Emotional aromatherapy and affirmations. Do they really work well together?

Mar 28

Short answer, yes!

On their own, affirmations work.

Research on self-affirmation theory has been ongoing for more than 40 years. Studies have shown that self-affirmation can improve one’s health and well-being in a variety of ways. For example, affirmations appear to activate specific neural pathways associated with self-related processing and positive thinking.

When we pair them with aromatherapy (essential oils), by associating the unique aroma of an essential oil with an affirmation, it means that each time you breathe in that scent, those specific positive thoughts will be reinforced.

So, what exactly is an affirmation?

Affirmations are the use of present tense, powerfully emotive statements, such as “I am enough” or “Pockets of time keep opening up for me.” They are positive statements that can help you challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts.

What is emotional aromatherapy?

Emotional aromatherapy is the use of high quality essential oils to impact the limbic system - the part of your brain that houses all your thoughts, memories, beliefs, and emotions. By stimulating new patterns or interrupting old ones, it allows you to faster rewrite the underlying drivers behind everything you do, say, think, or feel.

How does emotional aromatherapy work?

The aroma of the oils are processed by the olfactory bulb
The olfactory bulb associates the aroma to another stimulus in the environment (for instance, affirmations you use with your oils)
It then relays all that information to the limbic system where it gets stored
At the same time, the limbic system is reacting to the oil itself
Certain compounds calm stress or hormone responses
They stimulate areas associated with different ways of thinking (such as creativity)
And they loosen up those hard-wired neural pathways (pattern interrupt) which allows you to get in there and sweep things out

So, in a nutshell…

Affirmations, when used consistently work. But the real magic happens when affirmations are paired with aromatherapy. By adding essential oils, they make the reinforce our affirmations (and other mindset work like journaling and meditation) work faster, easier and stronger.

How do we use the oils?

Every oil or blend can be used topically or aromatically.

Topical use is suitable for areas of the body that are holding the emotion (i.e. tense shoulders from anger), over energy centers, on pulse points, or any other area of concern or desire. Avoid the inner ear, inside the nose, or in the eyes. Some oils also cause sensitivity to sun, so check the bottle first. And be sure you understand proper dilution rates.

Aromatic use is the primary focus here, though.

You will get aromatic benefits from topical use, but there are a few methods I also suggest:

Diffuse. Constantly. Each morning, find a diffuser recipe based on how you’dlike to feel that day (based on what you're facing) and set your day up inadvance.
Apply to palms and cup over the nose and inhale slowly and comfortably. I recommend doing it for 30 seconds while you repeat your affirmations with as much emotion/excitement as possible.