We all know that essential oils can really help lift our mood and help us to de-stress; they’re wonderful - and well known for keeping us calm.  But, did you know that they aren’t just about ‘relaxation’, but can help with a multitude of moods?  We’re so conditioned to thinking about essential oils as things to calm us, but they have so many more properties than we realise! So, for this blog, we thought we’d share more about the essential oils that can specifically help with other emotional states – such as anger, irritability, grief, apathy, pessimism, restlessness, and many others!  There’s literally an essential oil for anything, and so, really, Aromatherapy is always our first choice for supporting a balanced mind, and in using essential oils, these so-called ‘negative’ moods can simply become less scary.  Read on for our insights into which essential oils can help us rebalance the mind, along with some beautiful blends, and additional self-care tips for improving - and accepting - our mood!

Let’s look at our mood & get comfortable with it

So, other than feeling low or uplifted, what moods do we experience?  Well, depending on our thinking at the time, we can feel angry, irritable, sad, grieving, indifferent, lost, directionless, restless, stuck, jealous, guilty, and more.  Sometimes, I go through this whole range in one day – and it doesn’t scare me!  Why?  Well, the important thing to remember here, is that this is normal and human – and this is something I really do advocate in my work, because so often these days, ‘self-help’ society calls only for positivity.  And do you know anyone who is always positive?  It’s just not humanly possible.  What is possible is to feel a range of emotions all at once – gratitude and anger (for example) can co-exist, believe it or not, and knowing this makes our mood less scary!  So, if, like me, you’re up for getting into these messy emotions, sitting in them, and allowing them to be there a little, knowing that they will pass (especially with the support of some beautiful essential oils!), then let’s get cracking!

Firstly, let’s just tap into where we are right now.  Sometimes, we can come across as feeling low because we just haven’t really delved into what is going on for us in this moment.  We so often suppress the negative moods, because – well, they just feel inconvenient at times, right?  But, let’s get present.  From being grounded in ‘this moment’, we can begin to see exactly what is going on for us that is creating our current mood – and we can begin to understand why we are feeling all the feels.  In doing this, we shed light on something unseen, and from here, it’s likely that our emotions might even drop away, without us doing much more than holding ourselves in the now, and using essential oils with relevant healing properties to help us practice awareness and self-care.  Sounds easy, and nourishing, doesn’t it?   Why were we ever fearful of doing the digging?  If you begin to know that you can support yourself through whatever shows up, simply by seeing it, and nurturing with aromatherapy, you will begin to see that your mood is just not that difficult to deal with, after all.

An exercise to begin

Let’s grab a journal and begin to dive inwards.  Here are some questions that will help you begin to identify what is really going on – perhaps you might like to cosy up with a matcha latte or herbal tea and enjoy some space whilst you do this:

1. What are you feeling right now, in your body?
2. What are you feeling right now, emotionally?
3. Are you labelling it as negative or positive or just as it is?
4. Do you know where this sensation or emotion is coming from?
5. How does how you are feeling relate directly to your thinking?
6. Have you ever experienced this thinking and feeling before?
7. Is it true?  Is it absolute truth?
8. Can you be ok with it?  Even if that means you have to hold yourself and give yourself more kindness and care?
9. Can you see anything underneath the thinking?  A common theme, perhaps?
10. What happens if you let go of what you are suffering with?  Is it as scary?

This little exercise of self-care should help you begin to tune into your mood and shed some light on your current experience of your mood, which is helpful to begin with.  However, now we are intimate with your mood, and we are up front and face-to-face with it, let’s nourish it a little and let it fall away…  It’s essential oil time!

Supporting our mood with essential oils

So, before we begin, another useful question is this: 

• Is there an essential oil scent that you feel drawn to right now?
  

Often, we forget that our bodies already know.  When we become present, we are more in-tune with our knowing of what we need and so, now that we have become more aware of what is going on in our bodies and minds, we might already know which blend we feel called to use to help.  If that’s you, then follow your nose, perhaps replacing some of the following blends with your own choices (thought you might still fancy reading on for some more specific ideas on techniques and essential oil synergies).

Beautiful aromatherapy blends for multiple moods

Angry

Anger can be a scary emotion, but it’s perfectly normal and ok.  It simply points us to some sort of imbalance and lets us know where our boundaries have felt to be violated.  The same can be said for irritability – what is it communicating to us?

