Healing through scent: A review of aromatherapy’s effects on anxiety

Purpose of review:Anxiety issues like panic disorder, social anxiety, general anxiety, and specific fears are super common all over the world. They often pop up with depression, which can make treatment tricky and adds to health problems. Anxiety seems to mess with emotional circuits, causing too much activity of one thing, not enough of another, and shortages of certain chemicals in the brain. The purpose of this review is to find suitability of aromatherapy for health to deal with anxiety. 

Sources of information: Reviews, trials, and other studies were checked to find the help of aromatherapy in different cases who felt anxious, such as patients before surgery, those on dialysis, and women giving birth. 

Key findings: Aromatherapy affects anxiety by using oils like lavender, sweet orange, rose, peppermint, chamomile, and bergamot. The results suggest that breathing in these oils, especially lavender and sweet oranges, can lower anxiety, boost mood, and calm things like heart rate and blood pressure. It means lavender assists release a feel-good chemical, which helps with relaxation and pain with mixed results. 

Conclusion: In general, aromatherapy is a safe, cheap, and gentle way to help manage anxiety. The first signs are good, but more studies are needed to find the best oils, how to use them, and how they work.