Scents, Moods and Memories
How often are we not hit by aromas that evoke precious memories of our childhood, our teens or of special times and sometimes sad or bad times as well!
How can smells evoke memories long gone and thus affect our mood?
It is quite simple as our brain's olfactory system is connected to both the amygdala, which is a set of neurons which plays a key role in processing our emotions, and also to the hippocampus, a small organ which is an important part of our limbic system. The limbic system has three key functions namely emotions, memories and arousal/stimulation. The hippocampus is mainly associated with memory, in particular long-term memory.
Smells also serve a survival function as it will stop us consuming spoiled or poisonous food.
But then there's also food and other smells that bring back many fond memories!
Hot bread - Every afternoon when I got home from school, the smell of hot bread would be wafting out the front door. We were five children and all the friends used to come and play after school - I sometimes wonder if we had so many school mates over because of Mom's hot bread; thick slices with butter melting was pure heaven when I think back!
Freshly caught fish being prepared for the pan would remind me of childhood fishing holidays by the sea.
Salt & Vinegar Chips - reminds me of school days.
Popcorn - afternoons at the cinemas with friends.
BBQ - good times with friends and family.
Oranges - another school memory, a mother or teacher handing out orange wedges at sports days.
Spicy fruit mince pies baking in the oven always evokes lovely memories of Christmas time - Mom and Granny would start baking a couple of weeks before Christmas and ensure every biscuit tin was packed full!
Coffee brewing always reminds me of a work colleague who would get the coffee machine going early so we could have a little chitchat before our day started - sometimes we'd laugh over our cuppa, other times we'd cry.
Fire - outdoor or fireplace inside always a reminder of camping holidays by the sea or holidays in the snowy mountains.
The ocean - always evokes happy memories of sea, sun and sand.
Rain, freshly cut lawn, plus a myriad of other smells bring back many many fond memories.
Then there's a host of unpleasant smells warning us all is not well - ammonia, exhaust fumes, smoke - all alarm signals.
So what does all this have to do with mental health?
A couple of days ago I wrote about how I regained and maintain my mental health and I started thinking about how I use Aromatherapy in my daily life to enhance my mental health.
Aromatherapy dates back to ancient times where precious oils were extracted from flowers and plants and used medicinally, in anointing oils and also in perfumes.
Nowadays, Aromatherapist practitioners may use essential oils as a stand-alone treatment, but many therapists use it together with massage for relaxation and as a mood enhancer.
You can also surround yourself with scents in your everyday life and turn parts of your home and garden into an Aromatherapy sanctuary with fragrant plants.
One of my favourite shrubs is the white, lilac & purple flowered Yesterday Today & Tomorrow (Brunfelsia) so I planted two of these in my garden, both near windows and this one also right by our front entrance. The sweet aromas waft into the house strongly in the evenings especially; it's like balm to the soul sitting out here breathing in this gorgeous aroma.
The Gardenia has been quite slow-growing but it was full of flowers last summer, so we're looking forward to the sweet floral aromas again this year. The flowers do not last very long, but the intensity of the smell makes up for that. The oil has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
- Lavender flowers ready to go into little muslin bags and placed under pillows. Lavender of course is known for its calming properties, great for relaxation and getting a good night's sleep.
- One can also make your own Lavender Bath Salts by adding the flowers to Epsom Salts, place into muslin bags and leave it for at least a week in a dark cupboard before using - pop into your bath water and enjoy a relaxing steamy soak in the bath.
- Splash a couple of drops of Lavender essential oil into your bath water - it's absolutely gorgeous!
- Buy yourself a warm mist humidifier with an essential oil diffuser - the entire room will smell divine. Switch it on about half an hour before going to bed, close the door and walk into Lavender heaven!
- A simple Essential Oil Tea light Diffuser also works really well
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One of my favourite climbing plants is the fragrant Honeysuckle - it grows in my back courtyard and currently is starting to flower with its subtle sweet flowery scent that wafts into my kitchen early morning and late afternoon. Honeysuckle elevates mood and is a great stress reliever.
String of Pearls with its feathery flowers gives off a subtle cloves/ cinnamon aroma
Try to find someone who practices Aromatherapy but also create your own little Aromatherapy haven in your home or office by using fragrant plants and essential oils.
Please share your own ideas in the comments below.
A huge shout out to @naturalmedicine and @mountainjewel for highlighting mental health issues with the Natural Medicine Contest
You're only here for a short visit.
Don't hurry, don't worry.
And be sure to smell the roses along the way.
Thank you for stopping by
Comments, upvotes & resteems all much appreciated :)
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You've inspired me for a post idea on something slightly related, yet different too!
I love beautiful scents, though perfume often sets me off on a volley of sneezing! Essential oils are ideal for me. I think ylang ylang is my favourite - apparently it's one of the components of Chanel No 5, which I really love.
