Aromatherapy: Science-Backed Benefits for Mind, Body, and Soul

Aromatherapy eases stress in people undergoing treatment for substance use disorder which, in turn, could enhance their chances of a successful recovery, according to West Virginia University research. The study, which is ongoing, incorporates the use of essential oils as an integrative therapy that is part of a bigger picture model focusing on the whole person. Researchers set out to determine whether the use of an aroma inhaler, with bergamot essential oil, produced an increase in comfort and ease, and a decrease in stress. For the study, comfort was defined as the experience of relief, while ease was defined as calmness amid distress. “Those in treatment struggle to handle everyday living, overwhelming demands from work, family, the disease itself and even the treatment program,” said Marian Reven, assistant professor in the WVU School of Nursing and a registered aromatherapist, who led the study. “Those individuals have identified that relieving distress and increasing comfort during substance use recovery is vital to their success.”