Lavender oil won’t cure ANXIETY, but, it will take the edge off an anxious moment and just being a little calmer, is more healthful than being FREAKED OUT.

Do you have a tendency to freak out ?

I do.

If I was being perfectly honest, I would have to describe myself as…. HIGH STRUNG.

Which is a nice way of saying I can get in a tizzy – easily.

Now don’t get me wrong, I typically muddle through these moments, but nothing about me, says cool, calm, collected. It would be nice to put a stop to the BAD BODY CHEMISTRY that accompanies, these anxious moments.

I recently came across a short little journal article, from a group of Indian researchers, with a simple, low cost idea, to tackle anxiety.

A whiff of lavender.

Anxiously waiting….

Of course, this is not a new idea, both Egyptian and Chinese medicine men have prescribed the oil of Lavandula angustifolia, for nervous ailments, but this study brings the power of lavender right into the 21^st century.

Specifically, the dentist’s rooms.

Talk about anxiety – the thought of visiting a dentist positively freaks me out.

Dentist phobia

I have flash backs from childhood…..

Being held down in an oversized chair, while a foul smelling man, with a big white coat, hurt me.

I know, I know………….. dentists have come a long way since Dr Miller, but I am a sufferer of dentist phobia.

Fear of the dentist is pretty common.

And the general level of anxiety, in the average waiting room of a dentist, is sky high.

Except when the dentist wafts lavender scents in the waiting room.

Seriously.

Scientifically proven

It takes the level of anxiety down a notch or two. Works for men and women, young and old.

It really works.

This is what the team of Indian researchers found, when they tested it out, in dental clinics around the city of Guntur.

A visit to the dentist

597 patients from 10 dental clinics, agreed to take part in the study. The team made sure that none of the patients suffered from allergies or some other kind of respiratory problem, before signing them up to participate.

Participation was easy.

All they had to do, was show up at the clinic for their appointment and complete a questionnaire designed to probe just how anxious they were, about the upcoming procedure.

The catch……………

• In 5 dental offices, the air was being doctored, with the scent of lavender.
• In the other 5 dental offices, the air was untreated.

In both cases, a candle warmer was lit in the waiting room, 30 minutes before any patients began cueing. In the case of the doctored air, diluted lavender oil was applied to the candle warmer, in the untreated air, the candle warmer just flicked along.

The calming effect of doctored air

The team found patients waiting in the lavender scented rooms, were calmer. The difference was significant – that is scientific speak for, there was a REAL difference between the two groups.

No – they weren’t CALM.

Just calmer.

Lavender oil won’t cure ANXIETY, but, being a little calmer, is clearly a more healthful state of being than FREAKED OUT.

What freaks you out ?

We all have things that trigger our buttons…

• Visits to the dentist would be high on my list.
• Giving a presentation would only create a slight flutter
• Writing an exam, would be somewhere in between

Next time your or someone in your family, is facing an anxiety inducing moment, maybe a dab of lavender oil will bring a little relief ?

It’s worth a try.

NOTE  : If you can’t use a candle warmer, you can always pop a drop or two on a tissue or some other item and give it a good sniff, every now and again.

Further reading

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