The lavender essential oil can be termed as one of the more versatile and popular methods used for aromatherapy. The lavender oil is distilled from the plant called Lavandula Angustifolia. This kind of aromatherapy is responsible for promoting relaxations and is believed to be useful in the treatment of fungal infections, anxiety, depression, eczema, insomnia, nausea, allergies, and menstrual cramps. It is multi-purpose oil in terms of essential oil practices. The oil also has antispasmodic, analgesic, and sedative properties similar to massage therapy.
Lavender aromatherapy for the treatment of anxiety
Although there aren’t many clinical trials to support this, there were positive effects of aromatherapy on many people suffering from anxiety. Several studies conducted have indicated that the lavender oil might have anti-anxiety benefits. Some studies were conducted in specific populations as well to test the anxiety-decreasing effects of lavender. There was a study published in 2005 that concentrated on two hundred people waiting for dental treatment. By breathing in the lavender aroma there was an improvement in both mood and anxiety. Another study showed that lavender-based oil therapy was helpful in the relaxation of anxiety for postpartum women.
In another study that involved 28 women who gave birth in the past 18 months, the researchers found that 4 weeks of 2 times a week and 15 minutes long aromatherapy sessions were useful for alleviating depression apart from lowering the anxiety levels. Ingesting lavender oil can also help in relieving anxiety. In the year 2012 scientists analyzed fifteen prior published clinical trials. They concluded that the dietary supplements used for the treatment that contained lavender oil may have some therapeutic effects on various patients struggling with stress and anxiety. Another more recent study in the literature showed the benefits of lavender in the participants suffering from moderate to severe anxiety.
Any side effects?
There is a possibility of the lavender essential oil causing skin irritation or a kind of allergic reaction in case of some people. When you are experiencing nausea, headache, or vomiting after the lavender aromatherapy you need to stop using it immediately. Because consuming lavender essential oil may have toxic effects, the treatment may not be suitable for ingestion inside the body unless it is supervised by a medical professional.
What do you need to look out for?
The essential oils are not under regulation by the FDA and they are not required to meet any specific purity standards. While buying the essential oil you need to look for suppliers that are distilling their material or dealing with reputed distillers directly. They use mass spectrometry and gas chromatography for analyzing the quality of this product. While buying the pure lavender essential oils check out the label to see whether it has the name Lavandula Angustifolia. There should not be any other ingredients listed in the content.
Although the lavender oil treatment can be helpful for soothing anxiety it should not be used as an alternative to the professional mental health treatment for anxiety disorder. You can also get a massage to relieve the anxiety symptoms. If you are living in the Clearwater, FL area you can get in touch with Maria’s Professional Massage for massage therapy.
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