The Psychological Effects of Essential Oils in Aromatherapy

Fragrance perception is a subjective experience; we have to experience the fragrance in order for us to perceive it and what smells pleasant to one person may be offensive to another. Individual perception is a subjective and unique experience; two people may never describe a smell the same way. Aromatherapy applications affect mood, emotions and memory. Aromas have been found to be a very effective tool used in relaxation work because it directly targets the inner mind and bypasses the verbal, conscious mind. Often the physiological effect of a certain aroma is overridden by the individual’s specific emotional associations and psychological preferences. The study of the psychological effects of aromas is called aromachology.

When making a therapeutic blend these things must be taken into account to be to certain that the client will have positive psychological responses; whether the person finds it stimulation or sedating, any universal associations the aroma has, for example rose suggests femininity, love, divinity and sweetness to most cultures, meaning of the aroma according to the environment, society, and cultural factors, for example frankincense is associated with incense burned in the Roman Catholic church and the first impression of the aroma the person has because of personal associations and preferences whether positive or negative.

There is such a thing as to much of a good thing and that’s very important to remember with aromatherapy. A subtle, pleasing aroma is more beneficial for obtaining mood, emotion or psychological effects, but if our sense of smell is overwhelmed by overuse of aromatics, the body can react negatively. For example: erogenous scents should be very alluring and pleasurable in small amounts, but if the scent is to concentrated it will more than likely have a repulsive aroma then an aphrodisiac aroma.

The sense of smell is the only sense that is directly linked to the limbic lobe of the brain, where the emotional control center is located. This is where anxiety, depression, fear, anger, joy and other emotions come from. The limbic system is connected to the brain that controls heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, memory, stress levels and hormone balance – that’s why essential oils have both physiological and psychological effects. The sense of touch, taste, hearing and sight are all linked to the thalamus, which is the brains switchboard, passing stimuli onto the cerebral cortex. This is why a scent of a special fragrance can bring up memories, moods and emotions before we are even aware of it

We all have experienced aroma association, we smell a certain scent and right away it makes us think of something. There is an enormous effect on a person’s physiological and psychological response because of the individual’s perception of an aroma. Emotions linked with aromas are subjective and lifestyle and culture have a large influence on this, for example many people who are accustomed to Asian cuisine think of food when they smell ginger.

While exposed to an aroma and experiencing emotion at the same time, the next time exposure occurs to the same aroma the emotions experienced are related to the first emotions felt that first time. Always allow the person to experience the aroma of the oils before a blend is finalized or an aromatherapy treatment is started to let them experience the aroma. Duration is also critical; from time to time changing the oils used is a good thing to do, that way the person is not affected by conditioning which will slow the treatment down.

The power of positive suggestion goes a very long way; if you’re told a scent is pleasant the reaction should be positive and being told the scent is unpleasant the reaction most likely will be negative. Just thinking about an aroma changes the brain waves. If a person needs to calm down after a long day and are told that the blend will help them calm down, after using the blend they will be more likely to calm down because of the power of suggestion.

The best way to look at this is that aromas effect us all differently and there are many factors that make the oils affect us the way they do, that’s why an essential oil will have a different effect on different people.