Blue Collar Aromatherapy

Not all of us have unlimited resources to fuel an aromatherapy habit. When I first realized the true power of scent for my emotional wellbeing, I was shocked. Even to this day, writing these words, it seems almost silly. I believe the reason I think this way is because aromatherapy may seem trivial or minor compared to a lot of the other things we do for ourselves and our wellness. We have these intricate diets, GI doctors, psychotherapists, gym memberships and support groups. We might meditate or study to learn all there is to know about IBS or our mental health. These are all pretty heavy duty things and the results we get are about equal to the energy we put in. The beauty of aromatherapy (I do realize that there are those of you who get nothing out of it) is in its simplicity. However, there are those of us that go overboard with everything and need to find reasonable ways to support a habit.

Aromatherapy worked for me!

My therapist suggested aromatherapy to me because of some offhanded comment that I made about liking the smell of candles. I remember sort of giggling to myself because:
A. I thought that aromatherapy was for girls and
B. I thought it was for hippy girls (jokes, one and all)
Nevertheless, because I am renaissance man, I tried it. Hand to God, this worked better than half the things I had tried to promote a sense of calm in my life. So, as with all things that I get into, I overdid it. Candles everywhere, incense, oils, fancy shampoos, soaps and bodywashes, cologne (yes, I said cologne). That wasn’t all though. There were the candle holders and shelves for the candles and incense. There were hundreds of little Buddhas everywhere to decorate said shelves. My whole décor changed. I know, I know.

How to afford aromatherapy?

Point being, is that all the stuff I mentioned is expensive. If you are living on a social worker’s salary, you really can’t afford this particular luxury. Or can you? I decided that there should be a way to practice this type of self-care without breaking the bank. It’s really quite simple if you think about it. What are some things that smell good to you that aren’t your typical ‘candle’ scents? I like the smell of apple scented dish soap. I like the smell of lemons. I like the smell of windex. Let’s just cover this particular idea with CLEAN scents.

Now, please, if you agree with me about the clean scents, don’t go Windexing and bleaching your house until you can’t breath anymore. Please don’t spend your entire day in the shower because you can’t bare to be without the smell of Pantene in your hair. Just take the idea and have fun with it. While you might not be able to keep an apple pie baking in the oven, a little bit of cinnamon and butter in the microwave smells pretty nice too. Make a little list of stuff that promotes that peaceful, easy feeling inside and run with it. Your mood will thank you.