The benefits of olfactotherapy
I’ve always loved the magic of flowers and scents!
Olfactotherapy is a complementary therapeutic technique using scents and essential oils, and is increasingly recognised for its potential benefits on mental health. This fascinating science harnesses the power of scent to influence emotions, mood, well-being and overall health.
Olfactotherapy or Aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is the art of using essential oils, which I’ll be talking about in this course.
But apart from essential oils, what I love are all nature’s fragrances, and how they are set to music to create the most subtle of perfumes. Hypersensitive people often think they’re too strong, but the whole world gives them their due and they’re expensive… Could this be a way of regaining a grip on the world?
By dint of tests and positive feedback from patients, I have developed a way of giving people the best possible advice, medically of course, but sometimes also in terms of the music they listen to or the perfume they smell… EVERYTHING counts when it comes to well-being and therefore health!
The science behind olfactotherapy
Olfactotherapy works by stimulating the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for emotions and memory.
When we inhale specific aromas, the olfactory signals occur directly in this area, triggering emotional and physiological responses.
The effectiveness of olfactory therapy as a mental health treatment lies directly between the wine and the emotional center of the drink.
But what I find intriguing is that while smells are linked to memory, olfactory neurons are the ONLY neurons to regenerate throughout life!
Did you know that the loss of smell is one of the first signs of cognitive decline? Smell is not only part of the preventative measure, but also affects the brain and memory, which means there is a door to preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Benefits for mental health
Stress and Anxiety Reduction
One of the main benefits of olfactotherapy is its ability to reduce stress and anxiety. The oil, in particular, is well known for its calming properties. Studies have shown that inhaling lavender can help regulate the nervous system, promoting relaxation and serenity.
It’s very trendy to create custom perfumes, but it’s even more elegant and powerful to know how to recommend existing fragrances with a specific goal: to help people align with their desires (in other words, choosing the right “challenger” for them versus choosing scents that appeal to and enhance their current life).
Staying Grounded
While so many therapies work on vibration and the energetic body, it’s important to celebrate the physical body, our incarnation, and all the senses: smell is the most primitive, and therefore primordial!
Mood Boost
Certain essential oils, such as sweet orange, are known to combat feelings of depression and sadness. The fresh, fruity scent of sweet orange oil can provide an immediate emotional boost and support mood and overall well-being.
Improved Cognitive Function
Rosemary essential oil is known to optimize memory and concentration. Its herbal aroma can promote mental clarity and help individuals stay focused on tasks, which can be beneficial for those struggling with cognitive symptoms related to mental health issues.
Emotional Regulation
Olfactotherapy can be particularly effective in treating emotion-related symptoms, such as anxiety, discouragement, and loss of confidence.
Hypnosis uses a “resource point” to instantly improve one’s well-being. Similarly, by identifying appropriate “resource scents” within the individual, olfactory therapy can trigger positive emotions and improve overall well-being.
Alignment
Gandhi said… “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
Alignment is what gives coherence to our vibration and allows us to attract what suits us best in return. These are the three parts of the key needed for it to work, so it’s what opens the doors!
Isn’t it said that a perfume has a top note, a middle note, and a base note? Wouldn’t this division resemble our head-heart-pelvis alignment? Or the ancestral classification of dantiens in Chinese medicine? What do you think of this idea—which works well!—of combining a perfume to align a patient on a daily basis?
In practice, a perfume is like a coach that you see twice a day, and you can even have two perfumes: one perfume when you need support, and another when you are ready to push your limits and dare! It’s the principle of intervals in running, it’s the principle of the comfort zone that we must push back to avoid getting trapped. It’s the principle of healing, which is not linear, but because of the reinforcement of multiple small positive changes…
Clinical Evidence
Do we really need some? Haven’t you tried for as long as you’ve been born?
Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of essential oils in relieving symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress in adults of various age groups. For example, inhaling lavender and chamomile essential oils has been shown to reduce levels of depression, anxiety, and stress in older adults.
Physiological Effects
Beyond the emotional benefits, olfactotherapy has shown positive effects on physiological health.
Studies have reported reductions in blood pressure and respiratory rate during panic attacks after inhaling lavender essential oil. I talk about this enough in the essential oils course!
Be well advised
When you see the price of some perfumes (and all the flowers and expertise that deserve it), it’s best to get the best possible advice!
Good news: We teach you this in our practical training sessions, or contact us by email, phone, or in a consultation for personalized answers.
And what about synthetic fragrances?
Flavors are now everywhere, and their quality is as variable and processed as some of our foods and medicines… Even if you’ve never seen it like that, it goes without saying that EVERYTHING that is processed is difficult to understand, and even DISRUPTS our normal functioning.
Nature is so complex and interdependent that any distortion is paid for a hundredfold…
Endocrine disruptors are beginning to be recognized, but what about those that disrupt our sense of smell, and therefore our sense of smell? I’ll let you be the judge…
One must realize
that the more you are exposed
and used to synthetic fragrances, the more your intuition is misleaded on constant basis!
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a way of using the intrinsic frequency and symbolism of everything that exists, to extract its vibration, a precise message that then acts as a guide for living beings. (Check out the blog for more)
Everything that exists can be transformed into granules, because human symptoms can present themselves in so many different ways. The idea in homeopathy, broadly speaking, is to detect what is not typically human or healthy in a patient, and then give that vibrational information to the body.
It’s also a way of multiplying power while preserving natural resources, whether rare or precious, as in this specific case.
Even precious stones have been used in homeopathy, that is, diluted and energized into granules, for about fifteen years now, following the research of a brilliant Australian homeopath (Peter Tuminello).
For me, fragrances are the gems of the plant kingdom. They are a concentration of power, kindness, and love.
It is therefore with great curiosity that, with the help of a passionate pharmacist, we have been preparing several fragrances into granules in early 2024 and are currently testing their potential according to homeopathic practices (proving).
More information coming soon!
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