How to Rid Yourself of Anxious Feelings +Emotional Rescue EO Recipe

I once had a panic attack. It was on the day my son went off to college. I didn't know what was happening really. I just couldn't breathe and had a feeling of impending doom. A friend stayed with me all through the night. By morning I was truly exhausted and beside myself with not knowing what was happening to me.

I called a nurse practitioner friend of mine who immediately told me, "You're having a panic attack." I of course immediately knew what to reach for, my friend Vetiver. As soon as I took a whiff of Vetiver oil I immediately settled down and the panic attack never returned.

Key Essential Oil to Use

Vetiver ( vetiveria zizanoides ) - hydrodiffused from the roots.

Aromas: Sweet, earthy, balsamic, exotic and sensual with spicy undertones.

Vetiver pure essential is a thick, resinous oil that's deep, earthy, sweet and rich. Its soulful essence is resonant and grounding. Vetiver is the first oil to consider for relieving anxiety and panic. 

Some people experience Vetiver as especially bitter. Interestingly, many of these same people who experience Vetiver’s aroma as too bitter, have difficulty experiencing the more earthy, sensual side of their nature. 

I would like to note that Vetiver that has been distilled in cast iron can have a ‘burnt’ after aroma. Vetiver root that's hydrodiffused in stainless steel produces the finest specimens of this oil. 

An intensely Yang character with rising yin quality, Vetiver’s regulating action promotes balance for extreme emotional states.

Vetiver is primarily distilled for use in the perfume trade and most often used as a base or bottom note.

Chemical Class: Sequiterpene & Sespiterpenol

Vetiver is frequently used to comfort, soothe and ground during challenging times.

  • Soothing and relaxing properties
  • Excellent for balancing the First Chakra
  • High Sesquiterpenoid content gives vetiver its exceptional grounding, calming, relaxing effect
  • Revitalizing oil

Of course, no one essential oil is the right choice for relieving feelings of panic and anxiety for everyone. Your direct personal experience is always uppermost when selecting an oil that will work best for you.

Directions:

Dispense 1-3 drops of Vetiver pure essential oil on a cotton ball, or smell strip. Slowly introduce the oils into your system by breathing in their vapors. Exhale fully and inhale once more. Continue breathing the aromatic vapors for 30-60 seconds. Then allow yourself to rest for 5 minutes.

Breathing in the vapors of your Vetiver oil several times each day will have a stabilizing and grounding effect on your nervous system and help train your mind to be calm.

How to Stay Sane in an Insane World - Step 6

Feel Your Feelings - Your feelings just want to be felt!

Think of your feelings like a young child wanting your acceptance and reassurance. Being the loving parent and taking time to feel your feelings is one of the most wonderful acts of Self Love you can give to yourself.

In fact, most of the intensity you feel from a feeling is from your resistance to it. By resisting your feelings, you intensify and prolong your discomfort. Once allowed and felt, a feeling will evaporate (usually very quickly).

When going through deep grief and loss, painful feelings may continue to resurface for a period of time until fully accepted and felt. It’s a process. Take it one step at a time. Better to feel your feelings for a momentary period of discomfort. In contrast, when resisted, repressed and suppressed feelings can lead to a lifetime of grievances and disappointments. Overtime, these stagnant emotions can build up and lead to chronic depression and many other health maladies.

How to Stay Sane in an Insane World - Step 6

Feel Your Feelings Exercise

It's simple, just BE with your feelings, whatever they may be.

Just allowing and accepting your feelings as they arise is one of the greatest acts of Self Love. Acceptance of your feelings results in profound and deep healing of your emotional body.

Gestalt therapist Fritz Perls was quoted as saying, "Anxiety is excitement without the breath." So practice breathing acceptance into your feelings.

There are basically only a few emotions you can experience: 

Joy
Sadness
Fear
Anger
Erotic or sexual feelings

Of course there are an infinite number of colorations and variations of these primary emotions.

Some emotions can be very intense though most feeling we label "negative" only last momentarily if fully embraced.

When you resist your feelings or medicate your feelings with food, drugs, or other distractions you short circuit their purpose, prolong your experience of short term discomfort and create needless suffering for yourself.

Your emotions have a message for you. Listen to their message!

Sometimes you will be prompted to take action after embracing and feeling your feelings. At other times nothing is required other than to just to BE with your feelings - acknowledge, experience and accept them.

Any feeling can feel uncomfortable if you associate pain with it. For instance you may stifle the feeling of joy because you associate a belief that it can't last, or soon you'll be disappointed.

You may have to actually train yourself to sustain your experience of feeling joy!

The feeling of joy is your natural feeling state. Joy is the experience of being fully alive and experiencing aliveness.

Next time an uncomfortable feeling comes up for you practice breathing into it and just BEING one with it. Allow yourself to experience your feelings fully and see what happens.

Emotional Rescue EO Recipe

Try this essential oil blend when you’re feeling emotionally upset. Its comforting influence will help to stabilize and ground your emotions.

To a 5ml (100 drops) euro-dropper bottle add:

  • Tangerine (Citrus reticulata) - 40 drops
  • German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) - 20 drops
  • Ylang Ylang III (Cananga odorata) - 20 drops
  • Vetiver (Vetiveria zizaniodes) - 20 drops

Cap bottle tightly and shake vigorously to mix your oils thoroughly. Allow to synergize for 12 hours, or longer before using.

READ Next article in this series, Power of the Divine Feminine - Restore Harmony Meditation +Harmonizer EO Recipe.

READ First article in this series, How to Stay Sane in an Insane World - Step 1: Take Charge of Yourself +Sedative EO Recipe.

†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All statements on this website are intended for informational purposes only.

1 comment


  • Gail Pickens-Barger

    What would be a substitute for German Chamomile? I have everything else in the blend.


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