OILS, EMOTIONS & THE BRAIN
WHAT IS THE LIMBIC SYSTEM?
https://draxe.com/limbic-system/
ARTICLE ADAPTED FROM Dr Axe
Although it’s only a small part of the brain in terms of volume, the limbic system has some of the most basic, life-sustaining and meaningful roles of all brain structure. The word limbic comes from the latin word limbus, meaning “border.” That’s because the limbic system forms a curved border around the subcortical parts of the brain called the cerebral cortex and the diencephalon.
Ever wonder what part of the brain controls emotions? While the entire central nervous system helps control our emotions, as you’ll learn, activities in the limbic system and autonomic nervous system are especially influential over our emotional health. The entire limbic system — including subparts like the hippocampus, hypothalamus and amygdala — helps control numerous emotional, voluntary, endocrine and visceral responses to our environments that we all experience daily. (1)
What Is the Limbic System?
Of all the areas of the brain, from an evolutionary perspective the limbic system is said to be one of the oldest and most primitive, having formed many hundreds of thousands of years ago. In fact, similar systems are also found in most other animals, even reptiles. In the past, the limbic system was sometimes even referred to as the “paleomammalian brain.” (2)
Although the limbic system works with other areas of the brain in complex ways, and therefore has far more than just one role, the word that best describes what the limbic system controls would be “emotions.” Secondly, a part of the limbic system called the hippocampus helps us form and retain memories, which is very important for learning and development.
At all stages of our life, the limbic system and hippocampus also help govern emotional behaviors. While it’s an oversimplification to say that someone’s emotions are only determined by limbic functions, it’s clear that this system plays a huge part in helping us do things like remember past events that were both pleasant and traumatic, perceive threats from our surroundings, make choices based on our experiences, control movements based on past learning, form sensory preferences/likes/dislikes, and much more.
Emotional and Psychological Link to the Limbic System
As you’ve probably gathered, the limbic system plays a powerful role in creating different emotions and feelings. In fact, some even call it “the emotional switchboard of the brain.” (5)
One important way that the limbic system impacts emotional health is through carrying sensory input from the environment to the hypothalamus and then from the hypothalamus to other parts of the body. The hypothalamus acts like the “regulator” of hormone control, helps the body maintain homeostasis and send signals to the pituitary/thyroid/adrenal glands. It receives information from many body parts, including the heart, vagus nerve, gut/digestive system and skin.
Because of the hypothalamus’s functions, the limbic system is directly in control of your “stress response” and these key functions:
Heart rate
Blood pressure
Breathing
Memory
Hormone balance
Moods
Interactions between the hypothalamus and the rest of the limbic system are responsible for controlling the autonomic nervous system — including the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). In other words, the SNS and PNS control our “fight or flight” response. Disorders like generalized anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, bipolar disorder, and even addictions and depression are tied to hyperarousal, high amounts of anxiety/fear and dysfunctions of the fight-flight-response.
Anxiety and high amounts of stress (including increased cortisol levels) also have an impact on inflammation levels, digestion and gut health, cardiovascular functions, your immune system, and the reproductive system — sometimes contributing to disorders like diabetes, insomnia, high blood pressure, higher susceptibility to infections and infertility.
Essential Oils and the Limbic System
The limbic system gathers information from the environment through sensory information. As you’ve experienced firsthand many times, your senses can alter your emotional state rapidly. For example, a pleasurable meal can make you feel comforted, and very loud noises can make you feel anxious.
Ever wonder why certain smells conjure up memories and even physical feelings so vividly? Our sense of smell is unique compared to our other senses (such as taste, sight and hearing) because it bypasses parts of the brain that other types of sensory information often cannot. Because of this, smells can often cause immediate and strong emotional reactions based on memories. Smells can bring us back to past events within milliseconds, making us feel a certain way based on past events, whether we realize why we’re suddenly feeling that way or not.
Essential oils, for example, can have dramatic effects on limbic function and how you feel. This is true because the strong fragrances they hold, which are found inside volatile molecules that can make their way into your bloodstream, travel directly through the blood/brain barrier very quickly.
