A recent study on the use of essential oils entitled:

“The effect of aroma inhalation method on stress responses of nursing students.”

done by Park MK, Lee ES in the Department of Nursing, Nambu University, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju city, Korea reported in April 2004 has provided more valuable evidence into the efficacy of essential oils in helping to manage stress.

The study was a “quasi-experimental research using a non-equivalent pre-post design” with 77 nursing students who were divided into two groups, experimental and comparison control group.

The level of anxiety in each participant was measured before and after the test by assessing “body symptoms” and “perceived level of stress”.

Members of the experimental group were allowed to inhale lavender, peppermint, rosemary and Clary-Sage Essential Oils from an aroma lamp (form of essential oil diffuser) while the control group received no intervention of any kind.

They reported the following results:

“As a result of administering aroma inhalation to nursing students, their physical symptoms decreased, their anxiety scores were low, and their perceived stress scores were low, showing that aroma inhalation could be a very effective stress management method.”

Their conclusions were:

“Nursing educators should play an important role in contributing to college students’ physical and psychological health by helping enhance their recognition of stress management and effectively relieving their stress using essential oils.”

As I have personally used many Therapeutic Grade essential oils for the last 10 years, I can attest to the wonderful improvements that I have seen in my ability to manage and stress levels with them. In particular I have found peppermint and lavender essential oils extremely refreshing, invigorating and calming at the same time.

What is important to recognize however is that not all essential oils are “cut from the same cloth”.

A category called “Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils” attempts to maintain the integrity of the original composition of the plant oil by avoiding degradation of its many constituents, through the avoidance of the addition of synthetic oils (like those produced in the laboratory) or other agents that may in fact may be toxic.

I am glad to see that the many personal benefits that I have had over the last 10 years with essential oils are now becoming supported scientifically.

Reference:

Park MK, Lee ES., Taehan Kanho Hakhoe Chi. 2004 Apr;34(2):344-51.

Nick Arrizza M.D. is trained in medicine, psychiatry, is an international healer and life coach, an author, researcher and internationally sought after speaker. He is also the developer of the powerful Mind Resonance Process(TM) MRP.

Young Living Essential Oils Web Site: http://www.youngliving.org/arrizza

MRP Web Site: http://www.telecoaching4u.com

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I have been a fan of essential oils for over 10 years now. I have found them personally useful for alleviating many physical and emotional issues in that time. I also especially find the aromas of many of them extremely inspiring and uplifting.

I have personally used a combination of Therapeutic Grade (an important concept in essential oils use) Frankincense and Lavender from Young Living Essential Oils for managing symptoms of depression as have some of my clients.

Here I report on a recent study done by Kim MJ, Nam ES, Paik SI.*** in Feb 2005 that employs a combination of lavender, marjoram, eucalyptus, rosemary, and peppermint in a carrier oil that looked at the effect of this combination on the symptoms of depression, pain and satisfaction in life in arthritis patients.

This study has some scientific significance as it was an unblinded study with a comparison control group. The sample consisted of 40 patients, enrolled in the Rheumatics Center, Kangnam St. Mary’s Hospital, South Korea. It is important to keep in mind that there is no information about the methodology of the study provided in the abstract and that the power of the study could be increased through randomization of patients and blinding of treatment and assessment phases.

The study found that:

“Aromatherapy significantly decreased both the pain score and the depression score of the experimental group compared with the control group. However, aromatherapy didn’t increase the feeling of satisfaction in life of the experimental group compared with the control group. “

Their final conclusion was:

“The result of this study clearly shows that aromatherapy has major effects on decreasing pain and depression levels. Based on our experiment’s findings, we suggest that aromatherapy can be a useful nursing intervention for arthritis patients.”

It is to be expected that the last parameter namely “satisfaction in life” would likely not respond as this is highly dependent on one’s actual life situation and that this would in fact need to evolve or change.

It has been my experience that individuals who succumb to chronic debilitating illnesses become traumatized by the actual length of time they find themselves incapacitated.

This often imprints them with many fears of returning to a normal life. I have been helping such individuals overcome their fears with a new process (the Mind Resonance Process(TM) (MRP)) that is used to complement the essential oils.

The use of MRP in conjunction with Essential Oils is proving to be a useful strategy to mobilize such individuals back into a state of normalcy.

Reference:

***Kim MJ, Nam ES, Paik SI., Taehan Kanho Hakhoe Chi. 2005 Feb;35(1):186-94.

Nick Arrizza M.D. is trained in medicine, psychiatry, is an international healer and life coach, an author, speaker, researcher and the developer of the powerful Mind Resonance Process(TM) (MRP).

Young Living Essential Oils Web Site: http://www.youngliving.org/arrizza

Mind Resonance Process(TM) Web SIte: http://www.telecoaching4u.com

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