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Essential Oils To Alter Your Mood

One of the most effective and natural ways to alter your mood is by using essential oils.

Whether you’re feeling fed-up and just need a quick uplifting remedy, or you want to promote a glowing sense of positivity and self-confidence, certain essential oils can be used effectively to restore your mental equilibrium.

To get the best results when using essential oils to change your mood, you need to choose the correct essential oils to deliver the required uplifting, soothing or relaxing properties that you desire. There are lots of essential oils to choose from, and they all have something to offer – it’s just a case of matching the mood enhancing qualities you want with aromas that you like.

Choosing the right essential oil

It’s at this point where it can be a bit tricky when you are new to aromatherapy. You may love the smell of eucalyptus essential oil, but it won’t help to soothe and relax you after a hectic day since it is a stimulating and energizing oil. Likewise, if you’re feeling down in the dumps and don’t have the energy to drag yourself off the sofa there’s no point in vaporizing clary sage oil since it’s likely to make you comatose!

And when it comes to more complex emotional states such as a lack of self confidence, it usually requires the expertise of an qualified and experienced aromatherapist to help select the correct essentials oil to re balance your emotional state. We all have different personality traits, and respond emotionally to the effects of essential oils slightly differently. Understanding this, and choosing the correct essential oil to improve your mood is all part of the art and science of aromatherapy!

Aromatherapy mood blends

To help you make up your own personal aromatherapy mood blends we’ve listed some of the best essential oils to address the most common emotional states:-

Dissolving anger – Anger is a natural but destructive emotion, so it’s important to banish angry feelings as soon as possible. While mindfulness techniques can help, sometimes you just need an extra boost. Essential oils to combat anger include roman chamomile, orange sweet, frankincense, helichrysum, ylang ylang, grapefruit, geranium and neroli. Choose one or more of the essential oils you want and add a few drops to an aromatherapy diffuser, or if you prefer, use these oils to soak away your anger in a nice warm bath.

Building self confidence – Before an important date, work occasion, or simply when you’re feeling a bit down, it pays to do something to boost your self confidence. This is where these essential oils can help. Jasmine has a long-standing reputation for effectively boosting low-esteem. Try blending it with other confidence-boosting essential oils such as ylang ylang, cedar atlas, laurel leaf, grapefruit, rosemary, ginger or yuzu. Add four or five drops (in total) of your essential oils to 10ml of carrier oil or lotion and apply to your wrists and neck. This will not only give you a delicious fragrance, it will help to dispel negative personal feelings. Alternatively you can use them in your diffuser or a bath.

Overcoming grief – While nothing can take away the pain of losing a loved one, essential oils can help ease feelings of grief and restore some inner peace. Some of the most effective oils for grief include marjoram sweet, orange sweet, clary sage, violet leaf, bergamot, cypress, yarrow and rose. A few drops in a nice warm bath or added to a vaporizer will help to deeply relax you and help soothe and re-balance your raw emotional state.

Tackling sadness – Sadness is caused by an array of things, from relationships to work. It’s an emotion that everyone can empathise with and sometimes no amount of your friends efforts to cheer you up can have the desired effect. When this happens it’s important to focus on rejuvenation, grounding and positivity. Some of the best essential oils to do this are bergamot, orange sweet, juniper berry, grapefruit, coriander, rosemary, cypress and pine.

Improving romance – It’s important to find time for romance in your life, but when your schedule is full and you’re run down, the last thing you often feel like is being passionate with your significant other. To change this, you need a catalyst that can remind you of what it means to be intimate. Some of the best oils to help you get in a more romantic mood include jasmine, lavender, rose, neroli, clary sage, cinnamon and ginger. Incorporate any of these oils into a sensual massage, adding a total of five drops of essential oils to 10ml of carrier oil or lotion, and gently massage into the body. The aroma, combined with the massage, is sure to make you feel as though you’re back in the honeymoon period!

Banishing regret – We’ve all made decisions in life that we later realise to have been the wrong ones. This leaves you with regret, which can eat you up if you let it take control. When you’re regretful, it’s important to try to make amends and correct the mistake were possible, but you also need to try to lessen the feeling itself, which can linger long after you’ve resolved the issue. Essential oils can help to restore calm and balance again. Some of the most effective oils for tackling regret include sandalwood, helichrysum, grapefruit, spikenard, lemon, yarrow, rose and yuzu.

Re-energizing – When you’re busy, overcoming a recent illness, or getting over emotional trauma, it’s natural to feel tired or even exhausted. However, when this happens you can often get locked in a downward lethargic spiral which it’s important to break out of. Essential oils can help to make you feel alive and energised again. Some of the best invigorating ones are obtained from citrus fruits, such as lemon or grapefruit essential oil. However, other popular rejuvenating aromas include black pepper, may chang, peppermint, cardamom, rosemary, vetiver, basil and pine.

Using essential oils in a body massage is the best method for re-energizing, as this gives you the benefits of the essential oils, and the massaging movements which stimulates the lymphatic system and blood flow. Remember that massage is most effective when done correctly, so be sure to get someone who has mastered the appropriate technique if you want a back massage.

How to use mood enhancing essential oils

You can use essential oils to improve your mood in a variety of ways, and I’ve included a few suggestions above so that you can choose the method that appeals to you the most. The easiest method is to choose one or more of the essential oils you want, place a few drops onto an aromatherapy diffuser or burner, and just let the wonderful aroma fill the air.

Sometimes a nice relaxing soak in the bath is the best way to enjoy your oils since you have more quiet and privacy. Add up to eight drops of the essential oil of your choice – or a combination of oils not exceeding eight drops, and agitate the water to distribute the oils evenly. A bath dispersant makes this job much easier.

If your partner can give you a nice relaxing massage this can often help due to the sense of touch. Simply add a total of five drops of your chosen essential oils to 10ml of carrier oil or lotion, and gently massage into the body.