I can only think of a few scents that evoke childhood memories, mainly because the ones I loved as a child, I also took with me to adulthood. One unpleasant one is carbolic soap, which always reminds me of the primary school toilets and hospitals. Luckily that's one I don't often get a whiff of these days!
A couple of scents I love and that evoke childhood memories are freshly cut grass and May blossom. The freshly-cut grass reminds me of sitting on the grass at school sports days, and the May blossom reminds me of when I was about six or seven, and I used to walk past hedges full of May blossom, which was just about at the height level of my nose at that time!
Thank you for your lovely feedback @natubat! I also love the smell of freshly cut grass, it's such a clean fresh smell, just too gorgeous!
Looking forward to seeing what this has triggered for you to write about; funny how some subjects bring ideas and inspiration on stuff, sometimes quite unrelated!
Glad you enjoyed this:)
very informative and sense awakening post! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so very much!
Great post @lizelle! Some of my favorite smells are a campfire and fresh baked bread. There's something about both of them that gives me a feeling of safety and security. Also, patchouli, the first time I smelled that it was instantly and strangely familiar.
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback @ericvancewalton, those two always bring fond memories and you're right that they give a sense of safety & security when our parents took care of everything! Thank you so much for the resteem as well, very kind of you :)
Congratulations! This post has been chosen as one of the daily Whistle Stops for The STEEM Engine!
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Thank you @thesteemengine, so thankful for your support!
This such an interesting post on scents being used for mental health, did you come up with that concept Lizelle? I can tell you that using plants like you did is something even good landscape architects that I know have never mentioned they have used as a reason. I have a couple good friends who are LA's that I am going to share your story with and see their reaction to it and how their plant selections can help people who are suffering, and conversely make sure a person doesn't get a plant that could trigger the a negative affect from smelling it.
Between you and @bigtom stories I am wide awake now at 2:38 AM , fell asleep while doing the DD and listening to country music. Even your pictures of the bread created a sense of the smell of mom's hot fresh bread in my mind.
I think hot bread brings good memories to all of us mr Papper ;) Gosh that was a late night!
As for the aromatic plants, not all of these flower throughout the year; lavender is the most generous one and then the string of pearls, but it really made sense to me if aromatherapy is so effective, to try and create that in one's garden as well. Would be interesting to hear what the landscape artists have to say! At the moment, the aromas are just so gorgeous here in the evenings and early mornings and I'm so glad I planted them so close to windows!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback, drive safely on those long trips and enjoy the weekend :)
I think that was great reasoning on your part, to take it outdoors. You too on the great weekend.
Oh Lizelle. Your scent memories make my mouth water.
My mom's bread was Saturday. My brother and I were tasked with churning the butter so it would be fresh bread and butter. Not to mention cinnamon rolls and pies and cookies and...
I do practice aromatherapy after a fashion. I have a few oils and a candle powered heater that I use quite often in the non air conditioning season.
Thanks for another wonderful article Lizelle. Always top shelf from you.
Oh you were lucky indeed churning your own butter, that's really the very best, and I can just imagine the aroma of spicy cinnamon rolls!
Enjoy the oils, eucalyptus oil is also great during the flu season which you're probably heading to now with winter on the way.
Thank you for your lovely feedback @bigtom13 :)
Wonderful, wonderful post @lizelle! I love the flowers you shared. Lavender evokes such wonderful memories for me as well. Honeysuckle, so special. The fact that you have planted each of these around your home is special, I would love to stroll around your yard during summertime :) A great way to stop and smell the roses! And then fresh bread.....ah, nothing beats that...with butter of course!
Ah thank you so very much for your lovely words @birdsinparadise, I thoroughly enjoyed putting this post together! We're really enjoying the gorgeous aromas at the moment and so thankful I planted them so we get the full benefits when they flower!
Have a lovely weekend my friend :)
It's incredible how scents trigger certain images or memories for us. My friend just introduced me to aromatherapy and I love how different scents have a way in calming, grounding or lifting my mood. I love all the thought you put into your garden plants.
It is quite amazing just how effective it is @loveself! We're really enjoying our fragrant garden :) Thank you for your support and lovely feedback!
Flowers that freshen the house naturally planted around the garden, no need to purchase just open the window and enjoy perfume on the breeze.
Lovely selection @lizelle and yes fragrances do trigger memories, release tension, bring forth great inner peace, all thanks to nature.
And our gardens are so full of joys at the moment not so Joan, we're truly blessed here in Durbs :)
goodmorning from holland i use lavender in the toilet. Its the best!
Thanks for sharing that @brittandjosie, much nicer than artificial air fresheners hey!
So much better and we use matches if someone did the BIG one ! lavender and matches so cheap and easy
LOL so do we :):)
We woman know a solution to All off lifes trouble 😉