What is stress?
Stress is defined as a negative differential between a series of demands and ability to cope with them. We each have a personal comfort level, which may vary on a daily base. Everyone thrives and feels comfortable within this personal level, but placed outside of one's comfort zone, stress will quickly manifest.
There are different causes of stress. The most common causes include work stress due to long working hours or heavy workload, and life stress such as divorce or responsibility to take care of sick or elderly family members.
It is important to realise that not all stress is bad, in fact, a certain amount of stress is functional to maintaining optimal health. An environment totally devoid of stress would not be beneficial as some stress appears to be necessary for growth and change to take place and for the person to develop successful coping strategies.
Hans Selye, a leading researcher into the effects of stress, has developed the notion of General Adaption Syndrome:
Stage 1: Alarm reaction is the initial encounter with stress in which the body rises to meet the challenge of stress.
Stage 2: Resistance reaction is when the body has adapted to stress and there is a considerable expenditure of the body's adaptive energy, notably the function of the adrenal cortex
Stage 3: Exhaustion is finally one of exhaustion, in which many of the body functions become impaired.
Stress is a multidimensional syndrome because it involves mind, body and emotions. The symptoms of stress involve both behavioural and psychological problems, and the reason for the success of aromatherapy is dealing with stress is that it uses a multidimensional holistic approach.
Typical Aromatherapy Treatments
The success of holistic aromatherapy in stress management is due to the combined benefits of :
- Essential oils
- Relaxation rituals such as massage, warm bath
- Social interactions, like therapists/client, mother/child, and husband/wife interactions.
The sensory aspect of aromatherapy is significant in the treatment of stress. This involves the sense of touch and smell. It is interesting to note that these are the most intimate and sensual of our senses. And these senses are usually not the ones being stimulated in our work or our daily environment. Essential oils may de-stress through two routes: Inhalation and dermal absorption.
The two possible mechanisms by which the essential oils work are:
- Pharmacological effect
- Triggering response via the olfactory-limbic-endocrine system
Essential Oils for Stress
Essential oils to induce relaxation, reduce irritability, relieve headaches and overcome insomnia:
- Bergamot - more info | product
- Roman Chamomile -more info | product
- Clary Sage - more info | product
- Frankincense - more info | product
- Lavender - more info | product
- Petitgrain - more info | product
- Rose - more info | product
- Marjoram - more info | product
- Sweet orange - more info | product
- Sandalwood - more info | product
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Ylang-ylang - more info | product
Essential oils to help relieve tiredness, aches and pain: - Lemon - more info | product
- Geranium - more info | product
- Rosemary - more info | product
- Peppermint - more info | product
- Pine - more info | product
Essential oils to help overcome depression, apathy, melancholy and feeling of helplessness:
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