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Aromatherapy Tips For Winter Lockdown Living

Only a matter of days into the New Year, and before we’d even had time to polish off all those left-over mince pies from Christmas, Covid Lockdown Vs 3 was imposed on the UK.

With the new coronavirus variant pushing the reported cases up to a record 60,916 in a single day this action by the government was probably inevitable.

In the toughest nationwide lockdown since March last year we’ve been told to expect this lockdown to last at least 7 weeks, and this will be throughout the very darkest time of the year. Not a happy prospect, since there will be fewer daylight hours at a time when it’s more difficult to engage in outside activities, such as exercise. All of this will likely make a winter lockdown feel even harder than the one during last spring.

Negative effects of lockdown

So once again we find ourselves faced with same challenges as during the previous lockdowns, with many people struggling with feelings of isolation, depression and anxiety. And we really must take this seriously because a recent study found that one in five people who have had Covid-19 were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder such as anxiety, depression or insomnia within three months of testing positive for the virus. Calls to mental health help-lines and prescriptions for antidepressant drugs have reached an all-time high, a Guardian investigation recently reported.

All of this points to the importance of holding a positive attitude throughout the coming months, since a negative attitude can undermine our confidence, determination and willpower, which over time robs us of our stamina. One thing we are going to need during the coming months is our stamina and willpower to help us to get through all the restrictions and isolation until things improve.

The overwhelming disruption to our daily lives caused the pandemic obviously can’t be avoided, but you can improve your mental attitude and develop a ‘coping strategy’ to help survive it. Remember that our general outlook and attitude towards life plays a huge part in determining your levels of happiness. So you need as many tools as possible to help you through this awful time.

Uplifting and balancing essential oils

Essential oils can be a great help when you are trying to deal with the various adversities in life, particularly when things start to get really difficult, such as during a 10 month pandemic! Bergamot essential oil is great for uplifting dampened spirits and developing a more positive attitude, since it can help strengthen determination and willpower. This oil is also good for dispersing negativity and indecision which contributes towards improving your state of mind when you’re having to deal with adversity.

Another really useful essential oil for maintaining a positive attitude is geranium, since it has a well-documented stabilising and balancing effect on the emotional system – especially when you are feeling really down. This is an effective oil for calming irritability and frustration as well as helping to lift the spirits, so it is the ideal oil to include in blends for fighting the lockdown blues, and it blends perfectly with bergamot.

Other essential oils that are helpful when dealing with adversity are cedarwood atlas, cypress, frankincense, palmarosa, rose and ylang ylang since these help to relieve anxiety during troubled times. If you find yourself obsessing about things that are totally outside of your control use these essential oils in a relaxing aromatherapy bath, a diffuser, or best of all in a relaxing massage.

All of these essential oils can be used to help calm your worries and fears so that you can get back in control of events. When adding essential oils to a bath use up to 8 drops in total and agitate the water well to ensure the oils disperse evenly. Ideally you should use a bath dispersant of some type.

Essential oils for disrupted sleep

A common problem caused by long periods of lockdown living has been disrupted sleep patterns, or even insomnia. Not being able to see family and friends has caused a lot of worry and fear for many people who are then unable to get a good night’s sleep. Disrupted sleep patterns interfere with normal physical, mental, and emotional functioning, which easily leads to negativity and mood swings.

Fortunately there are several essential oils that can help you stop worrying and relax enough to get a refreshing night’s sleep. When combined together in the correct proportions, these essential oils will produce a powerfully relaxing remedy you can use in either an aromatherapy diffusor or a hot bath before retiring to bed. If you are having difficulty getting off to sleep at night try one the recipes in the sidebar designed to help you drift into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Don’t forget that your quality of life is determined by how you think and feel from moment to moment, every single day of your life. Simply changing the way you think can dramatically affect how well you cope with life’s adversities, especially during challenging times like these. Essential oils and aromatherapy treatments can help calm your fears, strengthen your resolve to get through all this, and uplift your spirits. Now that there is a vaccine for Covid-19 there is an end in sight, so use your essential oils to stay positive and support you through until we finally get back to some sense of normality.