20 Essential Oils for Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress
by Katy Lamothe, Graduate Apprentice at Anarres

Basil: energizing, promotes focus; strengthens the mind and heart; helpful for addiction recovery; strengthens the adrenal glands; can both lift one from melancholic depression and bring clarity to a confused mental state; rejuvenates after long periods of exhaustion and burnout; supports those under a great deal of mental strain; a natural nerve tonic, with the ability to be stimulant and/or restorative depending on the body's needs. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/basil-sweet-essential-oil-social-ent...

Bergamot: regulating effect, deeply calming yet gently toning, to the nervous system; helps disperse unprocessed and stagnant energy that shows up as tension and irritability; encourages the release of pent-up feelings; helps direct nervous energy away from addictive behaviours; helps to relax and let go. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/bergamot-essential-oil-organically-f...

Cedarwood: steadies the mind; can give strength in times of crisis; helps us resist the events and emotions that threaten to undermine our confidence and morale; bolsters transforming power of the will; helps us to transform a negative or threatening situation and transform it into an experience that instills strength and wisdom. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/catalog/essential-oils-blends-perfumes-incen...

Cilantro: encourages detoxification of negative emotions, release of buried issues and shedding what is not in harmony with the true self; indicated for those who are obsessively controlling and obsessive of material possessions, constricted and clinging; assists in letting go of patterns, issues and emotions that betray the true self; encourages release of worry and control, frees the emotionally trapped; liberates from heavy burdens. Available at Anarres by request.

Clary Sage: can stop a panic attack; general neurotonic indicated for mental fatigue and nervous debility; creates a balance between states of stimulation and relaxation; indicated for nervous anxiety and depression characterized by changeable moods, indecision and emotional confusion. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/clary-sage-austria-essential-oil-soc...

Clove: supports those who feel powerless to change their circumstances in letting go of victim mentality and patterns of self-betrayal; helps to build boundaries; helps break out of abuse patterns by restoring a sense of self and instilling the strength to stand up for your needs. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/clove-bud-essential-oil-social-enter...

Everlasting (Immortelle, Helichrysum): helps to relax tension from the need to over-control, and over-effort from long-standing frustration; has ability to disperse deeply embedded repression; breaks through enduring resentment, half-conscious anger, bitterness, stubborn negative attitude; helps resolve judgement that may come from childhood trauma, and rigid self-denying thought patterns; helps to heal the most stubborn of wounds. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/helichrysum-aka-everlasting-aka-immo...

Hyssop: a general nerve tonic relieving states of anxiety or hysteria; indicated for those who are easily affected by other people’s moods and emotions; absorbs tension in the environment and counteracts the urge to withdraw; helps to create healthy boundaries. Available at Anarres by request.

Juniper: has the power to drive out negative influences; works to break through psychological stagnation and consolidate willpower; suitable for those who are aloof, deeply absorbed in their own thoughts and burdened with thoughts that revolve around unpleasant memories, worries and pressures; indicated for those who withdraw as a result of feeling misunderstood and unsupported; addresses fear of failure. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/juniper-berry-essential-oil-wildcrafted

Lavender: relieves states of self-pity; eases panic and hysteria; releases “stuck” mental energy from built up unexpressed emotion; has been described as a “habit breaker” and a “crisis smoother”; calms states of nervous anxiety and embarrassment; soothes the sense of trauma that inhibits self-expression, encouraging full expression of the individual self. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/lavender-bulgarian-organically-farme...

Lemongrass: powerful cleanser of energy; dispels feelings of despondency, despair, and lethargy, and assists in entering a healing mode; helps one to let go of limiting beliefs, toxic energy and negativity; assists in letting go of everything no longer needed and moving forward without hesitation; encourages one to let go of stagnant energy and holding onto past issues; promotes an increased ability to see situations with greater clarity. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/lemongrass-essential-oil-social-ente...

Marjoram: alleviates feelings of isolation and loneliness, and feelings of being unsupported, denied warmth and affection; calms obsessive thinking; eases emotional craving and promotes capacity for self-nurturing; nourishes the place from where neediness springs and restores the power to give; softens the heart and heals past wounds. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/content/marjoram-essential-oil

Melissa: the most important oil for anxious depression; eases depression, especially in people who are sensitive, overwhelmed by pressure, traumatized by confrontation and who try to contain rather than respond to their feelings; addresses the deepest layers of the psyche, the inner child; restores clarity and security to those who are confused and dependent; replaces intensity with serenity, distrust with innocence. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/content/flower-waters-lemon-balm-melissa-hyd...

Myrrh: gently calming to the nervous system; clarifying and grounding; instills inner peace, stillness and a deep tranquility to the mind; principal oil for over-thinking, mental distraction and worry; eases sorrow and grief; closes the wounds of loss and rejection; heightens awareness of the self; strengthens the link between the crown and base chakras, the spiritual and physical, allowing the soul a channel for earthly expression of dreams and visions. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/myrrh-essential-oil-fluid-social-ent...

Neroli: soothing, euphoric as well as grounding; ideal for those who are easily alarmed and agitated due to heightened sensitivity and whose stress response can become emotionally exhausted and depressed; provides strength and comfort when depression resulting from unexpressed anger and unconscious resentment turns to despair; assists with release of repressed emotions; re-establishes links between disconnected body and mind; pave the way for gradual release of denial and deep emotional pain that robs one of hope and joy; promotes sensual ease and emotional harmony. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/neroli-10-jojoba

Pine: psychologically fortifying; restores self-confidence; disperses melancholy and counteracts pessimism; works to re-awaken instinctive connection to life; indicated for those who blame themselves, those who have turned inward due to feelings of helplessness and/or unworthiness, for weakness of boundary and self identity; restores boundaries and ability to process experiences; works to dissipate negative self-image and feelings of remorse; replaces undue feelings of guilt with forgiveness and self-acceptance. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/pine-scots-aka-scotch-essential-oil

Rose: soothes nervous anxiety, palpitations and insomnia; can touch the deepest despair, restore trust and make it possible to love again; its ability to heal emotional wounds instills feelings of self-acceptance, compassion, love, faith, hope, and trust; brings warmth to a soul grown cold through abuse and hurt; calms and supports the heart and restores a sense of well-being. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/rose-absolute-10-jojoba-morocco-soci...

Spikenard: soothes the deepest forms of anxiety; replaces despondency and resentment with acceptance and compassion; instills a profound sense of peace; allows for surrender when persistent anxieties and emotional wounds stand in the way; relates to the part of ourselves that exists beyond suffering. Available at Anarres by request.

Yarrow: relevant for deeply repressed anger and embitterment; releases blocked emotions; encourages us to fully accept pain in order to heal and go beyond it; most appropriate for those whose feelings of rage are subconsciously linked with emotional wounding and vulnerability, who are submerged by the pain of past wounds and who view their pain as “weakness” and strive to hide it at all costs, who have a tendency to be easily offended and lash out as a result; helps release bitterness of hidden rage, and assists those who are habitually defensive and severe to tap and release their tears. Available at Anarres by request.

Ylang Ylang: calms heart palpitations from severe nervous tension; indicated for fear, withdrawal and anxiety; allows us to unify; reconnects with inner child and pure simple ways of the heart; encourages play and restores childish-like nature and innocence; reunites emotional and sensual natures from subconsciously blocked feelings of sexuality; releases bottled anger and sadness; powerful remedy for releasing emotional trauma from the past. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/ylang-ylang-social-enterprise-essent...

All Rights Reserved 2015, copyright by the author Katy Lamothe, Graduating Apprentice at Anarres. Please write for permission to reproduce any part of this post.