Howdy y'all,

> "Someone told me once that if you find the scent repugnant that
> means that you need that oil."

There are generally at least three opinions told to us on most any subject ..
then there is a 4th or 5th that is close to truth. ;-)

> Funny but (and this is the truth) I was told the exact opposite. If
> you find the scent pleasing, teasing and tempting, you need it. Go
> figure.

This is one of those that is close to truth. Disregarding placebo effects
(which are most often valid) and considering the three main possible therapeutic
benefits of a natural product .. especially an EO with an odor .. we find
Physiological, Psychological and Emotional gain and there is a lot of cross over
effect bleeding into the others.

On the Physiologial .. true it is (forget who mentioned it) that Rose Otto has
much proven positive potential for calming and mellowing folks .. and this is
true for many other EO .. and one does not need to LIKE the odor of some EO or
chemical to gain benefits or to experience problems. One does not even have to
have the ability to smell them and this is a reality in some folks who have
decreased olfactory capabilities. Basically, the ability to detect the odor of
certain chemicals that have proven Physiological or Psychological benefit is no
more important than the ability or lack thereof to detect the odor of Cyanide ..
the Cyanide will still have a direct (negative) impact on the body and the mind.
Likewise, the Carvacrol in Oregano will kick big bad bug butts whether we can
smell it or not.

On the Psychological .. true it is that certain EO .. again .. Rose Otto .. and
Lavender and some others .. can calm us and Cat Scans have shown that this is
true.

On the Emotional .. the above two potential effects cross over into this one but
at the same time it can be separate and distinct. I have often written that a
Gud Ol' Boy from Texas who was raised on a cattle ranch but now lives in the mad
rush of New York City .. might well find the odor of cow manure therapeutic ..
its real .. its not a placebo. But the Emotional benefit of this odor can also
affect the Psychological and Physiological well being of that Gud Ol' Boy.

Anya and her Natural Perfumery folks know about this .. folks respond to
different perfumes for different reasons. I am turned on by inexpensive Old
Spice cologne cause it brings back nice memories of times past .. likewise, I am
turned on to the odor of fresh fish on my hands because fishing was a part of my
life for so long .. and the odors of tomato plants and Kentucky Bourbon and
fresh peaches and fresh mown grass and dozens of other odors have a positive
effect on my Psy. Even Brasso .. the stinky stuff we used for years to polish
our brass in the Army .. this mellows me out.

I have written before on Olfactory Memory, Olfactory Expectations and Olfactory
Interpretation. All of these have an impact on our Psy and Emotions and
therefore can bleed into our Physiological well being .. but at the same time,
whether we like the odor of an EO or not has no bearing on our Physiological
being if we isolate this phenomena and look at it strictly from a standpoint of
what can a particular chemical component do to improve our physical health.

> Hope you're feeling better.

I hope that what I have written might be of some value. Depression is a
recognized illness but I am not convinced that when a person is feeling down for
an extended period that it is necessarily really depression. I believe that if
we believe it is depression then if its not it soon can become depression.

One of the biggest causes of depression today is the diagnosis of same by
psychologists. This opinion comes from reinforcement of my long held opinion
in a recent article in Psychology Today .. written by a prominent psychologist
who was criticizing his own line of work.
I say it is an old opinion of mine because my first undergrad degree (back in
the early 70s) was in Psychology and I realized even then that labeling behavior
or emotional conditions was more important to the psychologists than was helping
folks to feel better. And today they make little effort to help folks .. they
just medicate them.

> K
>
> --
> Kathleen Petrides
> Bead Hussy
> http://www.BeadHussy.com

Y'all keep smiling. :-)

Butch ... http://www.AV-AT.com