In this week's post, Lane explores PTSD and how essential oils can be used to treat the symptoms associated with PTSD.
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If
you read my previous article on this site, about how to
choose an essential oil, you can guess what my answer would be if you were to
ask me, "What's the best oil for PTSD?" It’s a frequently asked question, for which my
standard answer, "it depends," is always followed by the deeply transformative question:
"What is it about the PTSD that
affects you most?"
This
follow-up question is particularly powerful because PTSD describes a
constellation of recurrent symptoms that can manifest differently for everyone.
Your personal insight and desire for change holds the keys to the unaddressed
aspects of your treatment plan. I have
noticed no matter how significant and even debilitating the individual symptoms
associated with PTSD may be, much of the frustration and discomfort of having PTSD
stems from the all-too-often ineffective methods of treatment.
While the
standard approach to treating PTSD with psychotherapy and medication may be
effective some of the time, they don’t work for everyone. Psychotherapy
and medications are the standard treatments for PTSD, but according to my
professional patients and private clients, these approaches don’t always cover
the myriad needs that arise in the context of PTSD.
Psychotherapy usually involves recalling painful past memories
that may retraumatize a person rather than help them release the memories and
move forward with their lives. And, the available medications may not address
the specific physiologic pathways that are out of balance for the individual.
In other words, serotonin is not the only neurotransmitter that may be out of
balance in PTSD, so SSRI medication will only work for some people or do part
of the job. PTSD is complex and not yet fully
understood by science.
Meanwhile, many people suffer from PTSD. According to the 5th Edition of the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V), some 9% of adults in the United States will
experience PTSD in their lifetime. While not everyone who experiences trauma
develops full-blown PTSD, certain people are more prone to it than others, and
it usually develops when there is a personal, deeply emotional, aspect to the
trauma experience. Notably, PTSD is more
common in women than men.
The
best EOs for PTSD target your individual symptoms while supporting the areas in your
treatment plan that may not be addressed by other methods. Remember EOs work
best as an add-on to what you’re already doing, and are not recommended as a
stand-alone treatment type.
This
article explores a couple of innovative approaches for treating PTSD and
provides examples of how EOs can fit in to an overall plan to create success
stories.
To set the stage for discussion, it’s helpful to review. The Veterans Administration
(VA), classifies the myriad symptoms associated with PTSD into 4 categories:
Repeatedly
re-living the event – This collection of symptoms involves recurring and
intrusive bad memories or nightmares, or reliving the event as if you are going
through it all over again, aka “flashbacks.”
Avoidance
of triggers – Avoidance symptoms involve withdrawing or isolating yourself
because certain people or situations tend to trigger unpleasant memories of the
traumatic event. You not only avoid those people or situations, you also avoid
talking or thinking about the event.
Intensified
negativity – These symptoms, while closely related to depression are distinct:
The way you think about yourself, others, and the world changed for the worse
after the trauma, characterized by depressive symptoms, shutting down or
numbing out.
Hyperarousal
– These symptoms are close cousins of anxiety: You feel always-on, jittery, or
wound up and constantly alert for danger. You have trouble concentrating,
focusing, or sleeping, may startle easily and get easily irritated, or have
sudden angry outbursts.
As previously stated, not everyone who experiences trauma is diagnosed
with PTSD. It's when these collective symptoms are ongoing for months and
become disruptive to your daily life that the diagnosis of PTSD comes into
play.
PTSD can be treated via a symptom-management approach, which our
standard treatments are designed to do. We can also choose more novel, holistic,
and integrative approaches to address the root cause(s) of the problem. It’s
important to note that complex conditions like PTSD are likely to have more
than one single cause. The best explanations I’ve heard for possible root causes
of PTSD come from Stephen Porges, who developed polyvagal theory, and Peter
Levine, who developed something called Somatic Experiencing Technique.
The Vagus Nerve and PTSD
Polyvagal theory, developed by Stephen Porges, offers interesting
insight into the world of PTSD. While the theory itself is too complex to
explain in this
The Body Stores Trauma
Polyvagal theory, informs the practices developed by Peter
Levine, called Somatic Experiencing Technique or somatic therapy. Dr. Levine basically explains PTSD as the
energy of the trauma remaining trapped in the body because it was never
properly discharged.
Levine’s
somatic technique is all about helping the client complete any incomplete parts
of the fight or flight response by feeling the sensations any memory of the
trauma creates in the body, and allowing for the discharge the trapped energy
of the trauma.
Levine’s
idea about energy being trapped…recognizing and releasing the physical
tensions that may remain in the body in the aftermath of a traumatic event.
What’s
nice about somatic techniques is that they allow you to resolve the past by
releasing stored emotions. These techniques empower people to be present in the
moment, moderate the amount of sensory input they receive from the environment
and feel emotions fully, reframing past negatives to build self-confidence,
resilience, and hope.
If you are
interested, in knowing more about Somatic Experiencing Technique, I highly
recommend Dr. Levine’s books Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma and In An Unspoken Voice.
So…
What does
all of this have to do with choosing the best EOs for PTSD? EOs can serve as a
vehicle for vagal stimulation, and they us back to ourselves, help us
experience the body and our senses and our emotions in the present moment.
If you
embrace the notion that your vagus nerve is involved in keeping you calm and
relaxed, and your treatment outcome goal becomes, "increase vagal tone," or,
"support my parasympathetic response," you’ll look for oils that are known to strengthen
the nerves, support the nervous system or have a calming effect.
Your search
would likely turn up marjoram, basil, citrus oils like lime and bergamot, as
well as frankincense and sandalwood.
If the
idea of releasing the trapped energy becomes your treatment outcome goal,
you’ll look for oils that are reported to facilitate emotional release and
balance, and oils that create spiritual connections. Your research for these
types of oils is likely to reveal frankincense, sandalwood, cedarwood, and rose
as top picks.
