By Kathleen Jagassar, MA, RA, CCC, RCC

Is Anxiety Normal? The Facts Behind This Common Feeling

At some point over the lifespan, most people will experience anxiety. Anxiety is an emotional-based fear response to a stress stimulus and is critical for human survival. Anxiety is an effective motivator. For example, someone might report feeling anxious over an exam; this is considered appropriate, especially when the exam is determinate of a goal (such as high school graduation, or an aromatherapy certification). Anxiety may motivate the individual to study before the exam, increasing the chances of successfully passing. However, some people experience anxiety that is not congruent with the circumstances. For example, someone might feel anxious most of the time, but they do not know why. When this happens, people in the medical profession refer to it as general anxiety disorder (GAD). In 2022, GAD was prevalent in 5.2% of the Canadian population, which is double the number of people who reported GAD in 2012.^[1]

How an Aromatherapist Can Help Manage Anxiety

Not all people who experience anxiety require interventions from counselling professionals or medical practitioners. Some people benefit from small changes to their lifestyle that can greatly impact their anxiety symptoms. Given the number of people who experience uncomfortable levels of anxiety and the potential for aromatherapy to reduce their symptoms,^[2] an aromatherapist is in a position to offer assistance.

Practical Strategies to Reduce Anxiety and Improve Wellbeing

I often use aromatherapy in my counselling practice to deepen interventions to relieve client anxiety. These interventions do not often happen when the client is in the counselling office but instead are assigned as activities for the client to incorporate into their lifestyle. Although each client will have unique needs that will inform their particular blend and application method, I first determine if the blend will be used as a critical intervention (during intense moments of anxiety), or as a proactive intervention (encouraging a calm state). Note that the options I will introduce below do not require formal counselling training, but remember to operate within your scope of practice and only with the interventions that you are comfortable employing.

Critical Anxiety Intervention: Breathe

As a critical intervention, most clients prefer an aromatherapy inhaler that they can utilize immediately to couple with breathing exercises. Box breathing,^[3] which promotes relaxation, or the “Long Exhale,” which is effective for activating the parasympathetic nervous system,^[4] are both helpful techniques. Doing either of these techniques with the client engages them in co-regulation, an extremely useful technique for helping anyone return to a calm state. 

Box Breathing

Box breathing requires equal times between inhales and exhales. For example, a client might inhale for a count of four, hold their breath for a count of four, exhale for a count of four, and hold their breath for a count of four. This technique is done three to five times before returning to an automatic breathing pattern. I let the client choose their count, but I often recommend a count of four to start.

The “Long Exhale”

The “Long Exhale”, which is my favorite technique (both personally, and professionally), requires a longer exhale than inhale, without holding the breath. The amount of time the client counts for is up to them, but I typically recommend starting with a four/six count. In this example, the client would inhale while they count to four, and then exhale while they count to six. This technique is done three times before returning to an automatic breathing pattern but can be repeated.

Essential Oils for Acute Situations

In her comprehensive handbook for aromatic therapy, Essential Oils, Jennifer Peace Rhind suggests the following essential oils for acute and stressful situations: clary sage, cypress, geranium, neroli, osmanthus, patchouli, and ylang ylang.^[5]

Proactive Anxiety Interventions: Working with the Body and Mind

As a proactive intervention, clients will benefit from activities that promote relaxation^[6] and mindfulness.^[7]Relaxation assists by regulating the central nervous system, and mindfulness helps calm the mind and bring it back into the present (people with anxiety fear what could happen). In this way, we target both the body and the mind to return it to a calm state. 

Relaxation Strategies

Progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and guided imagery are good options to reduce anxiety symptoms.^[8] Numerous cell phone apps and scripts are available online. I suggest trying them before recommending them to clients; if you like them, then you can offer them from an experiential perspective. I have found that clients appreciate personal recommendations and are more likely to try something that I have found helpful. 

