Aromatherapy Oils for Depression

I admit that I am an aromatherapy addict. At the end of a bad day, I rummage through my medicine cabinet and pick out the right formula out of a dozen homemade aromatic concoctions. They can each be burned, dripped into a bath, or folded into a massage oil. I use a soothing formula for anxiety, an invigorating formula for low energy, a pain-relieving formula for muscle aches, and more. My favorite of all, though, is my depression formula -- one that I use to combat the blues when I'm feeling seriously down.

If you're interested in making your own aromatherapy blend to treat depression, here are some essential oils to include in your formula for massage, ambient aroma, or baths.

Cardamom to Uplift

Used extensively as a culinary herb, cardamom's unique sweet-spicy scent is uplifting without being overstimulating. It's a perfect treatment for feelings of apathy, lethargy, and emotional exhaustion. If you're having one of those days that causes you to want to hide under a rock, a whiff of cardamom oil can help you regain your emotional energy.

Rosemary for Perspective

The scent of rosemary oil is at once relaxing and focusing. It provides me with the sense of clarity and perspective that I need to get past a bad day. This piney evergreen scent can help to alleviate feelings of stress and tension if you're coping with mild depression or anxiety.

Frankincense for Hope

This tree resin was once literally worth its weight in gold because of its many medicinal effects. The sweet and unique aroma of frankincense provides a sense of calming and hopefulness, similar to the feelings left by rosemary oil. Perfect for when grief, depression or disappointment cause you to lose sight of realism.

Lemon for Renewal

I've found that a bath in a sharp citrus oil, such as lemon or grapefruit, can help me feel refreshed after I've been overcome with sadness and worry. Lemon aromatherapy can be a wonderful solution when you feel a need to simply cleanse your mind and "start over" after a bad day or week.

Aromatherapy can be very useful for overcoming mild depression, but understand that it doesn't replace other treatments. It's fine to use aromatherapy to treat the blues, and it's perfectly acceptable to use it as an adjunct to treatments for clinical depression. However, if you suffer from clinical depression, you should not use aromatherapy as a substitute for treatments recommended by your doctor.