Out of all the extreme beliefs that could be covered in this course, I did not imagine aromatherapy would be one of them. I wholly believed in the use of essential oils. They have been promoted by being all natural and used from hundreds of years ago, so why not believe it? I've done to research to know the importance of a fragrance oil versus an actual all natural extraction oil. I failed to do the research to see if these oils actually produced any results. Personal testimonies was the only evidence I used to determine my investment. I do recall two experiences that should have given me a red flag:
1. Since peppermint was claimed to be the best substitute for aspirin, I decided to give it a try. I diluted the oil in accordance with the correct amounts and placed small amounts to the appropriate places. My headaches never seemed to go away. I still had to take some over the counter pills afterwards.
2. I usually get sick after traveling to a new place, so I put together a solution that was suppose to boost my immune system. After applying it to the appropriate places, for about two days, I would develop a sore throat. Even after my sore throat went away I tried the remedy again and yet again it resulted with me feeling worse off.
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I too was surprised to find all of the evidence against essential oils. My mom has gotten really into them recently and while I've expressed my reservations about them to her and how I wasn't too sure if they actually worked, I never truly knew if there was some health benefit to them. I kind of feel bad because like you, she has put a lot of money into this after all these months and after reading the lecture slides about them, I talked to her about it but she had a very good outlook about it after talking about placebo effects and how they really can't hurt anyone.
ReplyDeleteI think there's actually a Stockton course that espouses aroma therapy. It's on holistic medicine. That there's a course on holistic medicine is rather shocking to me and if I had the energy I would petition to have it taken away.
ReplyDelete-Joon Lee-
I worked in a spa for about 6 years and aromatherapy obviously was a big selling point of the oils and massages. Like you when i first started there i spent money on a few oils thinking these gotta help. Just like you i came to the conclusion that it was a waste of money. The only essential oil I believe in is eucalyptus and it is just to help open up my sinus, I do not believe it cures anything like many people.
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