Top Nine Essential Oils to Balance Your Mood and Reduce Stress

Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds extracted and distilled from plants for their health benefits. They offer a therapeutic, natural solution for health and wellness in a variety of ways. Essential oils can support healthy digestion, immune system, detoxification organs, respiratory system, hormones, and even your mood.

These amazing oils can be used aromatically, topically, and many pure, therapeutic grade oils can be taken internally.

Using essential oils aromatically is a wonderful, natural, non-toxic way to support and balance your mood. We live in a very hectic, fast-paced world that leads to chronic stress. Chronic stress can manifest as many different illnesses in the body, and it can also cause mood imbalances which trigger anxiety, depression, tension, irritability, and exhaustion.

How do essential oils support your mood?

When an odor molecule is inhaled into the nasal cavity, it is first sensed by the olfactory cells that are part of the olfactory epithelium. The essential oil molecule binds to the receptor of an olfactory cell, which passes through the olfactory system into the brain. Anatomically, the olfactory system is closely connected to the limbic system of the brain. The limbic system includes the hippocampus (responsible for long-term memory), the amygdala ( associated with emotions), the hypothalamus (regulates autonomic nervous system and hormones), and the cingulate gyrus (regulates blood pressure, heart rate, and attention). It’s due to this fact that essential oils have such profound physiological and psychological effects.

When you inhale an aroma through your olfactory system, a message sent directly to your limbic system, and it triggers an emotion. This makes essential oils such a wonderful option when you need to boost your mood or relax your mind. Or perhaps you have trouble sleeping at night and you’re fatigued during the day. Specific essential oils can support restful sleep while others can boost your energy. Essential oils can help support your mood and your emotions in many positive ways.

Watch this video for my top nine essential oils to balance your mood and reduce stress.

Lavender

Lavender is known for it’s calming and relaxing properties. It stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system, which is your rest and digest mode. Too often during our busy days, we operate in the sympathetic, or fight and flight, mode of our nervous system. We don’t operate in our parasympathetic state often enough, which is very detrimental to our health. Diffusing lavender oil can help put your body in that rest and digest state. Inhaling lavender is very relaxing and calming. It helps relieve stress after a busy day, and it helps support restful sleep.

Frankincense

Frankincense is an amazing oil that supports healthy cellular function. Frankincense, along with other essential oils, has been used for thousands of years for medicinal and religious purposes. During biblical times, Frankincense was even valued more than gold. Used aromatically, frankincense offers wonderful mood support. It helps improve focus, minimize distractions, and improve concentration. It also reduces hyperactivity, impatience, irritability, and restlessness. Frankincense can even help enhance spiritual awareness and meditation.

Vetiver

Vetiver, a member of the grass family, is a really nice, thicker oil that has an earthy fragrance. It has powerful calming and grounding effects on emotions, which makes it an ideal oil in massage therapy. Vetiver offers wonderful support for relieving stress and helping with emotional trauma and shock. It also supports restful sleep.

Lemon

Citrus oils like lemon are very calming and uplifting to the mind and body. Lemon, when used aromatically, promotes health, physical energy, and purification. It’s fragrance is very invigorating, enhancing, and warming. There are many clinical studies supporting the use of lemon essential oil for reducing stress and boosting mood.

Peppermint

Peppermint is a very popular oil that has a variety of uses including mood support. Inhaling and diffusing peppermint is very purifying and stimulating to the mind and helps support memory, focus, concentration, and mental performance.

Bergamot

Bergamot is part of the citrus family and is recognized for its calming and uplifting properties. This is a wonderful oil to help balance your mood and has been very well studied. It’s been shown to help with emotional stress, tension, mental stress, sadness, and anxious thoughts.

Ylang Ylang

Ylang ylang is used in a lot of mood balancing blends. It’s very calming and relaxing and may help alleviate anger. Additionally, this oil influences sexual energy and enhances relationships. So be sure to apply some of this oil before date night with your hubby. 🙂

Clary Sage

Clary sage is a really nice oil to help reduce emotional stress and mood swings. It’s also a popular oil used for hormonal balance. This oil may be especially helpful for women during certain times of the month when hormonal fluctuations are contributing to mood swings and emotional challenges.

Wild Orange

Wild orange provides an amazing aroma that is calming and uplifting. It can help reduce anxious, worried thoughts and nervous tension. Diffuse this oil with peppermint when you need an afternoon pick-me-up.

You can diffuse these oils in your home or office using a diffuser. Just add 3-6 drops of oil to your diffuser. You can also inhale the oil from the bottle or put a couple of drops in your hands and inhale. Another effective way to use these oils for stress and mood support is to put a few drops in an epsom salt bath. I love using lavender for this.

Here are a couple of wonderful blends you can make to support your mood:

You can put a couple of drops of each oil in a diffuser. Or you can create your own blend in a 10ml roller bottle. Just use 20 drops of each oil and top off with fractionated coconut oil. Apply to bottoms of feet, back of neck, or chest.

For worried, anxious thoughts

• Vetiver
• Lavender
• Frankincense
• Ylang Ylang
• Clary Sage

To elevate mood and increase vitality

• Lavender
• Hawaiian Sandalwood
• Ylang Ylang
• Wild Orange

To support restful sleep

• Lavender
• Vetiver
• Roman Chamomile
• Hawaiian Sandalwood

When choosing essential oils, it’s important to do your research and make sure you’re getting pure, therapeutic-grade oils. If you’re using oils for your health, then you want to use only the most pure ingredients.