Post-Covid Middle School Anxiety & Stress: An Aromatherapy Case Study
“I’ve seen an uptick in panic attacks, students having a hard time breathing, and anxiety this school year,” says a New Jersey middle school guidance counselor and client of The Blossom Bar. With Covid came more anxiety than usual for her middle school students.
With the prevalence of anxiety and stress, mindfulness has become a huge part of her practice and job. She offers her students (and the teachers who often come to her office for meetings) sensory tools to encourage relaxation and grounding. One of the favorite tools is The Blossom Bar aromatherapy blend Calm.
Calm is a water-based spray that includes essential oils combined to encourage relaxation of the central nervous system, grounding, and deeper breathing. The essential oils have powerful anti-anxiety and mood uplifting properties, as well.
She has noticed that spraying Calm helps the students catch their breath, relax, and then go back to class. She often leads them in breathing exercises in tandem with the aromatherapy. Some students take the bottle of Calm with them so they can apply it themselves as needed for any flare-ups of anxiety.
“Students have started requesting Calm specifically,” she says. “They’ll come in my office saying they need some Calm!”
She’s also offered Calm to students dealing with identity issues. “It’s a stressor. These kids get made fun of, and don’t know how to define themselves. They feel lost. Calm seems to strengthen their ability to ground themselves.”
She also uses her diffuser most days, at the start of the day. She begins each workday with a combination of eucalyptus, peppermint, and sweet orange essential oils (a wonderful combo for focus and mental acuity) in the diffuser for herself. If a student comes in, she’ll add lavender (a go-to essential oil for calming anxiety).
Even the teachers say how good it smells in her office.
The chemical properties of essential oils create gentle, powerful tools for calming middle school anxiety, whatever the source. If your middle schooler (or child of any age) needs support in dealing with anxiety, please reach out to me. We can create a custom blend of essential oils specific to your child’s needs and scent preferences.