Options for Mindfulness

Mindfulness can take on many forms. Many clients find that meditation is too difficult, so having several methods to offer can be helpful. Mindfulness is most famously described as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment,” by Jon Kabat-Zinn.^[9] My favorite mindfulness recommendations come from the mindfulness skills group in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).^[10] Activities to practise mindfulness skills are easily found through a Google search, or you can purchase resources from several sources online. Activities that are popular among my clients are those that offer suggestions for accessing mindfulness through the five senses. Examples include walking slowly outside and observing what you see without any thought, stopping for a moment to just listen; when eating, noticing the smell of the food; noticing the action of eating and the sensation of taste; and scanning your entire body and noticing the sensations inside each part. The sky is the limit in how you could couple aromatherapy with these activities. Often my clients will pick an aromatherapy roller to utilize during their mindfulness activity. 

Essential Oils for General Anxiety

Jennifer Peace Rhind suggests the following essential oils for chronic anxiety: basil CT linalool, bergamot, black pepper, cannabis, cedarwood (Atlas), chamomile Roman, clary sage, coriander seed, cypress, eucalyptus olida, E. stageriana, geranium, grapefruit, hemlock spruce, hinoki, jasmine, juniperberry, lavender true, lemon balm, lemongrass, mandarin, marjoram (sweet), may chang, myrtle, Nepal pepper, neroli, orange (bitter, sweet), palmarosa, patchouli, pine (black, Scots, stone), rose, rosewood, sandalwood, spruce (white), Szechuan pepper, turmeric, vanilla, andss ylang ylang.^[11]

Final Thoughts

Aromatherapy offers a natural approach to managing anxiety symptoms that may be helpful for some people. Coupling aromatherapy with activities that have shown to be effective in reducing anxiety symptoms further empowers clients to gain control of their mind and body through evidence-based techniques. 

About the author: Kathleen Jaggassar is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors and a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. She holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University, and received her aromatherapy certification in 2012 from the West Coast Institute of Aromatherapy. Kathleen's passion lies in helping individuals explore their inner landscapes and find pathways to deeper healing. She is particularly interested in the transformative potential of integrating evidence-based therapy techniques with holistic practices like aromatherapy and yoga. Kathleen has a small private practice in Prince George, BC.

^[1] Statistics Canada. (2023, September 22). Study: Mental disorders and access to mental health care [Press release]. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2017019-eng.htm

^[2] Gong, M., Dong, H., Tang, Y., Huang, W., & Lu, F. (2020). Effects of aromatherapy on anxiety: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of affective disorders, 274, 1028-1040. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016503271933160X

^[3] Balban, M. Y., Neri, E., Kogon, M. M., Weed, L., Nouriani, B., Jo, B., ... & Huberman, A. D. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 4(1).

^[4] Magnon, V., Dutheil, F., & Vallet, G. T. (2021). Benefits from one session of deep and slow breathing on vagal tone and anxiety in young and older adults. Scientific reports, 11(1), 19267. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-98736-9

^[5] Rhind, J. P. (2019). Essential oils (Fully revised and updated 3rd ed.). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN: 9780857013439

^[6] Kim, H. S., & Kim, E. J. (2018). Effects of relaxation therapy on anxiety disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of psychiatric nursing, 32(2), 278-284.Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0883941717304715

^[7] Fumero, A., Peñate, W., Oyanadel, C., & Porter, B. (2020). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on anxiety disorders. a systematic meta-review. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 10(3), 704-719. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/10/3/52

^[8] Toussaint, L., Nguyen, Q. A., Roettger, C., Dixon, K., Offenbächer, M., Kohls, N., ... & Sirois, F. (2021). Effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and guided imagery in promoting psychological and physiological states of relaxation. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2021/5924040/

^[9] Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: past, present, and future. Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-03824-002

^[10]Linehan, M. M. (2014). DBT skills training manual (2nd ed.). Guilford Publications

^[11] Rhind, J. P. (2019). Essential oils (Fully revised and updated 3rd ed.). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN: 9780857013439