Not every experience in life is a joyful one. Sometimes, something happens like the death of a close friend, family member, or pet. When this happens, we can get stuck and feel helpless to move through the grieving process. There are also other emotions that come along with the first shock of grief like anger, guilt, or remorse.
Some people turn to the aromas in essential oils to help handle these strong emotions. The essential oils described below can help ease these emotions and help you feel more balanced and in control.
Essential Oils for Grief
Rose Oil for Self-Love and Compassion
Rose is one of the ultimate sensitive oils for grief because it encourages self-love and grief. It works to soothe grief, heals feelings of despair, and releases any feelings of trauma or anger. You’ll get a complex and floral scent. However, you should use it sparingly, so you don’t get overwhelmed.
Chamomile Oil for Comfort and Peace
Chamomile has a long medicinal history for helping to calm chaotic emotions and bring a sense of peace. It can also work to soothe any feelings of abandonment you may have after a loved one’s passing. The sedative effects of this essential oil helps you sleep and calms racing thoughts.
Lavender Oil for Healing and Forgiveness
Feelings of guilt, remorse, pain, and unresolved shame are common after a death, especially if you felt a lot of anger. Having lavender oil creates a feeling of calm, encourages a healthy mental balance, and gently pushes you toward recovery. It has a soft and floral scent that is an excellent antidepressant.
Cinnamon Oil for Warm Comfort
The smell of cinnamon is comforting and warm. It helps to jumpstart your appetite for life again, and it can help lift you out of the fog of grief. It can also improve your willingness to be present and engaged with people. Note: Make sure you dilute essential oils if you want to use them topically.
Vetiver Oil for Grounding
Vetiver has an earthy scent that can help to ground you and reestablish your connection with the earth. This is particularly useful when you feel like everything is slipping out of your control and you’re scrambling to find normalcy again. It also comes with a healthy energy that slowly spreads out to other areas of your life.
Neroli Oil for Hope and Support
Neroli is a slightly stronger essential oil that can help get rid of unexpressed anger and restore your hopefulness. It can also help you let go of your need to control every single thing as you make your way through your grief journey. In turn, you’ll be able to relax, and it also supports your connection with a higher power if you believe in such a thing.
Lemon Oil for Clarity and Cleansing
When you get lost in your confusion, lemon oil can help give you a shot of mental clarity. It also lifts you up both emotionally and physically, and this is important in the days following the initial shock of grief. If you need to cleanse dark thoughts, smelling this essential oil can help.
Bergamot Oil for Light and Joy
The comforting and cheerful smell of Bergamot essential oil gives you powerful anti-anxiety, anti-stress, antidepressant, and restorative feelings. The bright and cheerful scent encourages you to let go of any remaining negative emotions, and it can work to restore your sense of awe in the world around you.
Sandalwood Oil for Stillness
Sandalwood has a calming effect that helps you release any negative emotions, and it introduces a sense of calm. It helps to quiet your mind of the chaotic emotions that come with a loss, and it has a deep and earthy scent. This scent tends to linger around and allows stillness to seep into your life.
Myrrh Oil for Tranquility
This oil can introduce a sense of peace and stillness that can be helpful when you feel isolated or rejected after a loved one passes away. It helps you reconnect your physical and emotional states when you get the jarring news. If you have feelings of helplessness, this oil is useful in addressing it, and it gives you the needed feelings of tranquility.
Ylang Ylang Oil for Happiness
The heady and exotic aroma of this essential oil helps to ground and keep you connected to the feelings of happiness and joy that can be scarce during the grieving process. It can help to temper any feelings of rage and give you a feeling of tranquility and peace. It’s also very strong, and you only need a few drops.
Cypress Oil for Cleansing and Balance
Cypress oil is strengthening and calming along with being cleansing. It helps you stand tall and steady in the midst of emotional turmoil. You’ll get a woodsy and clean scent that can help to guide you through this new transitional phase of your life.
Essential Oil Blends for Grief
Along with pure essential oils, you can mix a few for grief blends that you can then diffuse, add to jewelry, or mix with a carrier oil to create a topical solution. Common blends include:
Grief Blend One
- 3 Drops of Sandalwood
- 2 Drops of Rose
Grief Blend Two
- 1 Drop of Neroli
- 3 Drops of Sandalwood
- 1 Drop of Rose
Grief Blend Three
- 1 Drop of Lavender
- 2 Drops of Chamomile
Grief Blend Four
- 2 Drops of Begamot
- 1 Drop of Ylang Ylang
Ways to Use Essential Oils for Grief
There are several great ways you can get the benefits of your essential oils to help you through the grieving process. One of the easiest ways is to put a few drops of your essential oil into a diffuser and let it diffuse in the room in which you spend the most time.
Creating a topical mix that you can put on your skin and smell all day is another option. Just make sure you mix it with enough of the carrier oil to dilute it to a safe level if it’s a stronger essential oil. Also, pay attention to whether or not the oil can go out in the sunlight.
The grieving process is different for everyone, but this simple guide gives you essential oils and blends for every stage. You can use them every day for the best results and find the ones that work to bring you peace.
Author Byline
Catherine Lawson is the chief editor at WellnessAromas.com. Wellness Aromas is a community of passionate aromatherapy advocates, dedicated to providing resources and guidance to improve your wellness with essential oils.
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