Could Essential Oils Help Your Social Anxiety?

If you find yourself bailing out on work gatherings or making excuses to avoid going out with friends on the weekend due to your social anxiety, you may find yourself in a constant search for treatments or therapies that can help you better manage social situations. However, before you seek prescription medications or intensive therapies, you may want to first try aromatherapy and mindful meditation. In many cases, simply inhaling certain scents can help your brain relax and focus on something other than the factors causing you anxiety, helping you overcome much of your social anxiety without resorting to anti-anxiety medications. Read on to learn more about buying essential oils online that can calm your anxiety and help you navigate social situations with greater ease.

Lavender

A mainstay in scents and sprays designed to inspire relaxation, lavender has actually been clinically shown to have stress reduction benefits. Inhaling lavender before a presentation or before getting out of your vehicle and going into a party or restaurant can help you gain the confidence to control your anxiety (rather than the other way around). Although you can grow your own lavender easily with a fairly small pot on your porch or windowsill, using essential oils is an easier and more powerful way to get the clinical effect of lavender without depending on weather and soil quality. 

Rose

Like lavender, rose has been shown to have effects on anxiety and panic attacks -- perfect for those dealing with social anxiety, which can often trigger hyperventilation or more serious symptoms of a panic attack. Rose essential oil is one of the most common varieties available, and is generally inexpensive due to the relative ease of growing roses and extracting their essential oils.

Bergamot

Exposure to this fruity, flowery scent has been shown to reduce corticosteroids in rats, reducing the internal inflammation often caused by anxiety. Adding bergamot to your own routine can help you reduce your blood pressure, a healthy move overall and particularly helpful when it comes to managing situations that trigger your social anxiety.

Mixing lavender and rose or rose and bergamot oils in a small satchet with rice or other absorbent materials can give you the extra boost you need to reduce anxiety wherever and whenever you need it. Trying this for a week or two should be enough time to indicate whether it will be successful in keeping your social anxiety manageable or whether you may need additional help.

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