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Want Stress Relief? Remember to Smell The Roses!

© Julie J. Murelle

If my eyes were closed, I could still smell the coming of fall. There is a distinct smell to the air. Unfortunately, fall has not been my best time of the year with one exception, the birth of my daughter in October. That one beautiful fact, saves me from that knowledge that almost every other tragedy I have experienced in my adult life has happened in the fall. So the scent of fall does not have the best connotation to me.

When my family and I were going through my mother's things this summer, we came upon my mother's make-up case. Inside were her glittery nail polish, her paste on tattoos, eyeliners, lipstick, her favorite perfume and a dollar. When my sister, Laurie and I opened her make up case, the air was filled with such a strong scent that was my mother that Laurie immediately began to cry and I was lambasted with memories of my mother.

Without our ole' factory, we would not be able to enjoy so many wonderful things in life. Food would not taste anywhere near as good. Flowers would look beautiful, but we would not be able to access the joy that can be derived from taking a deep sniff of a fresh group of flowers. (All you allergy sufferers excluded.) You wouldn't be able to smell the burning leaves of fall or the undeniable sweetness of a newborn baby.

Of course with out our noses many other smells could be avoided. Garbage, Cow dung, you fill in the most vile, but for the main part, our noses are a blessing.

With that blessing comes an opportunity; the chance to un-stress. Aromatherapy is big and there is a reason why, if you think about what I have written previously, you will see why. If scents can evoke bad memories or sad thoughts than isn't it feasible that it could do the converse?

In her article, Aromatherapy -- Effects and Use , Sharon Kestrel, explains what aromatherapy is in this way. She says, "It is the therapeutic use of essential oils, which are highly concentrated, volatile substances distilled or expressed from aromatic herbs, flowers and trees. They are chemically complex, and contain hormone-like properties, vitamins and minerals, and natural antiseptics. Documented use of some of these oils goes back thousands of years -- the Egyptians, and then the Greeks, used many of them -- and many of their uses have been scientifically tested in this century, particularly in France.

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