As you’ll recall, the hippocampus is involved in olfaction (smelling). How so exactly? Aromatic molecules contained within essential oils interact with sensors in your nasal cavity, lungs, pores and more. Research shows that the olfactory bulb projects information into the ventral part of the hippocampus, and the hippocampus sends axons to the main olfactory bulb, (including the anterior olfactory nucleus and the primary olfactory cortex). This is how memories and smells become tied together. (6)
Once engaged, sensors emit strong emotional signals based on smells starting from your limbic system (hippocampus) and spreading throughout the rest of your body to places like your heart and digestive tract.
Because essential oils can impact memory, balance hormone levels and overall support healthy limbic system functions, much new scientific evidence shows that inhaling essential oils may be one of the fastest ways to create physiological or psychological benefits. These include decreasing anxiety, anger or even fatigue.
Written by Cheryl Davis, R.N.
Did you know you can restore feelings and emotional health with Young Living Essential Oils?
There are many factors that can trigger depression, anxiety or any other emotional imbalance. These factors can be related to food allergies, pesticides, electromagnetic pollution, heavy metals, medications, poor diet, nutritional deficiencies, and many other environmental influences, along with emotional traumas, and painful childhood memories. Young Living essential oils are a terrific way to address some of these factors and enjoy enhanced emotional health. If we ignore emotional health, it is very difficult to enjoy optimum physical health as they are closely interconnected. Ignoring this connection can be a significant contributor to physical illness and premature aging.
There are many ways to use the oils and enjoy a “rejuvenation” of “feeling” in all aspects of your life. Always follow usage directions on the labeling of each specific oil. Methods of using oils include:
Diffuser
Applying topically to the skin (forehead, temples, neck soles of feet, etc.)
Inhaled directly (from bottle, or drops applied to tissue/cotton ball, and also aroma dome treatments.
Massage (especially raindrop therapy)
Compresses
Steam, candles or light bulb ring
Homemade air freshener (water added in spray bottle)
Potpourri
Application to certain earrings, necklaces or bracelets
Some Oils for Specific Emotional Issues:
Anger/Rage: bergamot, cedarwood, release, sacred mountain, roman chamomile, cypress, jasmine, valor, neroli, lavender, rosemary, ylang ylang.
Anxiety: basil, orange, clary sage, frankincense, juniper, mandarin, vetiver, marjoram, valor, peace and calming, citrus fresh, surrender
Depression: clove, eucalpytus, grapefruit, peppermint, rosemary, chamomile,valor, motivation, passion, brain power, present time
Life Transitions: black pepper, cypress
Fear: bergamot, cypress, myrrh, spruce, roman chamomile, geranium, valor, white angelica, trauma life,gratitude
Grief/sadness: cypress, jasmine, juniper, neroli, rose, sandalwood, tangerine, release, valor, inspiration, inner child, gathering, harmony, magnify your purpose
Shock: peppermint, idaho balsam fir, cardamom, frankincense, basil, rosemary, trauma life, clarity, 3 wise men, valor, harmony
TOP YOUNG LIVING “FEELING” OILS:
Trauma life-calming, grounding blend of therapeutic grade oils that may help release buried emotional trauma from accidents, death of loved ones etc.
Present time: An empowering blend that heightens the sense of “being in the moment”. Allows one to progress and improve in life.
Release: Combines uplifting and calming oils . Encourages a sense of peace and wellbeing, facilitates release of anger and frustration.
Sacred Mountain: Promotes feelings of strength and empowerment.
Valor: Works with both physical and spiritual aspects of the today. Increases feelings of strength, courage, and self-esteem, in the face of adversity. (has also been called “chiropractor in a bottle”)
Peace and Calming: (and also lavender, stress away, etc) Gentle fragrant blend of oils that helps to calm tensions, and uplift the spirit. Promotes relaxation and encourages a deep sense of peace.
Palo Santo: Used for centuries in traditional folk medicine for depression and other emotional imbalances. Can be used to release negative energy.
Surrender: Formulated for dominant, overbearing personalities. helps recover equilibrium and restore inner calm.
Acceptance: Stimulates the mind. Helps overcome procrastination and denial.
Harmony: Promotes physical and emotional healing. encourages harmonic balance to the energy centers of the body.
Clarity: Promotes a clear mind and alertness. Has been used for years to stimulate mental vitality.
SARA: Specifically formulated for dealing with trauma of sexual/physical abuse.
Joy: An exotic blend of oils that enhance self-love, and joyfulness, and attracts love into one’s life.
Hope: Restores the vision of goals and dreams that may be suppressed or hindered y past traumatic experiences.
Written by Cheryl Davis, R.N.