How to feel better? Free yourself from fears and anxieties
To find lightness, to dare to be joyful, not to be consumed by fear or anxiety. These are all challenges that seem difficult to many of us in these complicated times. We have decided to gather all our advice on how to make ourselves feel good. So here we go, we untie the knots in our stomachs and try, step by step, to take care of ourselves.
1 - Connect with nature
When you feel suffocated or short of air, connecting with nature, even in the city, is always a source of support. Take a moment every day, as often as possible, to look at the trees through the window, listen to the birds singing. Look at the young leaves, the moss on the stones. Fill your eyes with green. Admire the resilience of nature, the delicacy of flowers, feel the slow and harmonious rhythm of the seasons.
2 - Connect with plants
Plants have always been our greatest allies and sources of support for human beings. Here are some ideas for companion plants to help you cope with difficult emotions.
Unwind the solar plexus
The Roman chamomile roll-on, applied to the plexus, wrists and neck, helps to dissolve tension and calm the feeling of a knotted stomach and plexus. Roman chamomile, luminous and soft, refocuses and soothes.
Support in times of sadness, mourning, grief, despondency
The Petitgrain Essential Oil, to be inhaled consciously. Its leafy, green, fruity fragrance, slightly bitter, soothes, comforts and reassures.
Prevent nocturnal anxiety attacks
Drink a tea of orange blossom hydrosol in the evening at bedtime: 1 teaspoon of orange blossom hydrosol diluted in a cup of hot water or warm plant milk. In case of anxiety, spray this hydrosol on the face and sheets.
Inhale in 5 counts, exhale in 5 counts, remind yourself that the crisis will pass, that the panic will dissipate. Don't hesitate to ask for help if you can't calm yourself.
Regain a feeling of lightness and joy
Diffuse citrus essential oils. Mandarin, sweet orange, clementine, grapefruit, lime. Citrus essences evoke the joy of childhood, carefree spirit, sunny happiness.
Connect with the heart
Spray Damask rose hydrosol on your face, chest, neck and arms at any time of day. Feel its benevolent, harmonising fragrance, reputed to soothe and open the heart.
You can also drink a hydrosol that makes you feel good, 1 tablespoon diluted in a litre of water to drink throughout the day. Our favourites: rosemary verbenone hydrosol to drain the liver, blackcurrant hydrosol for its wonderful fruity taste, peppermint hydrosol for toning and digestive fatigue.
3 - Connect with the body
In the morning or evening, after showering, take the time to massage yourself from the bottom to the top with an oil whose scent you like.
In the morning
Sesame oil, apricot oil, jojoba oil, with a drop of an essential oil you like (Petitgrain, furocoumarin-free lemon, rose geranium, sandalwood). You can also tone your legs and boost your energy with Light Legs massage oil.
For the evening
Lavender macerate, may rose macerate, vegetable oil with a drop of a relaxing essential oil (fine lavender, ylang-ylang, Roman chamomile, garden marjoram...)
Imagine that you are a tree...
This visualisation exercise, well known to yoga practitioners, helps to anchor oneself and to rediscover the link between the body and the world. It is very useful for those who spend a lot of time in front of screens and who sometimes have the impression of being much "in the head" and less "in the body".
Breathe quietly, you are standing. Close your eyes. Imagine that roots are growing from your feet and anchoring themselves deep into the ground, into the earth, visualise your powerful roots. Then move up your legs and imagine your upper body carrying branches that rise to the sky and dance in the wind. Birds may even land in your branches. They are powerful and light, flexible and strong. Your body forms a link between heaven and earth. At the end of the exercise, take the time to visualise yourself in the room again, visualise your body as a whole from your feet to your head, open your eyes.
During this exercise, you can diffuse essential oils from trees such as Scots pine or balsam fir.
Our non-exhaustive list of things to do for yourself:
- seeing friends and family, laughing, enjoying simple moments
- cooking, drawing, writing, with no particular expectations, no pressure
- walk in nature or in city parks, fill your eyes with beauty
- cutting off screens in the evening after 9pm (and even before if you can manage it!)
- eat a varied, healthy, colourful diet, with vegetables and fruit predominating. Listen to your desires, your satiety, the messages from your body which tells you what is good for you and what is not (stomach aches, migraines, digestive problems, pimples...)
- if your budget allows it, treat yourself to a massage, a moment in the hammam, a yoga class from time to time
- dance, sing, swim, cycle, anything that makes you feel good and gives you energy
- as soon as negative emotions assail you, come back to the present moment. Just here and now, no past, no future, just breathe in the moment. This often helps to lower stress or anxiety levels.
