Coping with Christmas

The festive season is really gearing up and there is an immense pressure on everyone to be cheeful and 'count their blessings' - well I'm here to tell you that it's ok to aprehend the festive period for whatever reason and that it's important to accept you may not be feeling at your best but that you shouldn't just 'suck it in' and ignore how you are feeling.

From a personal level , Christmas has always been a trigger to my own mental health problems - depression, anxiety starts to rear it's ugly head as I prepare for another set of holidays far from my own family and inevitably either being alone for Christmas or New Year's Eve (the result of sharing holidays with the other parent - which although is fine and normal for the childrens' wellbeing, does leave the parent feeling very isolated ). Of course I don't let my children see the sadness that often overwhelms me at this time of year, but I don't ignore those feelings either - so today I'm going to share some of my methods and favourite essential oils to help me through the stress, mental fatigue, depression and burnout that can be around at Christmas for whatever reason.

BASIL ESSENTIAL OIL.

Basil essential oil is a great oil to help with burnout and anxiety. It has soothing and relaxing properties that will help both the body and brain decompress.

If you are feeling particularly tired - put one or two drops of essential oil on a tissue and inhale.

You can also make a massage oil of 100 drops of essential oil to 100ml of carrier oil to gently massage into the abdomen and wrist areas

ROSEWOOD ESSENTIAL OIL

Rosewood essential oil is well known in the treatment of burnout, depression, stress and panic attacks. It is also a favourite fragrance of mine. It can be used as a massage (3 drops on oil in a carrier oil massaged twice daily on the abdomen and backbone) to help against depression or just simply diffused to ease stress and anxiety.

CAMOMILE ESSENTIAL OIL

I think we've all heard of drinking camomile tea at night to help a good night's sleep - it is indeed an excellent regulator of our nervous system and can be used in so many other ways.

This synergie is one of my favourites - maka a massage oil of 15ml sweet almond oil, 10 drops of true lavender essential oil and 3 drops of camomile essential oil. Massage into the abdoment and backbone just before bed.

Another synergie that is excellent in the case of a panick attack (I actually carry a small bottle of this in my bag as I suffer from panick attacks) is a mix of 100ml apricot kernel oil, 20 drops of camomile essential oil, 30 drops of true lavender essential oil, 20 drops of margoram essential oil, 20 drops of petit grain essential oil and 10 drops of bay laurel essential oil to be massaged into the wrists and thorax upon the first signs of a panick attack.

LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL

Do make sure that you have the right type of lavender oil (more details about lavender oils in my previous blog entry here ) - you really need the true lavender essential oil. As well as being used in a number of synergies to be diffused or massaged - you can also make a simple inhalation recommended for treatment of depression, stress and insomnia by pouring 2 drops of the essential oil into a bowl of hot water and inhaling the vapour.

Many of the citrus essential oils such as lemon, orange or mandarin are also known for there uplifting properties. To be honest I could go on but the above are the main oils that I personally use.

Please do remember though that essential oils do have precautions and contra indications - my advice doesn't replace the advice of a doctor and each person has individual circumstances that need to be addressed by professionals. Whatever happens though , do not suffer alone - reach out to people for help , your gp, charities such as The Samaritans, friends and family.

#Christmas #essentialoils #depression #mentalhealth