Why not set yourself up to do something that feels good for you, whilst using this beautiful blend in the aromatherapy diffuser?  Perhaps you’ll enjoy some form of movement, such as dance, yoga, or whatever you are called to, to release the pent-up energy…

• Diffuser blend for anger: Mix 2 drops Ylang Ylang, 2 drops Rose and 3 drops Chamomile and use in a candle burner or electrical diffuser. Inhale the aroma as you breathe, move and let go!

Anxious

Anxiety is a response to anxious thinking, and it can help to remember that this isn’t always true – it’s merely a prediction of the future, though I know it doesn’t always feel like that!  

Why not do something relaxing?  Try this beautiful bath blend and enjoy some nourishing self-care to help you rest in this moment:

• Bath blend for anxiety: Mix 3 drops Bergamot, 3 drop Mandarin and 1 drop Clary Sage in 15ml of bath base and add to the warm running water.  Close the doors and windows and enjoy some spaciousness.

Directionless

If you’re feeling a little lost or stuck that’s ok too.  Everyone feels like they should know where they are going, but it’s a myth – there’s no real certainty in life, and none of us really knows what we are doing!  So, go easy on yourself, perhaps go for a walk in nature to remember how it works – and get comfortable with not needing a direction to enjoy life.  Take this beautiful inhaler blend with you:

• Wandering Inhalator: Add 2 drops Cypress and 1 drop Lime to the cotton stick inside the inhaler as sniff as you wander – without direction to get comfortable with not knowing.

Grief

Grief and sadness are always difficult emotions, and they are moods which come up to be seen and held.  There are wonderful essential oils to support releasing emotions associated with loss, and this blend is really nurturing.  So, take your time, blend this gentle, loving aromatherapy oil and nourish your body with a self-caring massage:

• Massage blend for sadness / grief: Mix 3 drops Rose, 2 drops Geranium and 1 drop Sandalwood with 15ml of Grapeseed oil.  Gently apply to your body in a direction towards the heart, with beautifully nurturing strokes, and hold yourself in a gentle hug to let yourself process what is happening.

Guilty 

Guilty feelings are, again, a perfectly natural response to ‘guilty thinking,’ but that doesn’t mean we need to hold onto them; they serve no purpose.  So, this beautiful blend is a great way to let that guilt go:

• Guilty Spritz: Create a cleansing spritz to remind you to let go anytime you feel stuck with a guilty mood.  Add 15 drops Lemongrass, 10 drops Basil and 5 drops Geranium to 100ml Orange Flower Hydrolat and spritz over you throughout the day to help you see that you can let go.

Indifferent

Feeling apathetic and indifferent gets a bad rap, but these feelings are ok too!  There’s nothing to fix when we are in this mood – it’ll pass.  However, to help you along, these essential oils can help revive your energy and help you feel a little more motivated:

• Apathy Aroma Rollette: Add 1 drop Lemon, 1 drop Rosemary and 10ml Grapeseed oil to a rollette bottle, shake well and apply to the wrist pulse points to give yourself a little boost

Jealous

Ah, jealousy, it’s another fun story our mind likes to play.  What would it feel like if we knew we were enough?  Well, you are – so why not meditate on and explore this deeper, with a beautiful aromatherapy blend to drop you out of your jealous mood?

• Diffuser blend for jealousy: Diffuse 3 drops Rose, 2 drops Jasmine and 2 drops Yarrow in and inhale the aroma as you meditate or journal to make sense of this mood.

Restless

If you are feeling restless, it could be because you feel you should be getting somewhere faster, or you don’t like where you are.  Ultimately, it could be because you feel something should be different, which comes down to ‘expectation’ thinking.  Where would you rather be, what would you rather life looked like?   

• Massage blend for restless thinking: Try a calming blend of 3 drops Lavender, 2 drops Patchouli and 1 drop Vetivert in 15ml Grapeseed oil and softly apply to your body in a direction towards the heart, encouraging yourself to relax and take stock.

Overall, I think the point is that all our emotions are okay, regardless of what mood we end up in.  These moods are always temporary, and will pass – so there’s no need to fear them, especially when we have essential oils to support us in the difficult moments.

Our bodies are capable – and so are our minds, so remember this, as you let it all happen and surround yourself with some self-care.  Follow your intuition – your nose knows the way when selecting essential oils, so enjoy our blissful blends, or get creative with your own, and you’ll notice you’re feeling better in no time.

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