Is lavender essential oil helpful for anxiety or depression? If so, which is the best way to take it? How much should you use?



I'll address these questions and others right here.



Lavender essential oil has been used for thousands of years, in part, to deal with feelings of anxiety, depression, and other factors affecting mental wellbeing. As we've progressed into modern times, it seems more and more people suffer from anxiety or depression, or both.



Research suggests 10% of the population faces an anxiety disorder in a given year. It's the most common mental health-related cause of death in the United States. Heart disease is the most common physical health-related cause.



Most people who suffer anxiety also deal with some form of depression, sleep disturbance, or substance abuse.



Over the past decade, researchers have completed a significant amount of lavender-related research, which supports the way traditional medicine practitioners have used it for centuries. A new meta-analysis adds additional scientific evidence to the case for lavender as an anti-anxiety natural health solution.



What is anxiety?



Quoting the U.S. National Library of Medicine,




Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. It might cause you to sweat, feel restless and tense, and have a rapid heartbeat. It can be a normal reaction to stress. For example, you might feel anxious when faced with a difficult problem at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision. It can help you to cope. The anxiety may give you a boost of energy or help you focus. But for people with anxiety disorders, the fear is not temporary and can be overwhelming.
U.S. National Library of Medicine



Genetics, environment, trauma, and stress contribute to anxiety. As I explained in a recent blog post, COVID-19 infections and vaccines cause anxiety and depression in some people, likely as a result of dysfunction in serotonin and dopamine production.



Though nobody would want to live with untreated anxiety or depression, many prescription medications cause a variety of side effects. Anti-anxiety medication side effects include:




Amnesia



Delayed time to affect symptoms



Delirium



Dependency



Depression



Impaired concentration



Sedation



Withdrawal syndrome




That's not to say they should be avoided, but it's important to make an informed decision. Because anti-anxiety medications vary in how they affect a patient's physiology, and anxiety has different physiological causes, it may take considerable trial and error to find one that works. So, it’s little surprise that researchers continue to search for natural ways of managing anxiety and depression and improving mental health.



One option is the use of essential oils, and lavender has been the poster-child for essential oils that help calm the mind and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. Unfortunately, mainstream news and big pharma often try to discredit the use of any natural health products, including essential oils.



Lavender Essential Oil Constituents and Usage



Lavender essential oil comes from the flowers and stalk, and contains more than 160 compounds. The oil is acquired through steam distillation. Though there's some variability in the constituents, if the lavender is grown in the right environment, and harvested and distilled properly, it will be rich in therapeutic compounds.



That said, if you distilled a lavender house plant, you probably wouldn't get much benefit from it.



High-quality lavender essential oil is rich in:




linlool



linalyl acetate



1,8-cineole b-ocimene



terpinen-4-ol



camphor




In Germany, doctors often prescribe a lavender-based drug called Silexan®, which contains standardized concentrations of linalool and linalyl acetate at 36.8% and 34.2% concentrations, but the remaining 29% varies in the concentrations of other compounds. I wanted to call this out as some lavender essential oil research uses Si...