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Essential Oils for Panic Attacks can be life changing. I know this first hand as I used to suffer
from debilitating panic attacks.
They were sudden, intense and paralyzing. And they would often hit in public places, like the
supermarket. One minute, I would be waiting in line to pay for my groceries, and the next I
would feel paralyzed by fear with my heart ready to explode out of my chest.
I can’t tell you how many times I just had to flee the supermarket, leaving my cart of carefully
selected nutrient dense whole food by the door in the hopes that the panic would pass.
It rarely did. I would sit in my car and attempt to will myself back to calm, but often just drive
home in defeat. It turns out that I am not alone. Approximately 6 million Americans suffer from
panic attacks and women are twice as likely as men to develop the condition.
Panic attacks can be defined as an episode of intense fear that often strikes without warning
and can trigger severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause. Some
common symptoms of a panic attack include:
Racing heart.
Sense of terror, impending doom or danger
Hyperventilation or difficulty breathing
Feeling detached, or like you are losing your mind
Shaking or trembling
Feeling weak, faint, or dizzy
Tingling or numbness in the hands and fingers
Sweating or cold or hot flushes
Nausea or vomiting
Chest pains
Fear of loss of control or death
Headache
What Causes Panic Attacks?
Panic attacks may come on suddenly and without warning, but can be linked to some of the
following factors:
Genetics such as a family history of anxiety or panic attacks
Tolerance for Stress, including physical, environmental, physiological and external stressors
(like jobs, relationships, finances, deaths, divorces).
Traumatic events, such as physical or sexual abuse or a serious accident.
Changes in the way parts of the brain function, including the tendency to fall into the fight or
flight sympathetic state and over activation of the right frontal lobe.
Microbiome Imbalance in the Gut can contribute to imbalances in neurotransmitters, like
Serotonin and GABA that impact mood and anxiety levels.
How Brain Function Impacts Panic Attacks
Anxiety and Panic Attacks can be triggered by over-activity and dominance of the right
hemisphere of the brain and a collection of brain cells located at the base of your brain, known
as basal ganglia.
My friend and colleague, Dr. Titus Chiu of, explains on his site The Modern Brain – Root Cause
Neurology that “the basal ganglia acts like the red light and green light of your nervous system.
If there’s too much red light, you may experience a slowing of thoughts. If there’s too much
green light, you may experience heightened emotions as is the case with anxiety and panic
attacks.
Similarly, the over-activity of the right frontal lobe of your brain versus the left contributes to
panic attacks and anxiety. The right brain processes the emotional aspects of the human
experience, giving us empathy and compassion, but in overdrive in the right brain can
contribute to anxiety.
In the same vein, over-activation of the “fight or flight” sympathetic branch of the autonomic
nervous system can contribute to Sympathetic Dominance which triggers a constant stress
response, where stress hormones flood the system and can be experienced as anxiety or panic
attacks.
Essential Oils for Panic Attacks
Essential oils are uniquely suited to help balance the brain and calm panic attacks. This is due
in part to the ability of essential oils to be assimilated through the olfactory and transdermal
channels.
The Olfactory channel is the most direct pathway into the brain. Research shows that inhaling
essential oils, like lavender, can help calm nerves and ease the anxiety behind panic attacks.
Inhaling essential oils can stimulate the brain to release neurotransmitters (like serotonin and
dopamine) to help regulate mood and manage anxiety.
Further, Lavender™ has been shown to help create balance between the left and right
hemispheres of the brain, which then leads to feelings of calm. Inhaling an essential oil
through the left nostril helps to stimulate the left frontal lobe and balance the over-activity of
the right frontal lobe.
Topically applied essential oils penetrate the skin and can enter the blood stream within 5
minutes and effect your body’s biochemistry. Research suggests that topical applications may
actually be one of the most effective methods for people with anxiety and panic disorders.
Vibrant Blue Oils