Essential Oils: Resistance is Futile

When I first heard about Essential Oils, I thought they were something long haired hippies used in place of real medicine so they could stick it to the man shortly before they died due to lack of proper medical care. Then I realized that some of my neighbors were using it and I’d never once seen any of them running naked down the street singing freedom songs. (For that I’m extremely grateful.) And it wasn’t just one or two neighbors; it was like a Borg infestation of naturalness. Essential oils were everywhere and I was quite determined to not be assimilated.

When my son was stung by a wasp last summer, and I realized my Benadryl had expired, I called a neighbor to see if she had any on hand.  My family has a history of severe bee allergies and while he hasn’t ever had a reaction to a sting, I wanted to be cautious.  My fabulous neighbor brought her Benadryl over along with a little bottle of Lavender oil. (Gasp, she’d been assimilated.  I still let her in. She had Benadryl.) My son was screaming in pain. (Always the dramatic one.) I don’t like giving my kids more than one medicine at a time, so Tylenol was out of the question.  Benadryl was more important.  The Lavender wasn’t something he had to take internally so I put a drop on the sting hoping for a good placebo effect.  He stopped crying and didn’t swell up like a balloon. (Win-win!)

I get anxious when I have to drive to new places, meet new people, and be in the spotlight. It's not anything major, just minor stomach upset.  Needless to say, I was worried about the book signings last month. I didn't need to feel sick on top of feeling nervous. That was when I decided to try Essential oils on myself.  Smells can be calming and I’d already used them on my son.  I didn’t even mind if it was just a placebo effect.  After all, the anxiety was all in my head anyway. So I decided to try the Balance blend. (Thereby proving that resistance was futile.)

 I have to admit the Balance blend is pretty awesome.  It totally took care of my anxiety and I made it through all my book signings without running away or screaming freedom songs at the top of my lungs while running through the bookstore. Before Balance, I often felt tired and rarely wanted to exercise.  After the Balance, I started feeling like I wanted to exercise (which some may argue is actually a sign of craziness.) I’ve found myself more on task and less on Facebook. (Sorry friends.  I still love you.) I decided to try it on my kids.

Parent teacher conferences are always a joy (I even typed that with a straight face.) Every teacher tells us the same thing.  “(insert name of my child here) is really smart.  Look at these amazing test scores,” shows us amazing test scores. “If only they would focus and turn in their homework. And that’s why I had to fail them.” Okay, so they don’t actually say that last part.  But their grades do not reflect how smart they are.  All three read way above grade level.  Their CRT scores are perfect.  My oldest skipped 7^th grade math and went straight to 8^th grade honors math.  We’re talking brilliant kids. Why can’t they turn in their freaking assignments? (Sorry about the bad word. It just gets frustrating. Wait, assignments is only a bad word for my children. I don't need to apologize.)

I’ve been using Balance and In Tune for my youngest.  He’s my biggest wild card.  You never know what you’re going to get from him.  Usually he’s contest to read his kitty books or sit on his bed spinning things. I like to think of this as a sign of his brilliance.  Geniuses are quirky, right? He actually told his first grade teacher during one of those super fun conferences that math would be more exciting if she would teach division. (On a side note, if you’ve ever watched The Middle, the youngest kid, Brick, is totally my son if you mix his personality with the friend who thinks he’s a cat.) Anyway, last week I asked his teacher if she’d seen any difference in him and she said she had noticed that he was actually finishing, and turning in, assignments. (Win!) I’m also seeing assignments come home that are graded instead of blank. (Another win!)

My daughter doesn’t need the oils as much as my boys, but since I started using Balance on her, she actually remembered to talk to her teacher about all the Social Studies assignments she was missing. (Which would be every assignment minus one.) Then she brought them home and finished them. Today I will find out if she remembered to turn them in.  Baby steps. My oldest has own bottle of Balance that he keeps in his pocket and rarely uses.  He is also still grounded because of his last report card.

So there you have it.  A brief rundown of why I started using Essential Oils. I’ve been using other oils than the ones mentioned here, so I’ll keep posting about the different kinds as I learn more.  My kids still lose their focus, but the oils help them regain it.  I’ve also noticed that they have a better hold on their emotions when they use the oils.  Traditional medication for ADD or ADHD can make kids lethargic and the science isn't complete.  I like having something natural that helps my kids, but doesn’t change them. We still have challenges, but now we have a tool to help us get over the hurdles.

*Please note that no freedom songs were sung in the writing of this blog.