety and sleep disorders was also nearly 40% less than that of the control group. The principle is straightforward and not complicated: the volatile small molecules of essential oils directly act on the limbic system of the brain through the olfactory nerves, which is the area that controls emotions and memory. For example, agarwood acetate in lavender and limonene in sweet orange have been proven to calm over-excited nerves to a certain extent and relax the string that is about to break.

However, the perspective of traditional aromatherapy practitioners will be more towards individual adaptation and less superstitious about ingredient lists. I met a client before. She became irritable when she smelled lavender, which makes other people feel relaxed. After careful questioning, I found out that she was hospitalized for surgery when she was a child. Lavender aromatherapy was lit in the ward 24 hours a day. When she smelled it, she remembered the pain of infusion and the fear of puncture. Later, I gave her I switched to the 10ml bottle of Petitgrain. Her eyes turned red when she took the first sip. She said it smelled like the freshly sprouted orange leaves in her grandmother’s yard when she was a child. After half a month, she told me that she could suppress most of the panic that used to pop up every evening just by smelling this smell. To put it bluntly, the smell itself is bound to memory and can remind you of the smell of safe and relaxing scenes. It is more effective than any internet celebrity formula.

Of course, I have also met many psychiatrists who do not recommend essential oils to patients with depression. I completely agree with the rationality of this view. Especially for patients in the period of severe depression, their senses are extremely sensitive. Any unfamiliar strong taste may become a source of irritation, which in turn aggravates the symptoms of irritability and insomnia. Not to mention the "oral essential oils to fight depression" promoted by many unscrupulous merchants on the market are simply harmful - the concentration of pure essential oils is extremely high and oral administration will burn the mucous membrane of the digestive tract. It may also interact with antidepressants, and in severe cases it may even be life-threatening. This is an absolute red line.

Oh, by the way, don’t believe those “exclusive antidepressant essential oil formulas” that sell for hundreds of dollars. Most of them are IQ tax. Several essential oils that have been clinically proven to be effective and have the highest public acceptance are all affordable: sweet orange, real lavender, petitgrain, and frankincense. 10ml of them extracted from the official place of origin only costs a few dozen yuan. There is no need to spend more for the "anti-depressant" gimmick. If you are already following the doctor's advice and just want to find a small way to relieve the depression and irritability that pops up from time to time, you can buy a 1ml bottle and try the sweet orange first. Most people smell it like a freshly peeled orange, which is bright and comfortable. If you like a darker smell, try frankincense or Atlantic cedar. It feels like sitting in an old forest and can calm your mind. Just use 1-2 drops each time. Drop it on the diffuser wood or the corner of the pillow. Don't smear it on your skin, and don't diffuse it all day long. If it has a slight scent, it will be just right. If it is too strong, you will feel dizzy.

In the end, essential oils are just scented gadgets, no different from the cup of hot milk tea you want to drink when you are sad, or the stuffed doll you want to hold in your hand. It can't help you get over the hurdles that make you breathless, nor can it help you solve the root cause of your emotional problems. At most, it can give you a small hand to pull on when you are stuck in the emotional quagmire and can't pull yourself out, so that you can breathe more. If you really want to get better, you still have to follow the doctor's plan steadily. It is just a sweet candy in your pocket when you take a step forward.