Specific Oils and Success
Stories: Tried and true for PTSD
There
are many methods for vagal stimulation, and Somatic Experiencing technique is
just one of many variations of somatic therapy. While these methods and
techniques do not require EOs to be effective, in my experience, EOs can be
extremely useful tools for facilitating the process of emotional release and
parasympathetic response.
These following success stories are offered here shared
as examples to show you how you might use your knowledge of PTSD treatment
innovations along with EOs to enhance your treatment plan. Names have been
changed to protect client privacy. If you have PTSD, and choose to add innovative approaches to
your existing treatment plan, including EOs, I recommend that you do so under
the care of a trained professional. Remember that EOs alone are not a
substitute for professional medical treatment.
EO Success Story #1
Susan suffered from undiagnosed PTSD for decades years after a
combat-related back injury in the Gulf War. She startled easily at loud noises
and often had bad dreams that kept her from getting the rest she needed. She regularly
attended group support sessions for injured veterans through the VA. She read
that marjoram (Origanum majorana)
could increase “nerve tone.” After performing a patch test with a drop of
marjoram neat (undiluted) on her forearm, and observing no adverse skin
reaction after 24 hours, she began placing a drop of marjoram behind each ear
every evening before bed. She noticed a profound sense of relaxation, and
deeper breathing, consistent with what one could expect from increasing vagal
tone. She also decided to create a basil (Ocimum
basilicum) and lemon (Citrus limon) mixture (3:1 ratio, in distilled water) in a
spray bottle to spritz her over her pillows before retiring each night. She
found that these practices resulted in more restful sleep with fewer intrusive
dreams. Loud noises ceased to startle
her so easily, and although she still chooses not to attend fireworks shows on
the 4th of July, she says she no longer dreads the summer holiday.
EO Success Story #2
Sandra was diagnosed with PTSD a year after being raped. Despite
extensive psychotherapy and a number of different medications, the sight of a
man with a beard consistently triggered her memories to the point where she
became reluctant to go out in public beyond traveling to and from work. Sandra
began applying a drop of rose (Rosa
damascena) EO topically over her heart, over her throat and on the top of
her head each morning before leaving the house. She topically applied a few
drops of a mixture of rose and lavender (Lavandula
angustifolia) over her heart, throat, on the top of her head and on the
bottoms of feet before going to bed each evening. She applied the oils
topically over her heart and throat prior to her regularly scheduled therapy
and coaching sessions. After gaining further confidence, she substituted ylang
ylang (Cananga odorata) for the rose,
and continued the same topical application routine. After about 6 weeks, Sandra
had the confidence to go shopping alone after work. She said she felt restored
and balanced and could venture forth into the world without fear of being
triggered. She carries her oils in her purse and inhales or applies them
whenever she feels they are needed.
EO Success Story #3
After growing up in a childhood home filled with abuses of every type,
Janet found herself in a pattern of self-sabotage and negativity. No job was
good enough, no relationship was good enough, and she felt she, herself, wasn’t
good enough. When any potential conflict arose in her professional or personal
life, she would shut down rather than create an opportunity to criticize or be
criticized. In addition to her regular therapy and coaching, Janet began to
diffuse frankincense (Boswellia carterii)
at bedtime and orange (Citrus sinensis)
during the day. She began to inhale frankincense and apply it topically on
specific tapping points during her EFT sessions. Soon Janet became interested
in adding a daily meditation practice to her routine and she began to
experiment with which essential oil would help deepen her meditative state. She tried frankincense and sandalwood (Santalum album) both, and decided she
liked sandalwood the best. She says she is happier and more confident in her
relationships now and she applies frankincense topically to her throat area
before she engages in any conversation that could potentially be
confrontational.
What happens next?
If you decide to take action on any of the ideas
presented in this article remember that EOs can be a powerful catalyst for
healing and you need to be ready for them. You are likely to have a significant
release. While the
discharge of the trapped energy is often very intense, it can represent a
significant breakthrough in your treatment journey – just be prepared—in
a safe place and under the care and assistance of a trusted and trained
professional.
You may find that your use of EOs allows you to break through a plateau
in your recovery process. Remember that breakthroughs often are accompanied by
massive outpourings of emotion, so be prepared for this! Just know and be
comforted that you are choosing to have these types of releases and
breakthroughs along your journey.
So much of recovering from trauma is about tuning in and becoming aware
of yourself and how you interact with the rest of the world, so deciding if
you’re ready, and taking ownership of your treatment plan is part of the
process.
To get started, follow my 3-step process for choosing the right oil for
you. Seek the help of someone who is experienced in your treatment technique of
choice and knowledgeable about essential oils (they may not necessarily be the
same person). Use only the highest quality therapeutic grade EOs, and follow
the basic commonsense safety recommendations, which we’ll talk more about this
in our final article. See you then.
Questions for comment: If you have been diagnosed with PTSD, what is it
about the condition that affects you most? How have EOs helped you so far?
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Sources:
Hacking the
Nervous System
How Somatic Therapy Can Help Patients Suffering from Psychological
Trauma
Is There a Standardized Method for Measuring Vagal Tone
Neuroendocrine System
Phases of Trauma Recovery
Polyvagal Theory Helps Unlock
the Symptoms of PTSD – Dr. Arielle Schwartz
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Recovering from Trauma
The Body is Key in Trauma:
Tips from Somatic Experiencing
What is PTSD?
[VIDEO]
Here
is a link to a really good YouTube video I found that showcases some recent
scientific research on orange essential and PTSD/anxiety in animal models.
Orange
essential oil may help alleviate PTSD and Anxiety
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