Fight the Bad-Day Blues with Bathtime Aromatherapy

As a single mom and work-at-home writer, I cope with constant stress on a daily basis. Between struggling to meet an article deadline and coping with my three-year-old's latest behavioral antics, it sometimes feels like I get no break from stress. But, at the end of a bad day, I look forward to one simple, twenty-minute respite from stress, discomfort and emotional tension.

Under my sink, I have a library of aromatic concoctions, each to ease a specific kind of "bad day." These bath oils contain specific formulations of aromatherapy oils for the relief of specific stress-related symptoms. Here are some of my favorite bath-time remedies for a bad or stressful day.

1. Melt away muscle pains. Use a combination of muscle-relaxing, anti-inflammatory essential oils to ease muscle pains after a day of hard work. These oils can eliminate headaches, backaches, and pain in your arms and legs caused by chasing the kids, rushing to work, cleaning the house, or hitting the gym.

If you're like me and tend to experience muscle pain when you're stressed, apply five drops of allspice oil and five drops of cinnamon oil to your bath to give your skin a warming, relaxing sensation. Alternatively, you can use four drops of peppermint oil, five drops of eucalyptus oil, and two drops of wintergreen oil for a chilling, ice-pack pain relief. Combine both oil combinations for an unusual, effective, icy-hot aromatherapy bath.

2. Erase irritability. You're spent the entire day arguing with your teenager, trying to rescue a struggling friend, and trying to revive a struggling marriage. At the day's end, you're ready to rip out your own hair and the hair of anyone around you. Agitation and irritability are extremely common problems that most women face at least occasionally. Several bath oils can help to soothe your tense, angered nerves.

Splash five drops of neroli, three drops of lavender, three drops of chamomile, and two drops of bergamot into your bath after an tooth-gritting, hair-pulling bad day. These fragrances help me to relax and eliminate some of my anger on those days when the entire world seems to tick me off. I also highly recommend a margarita or two to enhance the effects of the aromatherapy.

3. Kick your worries to the curb. I suffer from an incurable case of the whatifs. Every day, a million whatifs run through my mind. What if my daughter gets sick? What if I become unemployed? What if all of my friends are secretly against me? What if every publisher in the world rejects my magnum opus? These worries and anxieties are a recipe for daily disaster, but several treatments can help.

If a worry-filled day has you feeling down, blend five drops of geranium oil, four drops of chamomile oil, and four drops of basil oil into your bath. A few drops of rose oil and frankincense oil can also help, particularly if your worries and anxieties relate to a mood disturbance such as depression. A phone call to a friend might also be helpful.

4. Get a little pep. A bad day can make you feel sluggish, drowsy and gloomy. Instead of locking yourself in a dark room and spending the next several hours in bed, look for a more proactive solution. No, the answer isn't coffee-- although that certainly can help in some cases. Instead, turn to energizing aromatherapy oils to give you back your mojo.

For the rainy-day blues and depression-related fatigue, I use three drops of rosemary oil, three drops lemon oil, three drops frankincense oil, and two drops of rose oil in my bath. If you can handle the fact that you'll smell like a hippie, patchouli and sandalwood are also extremely helpful. You'll feel far more energized, your mood will improve, and your day will be a little brighter because of these rich fragrances.

5. Get some sleep. Fighting a bad day with an aromatherapy pick-me-up may not always be the answer. In some cases, your best bet is to curl up under a cozy blanket and simply sleep off the worries. When you simply need to snooze away a bad day, sedative aromatherapy oils are often your best bet. They can help you get the most of a good night's sleep, without all the side effects associated with strong sedative drugs and anxiolytics.

Sprinkle four drops chamomile oil, four drops lavender oil, and three drops of juniper oil into a hot bath for a luxurious soak. After a few minutes, you'll be ready to snooze peacefully for the rest of the night-- and you'll awaken refreshed and ready to greet a newer, better day.

Of course, if mood disturbances are causing enough trouble that they are disrupting your daily life, get in touch with your health care provider for treatment guidelines. The University of Maryland Medical Center offers more complete information about aromatherapy.