Anxiety and depression: the quelling influence of essential oils

Heather Dawn Godfrey PGCE, BSc.

Author of: Healing with Essential Oils, Essential Oils for the Whole Body and Essential Oils for Mindfulness and Meditation.

 

AROMANTIQUE, 63a Silver Street, Lyme Regis, DT7 3HR 

 

Relax.  Revive.  Rejuvenate.  Replenish.

 

Bespoke Aromatherapy Massage applying high quality, soil association approved organic essential oils.  Gift Vouchers available.

 

WELLBEING IN THE WORKPLACE

 

Offering in-house wellbeing services, subsidies or vouchers toward support is one simple, but very effective step toward improving morale, feelings of contentment and improved aptitude in the workplace.   ‘Prevention is better than cure’ is a wise adage.  Defusing feelings of stress and pressure nips mental and emotional disharmony in the bud; feelings of burnout, depression and anxiety – unwelcome guests – are, thus. tempered and kept at bay.

Aromatherapy is shown (**) to ease, and in some cases alleviate, feelings of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, ‘burnout’ and feelings of mental and emotional exhaustion. Massage improves circulation, lowers and / or balances blood pressure, and relaxes, while also tones, muscle tissue. Essential oils have proven neurological influence with positive effect on mood, emotion, memory and sense of wellness and wellbeing, among other things.  Indeed, their molecules directly influence the limbic area within the brain, which in turn instigates activity of the parasympathetic nervous system.  Alongside the relaxing influence of massage, their psycho-emotional regulating, calming, balancing and uplifting properties make essential oils ideal companions to have at-hand when dealing with life’s ‘ups and downs’. (Godfrey 2019, 2022)

 

MENTAL HEALTH: THE WIDER PICTURE

 

In 2022, the World Health Organization’s report “World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All” highlighted the growing global need for improved care strategies in the area of mental health – a sector that is typically underfunded and currently inadequate to meet the acute and long-term needs of those suffering. What is more, with one in eight people living with a mental health disorder (13% of the global population) and with just 2% of health expenditure allocated to mental healthcare, this global public health burden is on track to further increase.  (Lewis 2024, WHO 2022)

Indeed, according to the WHO, the last four years have seen a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression.  More than 1 in 7 UK adults say their mental health is either currently bad, or the worst it’s ever been.  More women than men currently struggle with poor mental health: 18.5% of women, 12.5% of men.  In 2023, NHS England spent £217.5 million on medication to treat anxiety and depression. (Forth With Life 2022).

It makes sense, therefore, to take integrative proactive steps to reduce, counter-balance or temper known triggers and causes of mental and emotional disharmony, and to include and engage positive preventative and supportive strategies that nip these ‘unwelcome guests’ in the bud before they creep in and spoil the party.  Aromatherapy provides one such possible preventative solution.

 

References:

  • Forth With Life. Mental Health Statistics UK 2024.  https://www.forthwithlife.co.uk/blog/mental-health-statistics-uk/#:~:text=Here’s%20a%20quick%20recap%20of,vs%2012.5%25%20of%20men). (12th February 2024)
  • Rhiannon Lewis. Editor, International Journal of Clinical Aromatherapy. Director of Essential Oil Resource Consultants (France). (15th July 2024)
  • The World Mental Health Report: Transforming mental health for all. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338  (16th June 2022)
  • Heather Dawn Godfrey. Healing with Essential Oils. Healing Arts Press, Inner Traditions, Vermont USA.
  • Heather Dawn Godfrey. Essential Oils for the Whole Body. Healing Arts Press, Inner Traditions, Vermont USA.

 

(**)

  • Sowndhararajan, Kandasamy, and Songmin Kim. Influence of Fragrance on Human

Psychophysiological Activity: With special reference to human electroencephalographic response.  Scientia Pharmaceutica, National Library of Medicine. 84(4): 724-752. (2016).

  • Soto-Vasjuez, Marilu Roxana, and Paul Alan Arkin Alvarado-Garcia. Aromatherapy with

two essential oils from Satureja genre and mindfulness meditation to reduce anxiety in

humans.  Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine 7(1)   https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304536506_Aromatherapy_with_two_essential_oils_from_Satureja_genre_and_mindfulness_meditation_to_reduce_anxiety_in_humans(2016).

  • Santos, Everton Renan Quaresma dos, Jose Guilherme S. Maia, Eneas Andrade Fontes-

Junior, Christiane do-Socorro and Ferraz Maia. Linalool as a Therapeutic and Medicinal Tool in Depression Treatment: A Review. Current Neuropharmacology, Bentham Science Publishers, 20(6): 1073-1092. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9886818/ (2022).

