Best Essential Oils for Stress & Anxiety

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Aromatherapy with essential oils can improve your whole family’s mood. Here are the best essential oils to use in your diffuser to relieve stress and anxiety.

Are you surprised to hear that using essential oils in a diffuser can help relieve stress and anxiety? I was skeptical about this at first. But now that our family has been using oils for several years, I’ve learned through experience that they are useful for our physical health and emotional health.

How can essential oils reduce stress? When you smell a fragrance, the scent molecules travel through your nose directly into the olfactory bulb, which is right below the brain. The olfactory nerve instantly sends signals to your limbic system and amygdala, which regulate emotions, mood, and memory.

This explains why you feel comforted after catching a whiff of your Grandma’s perfume, or smile when walking past a bakery full of treats. Scents can trigger physical reactions in our bodies, and we can use aromatherapy with essential oils to calm ourselves and reduce stress and anxiety.

Essential oils are safe and easy to use. They don’t have the side effects that medicines can have, and they can be used for all ages.

We have an essential oil diffuser in just about every room of our home, and we use different essential oils in our diffusers from morning until night–even while we sleep.

Not sure what kind of diffuser to buy? Short answer: always use a cool-mist diffuser. Here’s how to pick the best essential oil diffuser for you.

Best Essential Oils for Stress & Anxiety

These essential oil combinations smell amazing and are great for soothing your mind and emotions. If you’re unable to use a diffuser (in a dorm or office, for example), all of these recipes can be used with a diffuser bracelet or diffuser necklace.

Gentle Magic Blend

This recipe is gently calming, and is wonderful for babies, kids, and parents. Diffuse at bedtime to help everyone sleep well.

Lemon Rain Blend

Lemon is bright and cheery, and Vetiver is grounding and soothing. This blend is like sitting under a lemon tree just after a warm Spring rain.

4 drops Lemon essential oil
1 drop Vetiver essential oil

Quiet Mind Blend

This soothing combination of oils is great for those of us who need to slow our thoughts and relax. This blend is great to diffuse just before bedtime.

If you like these essential oil blends, I wrote a book with lots more! Get my Essential Oil Diffuser Recipes book on Amazon.

Find Your Zen Blend

The sweetness of the Geranium in this blend is tempered by the crispness of Bergamot and earthy Frankincense. These three oils boost confidence without overstimulating the mind.

Orange Flower Blend

This combination is amazing for anxiety. Diffuse it or add it to a diffuser necklace or bracelet and enjoy its calming scent throughout the day.

4 drops Neroli essential oil
2 drops Roman Chamomile essential oil

Peaceful Forest Blend

Lavender and Cedarwood combine to form a soothing, slightly woodsy blend that men and women both enjoy.

4 drops Lavender essential oil
2 drops Cedarwood essential oil

Blue Moon Blend

This recipe is similar to Peaceful Forest, and Blue Tansy helps lift your mood while the Cedarwood and Lavender bring calming.

Best Essential Oils for Stress & Anxiety