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Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a medical practice, an alternative healing art. It uses essential oils of plants to enhance physical and psychological health. The benefits of plants have been known to us for ages, but we have laid that precious knowledge aside recently. We choose to put more trust in pharmacology, believing it to be a quicker way to get better.
On the other side, we have almost forgotten about all the side-effects of synthetic chemicals and drugs. Aromatherapy is the way to avoid side-effects and furthermore, to strengthen our body as a whole.
The Chinese and the Egyptians were probably the first ones to use plants for mental and physical well-being. The Greeks and Romans also knew much about the benefactory effects of plants.
Aromatherapy has quite evolved since those days. Today it includes using plant essences obtained through either natural distillation, cold pressing or solvent extraction. Those oils are then variously applied in order to promote health and as aromatherapy approach is holistic, it's working towards establishing harmony of person's body, mind and emotions.
Essential oils have an effect on our emotions because they can quickly evaporate and reach our brain. It is actually the work of chemicals that naturally occur in essential oils and work in synergy with one another. And when they reach our brain, they bring physical as well as emotional benefit.
Therapeutic and spiritual uses of essential oils are a complementary modality, a help in achieving balance in our everyday lives. It is important to notice that, as an alternative form of healing, aromatherapy can have beneficial effects on a variety of symptoms like stress, anxiety, fear, fatigue...
It can give relief in cases of bruises and cuts, PMS and menstruation, indigestion, and many more. The bottom line is that although it often improves the overall body system and its mental and emotional state, it is not used as the only therapy in cases of serious illnesses. It will work only as alleviation of one's physical condition, negative feelings or symptoms like nausea and in that way aid to stimulate the body and mind towards a better immune system.
Aromatherapy is widely used in cosmetics because of the positive effects of essential oils on skin and hair. Also, there are oils that are used simply for their pleasant fragrance or their herb-like features, for example being a pesticide and a natural repellent.
Oils and essential oil blends can have different effects on people. It is sometimes connected with our past experiences with certain aromas. Sometimes an essential oil that your friend uses to calm herself down can actually have irritating influence on you. It means that for you that oil triggers a somewhat different reaction because effects are on individual levels with some oils. It may be that an aroma pleasant for some has an unpleasant connotation for you or it reminds you (maybe unconsciously) of something you don't like to be reminded of. If a case like that occurs, you need to find the oil that suits you better.
There are a few essential oils that bring emotional benefit when you are experiencing certain negative feelings, so if one doesn't work for you, there are some others that will.
Be aware that fragrance oils and perfume oils are not the same as essential oils. They are often mentioned as a part of aromatherapy practice but are actually made with synthetic, unnatural chemicals. That's why neither fragrance nor perfume oils can help you with your symptoms. So always check what it is that you're buying in order to find out whether it is natural or artificial.