  • Tan, Ling, Fei-fei Liao, Lin-zi Long, Xiao-chang Ma, Yu-xuan Peng, Jie-ming Lu, Hua Qu

and Chang-geng Fu (2023) Essential oils for treating anxiety: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials and network meta-analysis.  Frontiers in Public Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10267315/ (2023).

  • Seo, Eunhye, Yoonan Cho, Jeong-Min Lee and Geun Hee Seol. Inhalation of

Pelargonium graveolens Essential Oil Alleviates Pain and related Anxiety and Stress in Patients with Lumber Spinal Stenosis and Moderate to Severe Pain.  Pharmaceuticals (Basel).  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38275987/ (2023)

  • Ozer, Zulfinaz, Neslihan Teke, Gulcan Bahcecioglu Turan and Ayse Nefise Bahcecik.

Effectiveness of lemon essential oil in reducing test anxiety in nursing student. Explore New York, Elsevier. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35190270/ (2022).

  • Alvarado-Garcia, Paul Alen Arkin, Marilu Roxana Soto-Vasquez, Luis Enrique Rosaes-

Cerquin, Bertha Mirella Alfaro-Ttito and Elda Maritza Rodrigo-Villanueva. Anxiolytic Effect of Essential Oils Extracted from Lippia alba and Lippia citriodora. Pharmacognosy Journal 13, 6, 1377-1383. https://www.phcogj.com/article/1672 (2021).

  • Sherzadegan, Razieh, Mohammad Gholami, Shirin Hasanvand, Mehdi Birjandi and Afsaneh

Beiranvand. Effects of geranium aroma on anxiety among patients with acute

myocardial infarction: A triple-blind randomised clinical trial.  Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice p 201-206. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29122262/ (2017).

  • Zhang, Nan, Jie Chen, Wenyan Dong and Lei Yao. The Effect of Copaiba Oil Odor on

Anxiety Relief in Adults under Mental Workload: A Randomised Controlled Trial.  Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35449818/ (2022).

  • Jia, Yanzhou, Yao Wang, Xiaofei Zhang, Yajun Shi, Yulin Liang, Dongyan Guo and Ming

Yang. Action mechanism of roman chamomile in the treatment of anxiety disorder

based on network pharmacology. Journal of Food Biochemistry 45(1). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33152801/ (2021).

  • Shrivastava, Janmejai K., Eswar Shankar and Sanjay Gupta. Chamomile: A herbal medicine

of the past with bright future. Molecular Medicine Report, vol 3 issue 6 p 895-901.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/ (2011).

  • Achour, Miriam, Intidhar Ben Salem, Farhana Ferdousi, Menel Nouira, Maha Ben Fredj, Ali

Mtiraoui, Hiroko Isoda and Saad Saguem. Rosemary Tea Consumption Alters

Peripheral Anxiety and Depression Biomarkers: A Pilot Study in Limited Healthy Volunteers. Journal of the American Nutrition Association 41(3): 240-249. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33565922/ (2022).

  • Ferlemi, Anastasia-Varvara, Antigoni Katsikoudi, Vassiliki G. Kontogeianne, Tahsin F.

Kellici, Grigoris Iatrou, Fontini N. Lamari, Andreas G. Tzakos and Marigoula Margarity. Rosemary tea consumption results to anxiolytic- and anti-depressant-like behaviour of adult male mice and inhibits all cerebral area and liver cholinesterase activity; phytochemical investigation and in silico studies.  Chemico-Biological Interactions 237: 47-57. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25910439/ (2015).

  • Bazrafshan, Mohammad-Rafi, Mozhgan Jokar, Nasrin Shakrpour and Hamed Delam. The

effect of lavender herbal tea on the anxiety and depression of the elderly: A randomised clinical trial. Complementary Therapies in Medicine vol 50. Elsevier. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965229919316292 (2020).

  • Ghazizadeh, Javid Saeed, Sadigh-Eteghad, Wolfgang Marx, Ali Fakhari, Sanex

Hamedeyazdan, Mohammadali Torbati, Somalyeh Taheri-Tarighi, Mostafa Araj-Khodael and Majgan Mirghafourvand (2021) The effects of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) on depression and anxiety in clinical trials: A systematic review and meta-analysis.  Phytotherapy Research 35(12): 6690-6705. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34449930/ (2021).

  • Caro, Daneiva C., David E. Rivera, Yanet Ocampo, Luis A. Franco and Ruben D. Salas

Pharmacological evaluation of Menthis spicata L. and Plantago major L., Medicinal Plants used to Treat Anxiety and Insomnia in Colombian Caribbean Coast.  Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6106973/ (2018).