Lavender oil pills for anxiety and stress?

November 1, 2023 1:02 PM

Hello all, I purchased some organic lavender oil pills for anxiety and stress. I was wondering if anyone has found it useful or aidful for their own anxieties and stress overall? Or not at all? Did it take a few days or a week to notice a difference, or did it happen right away?

I am wanting to try more natural supplements before considering antidepressants (getting out of a verbally and emotionally, and somewhat physically abusive relationship of 11 years) and being through a lot of traumatic events and being premature, I think I need some sort of supplement for my anxieties and depression.

posted by RearWindow to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)

I had success with the Silexan variant (marketed as Calm-Aid); only problem being "lavender burps" which frankly just made me feel like maybe I was a slightly bothersome wizard in a Terry Pratchett novel.

So, check your dosage (always!!) but I'd say go for it. Mine were 80mg, and in my case I could tell they worked pretty quickly (same day).
posted by aramaic at 1:13 PM on November 1, 2023

I've found lavender very helpful in combination with hawthorn and lemon balm - in particular the hawthorn regulates heartbeat in a way that's magic at breaking me out of panic attacks or dissociation spells. It works pretty much instantly, but doesn't have long-term effects. I've taken SSRIs for a while that let me do trauma therapy and learn techniques to manage my mental health, but I still keep the herbal pills on hand for stressful situations like health crises.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 1:46 PM on November 1, 2023

Try SAMe which can be bought at a health food store. It helps lift the darker blues. Take in morning on empty stomach.

For smells, whatever works for you. For example lavender helps calm me but when I smell patchouli I just get an oasis of relief. Don’t know why, presume it’s association. So maybe just go to the health food store and sniff around?
posted by St. Peepsburg at 3:23 PM on November 1, 2023

My psych doctor assigned me to take Calm Aid, which she told me was clinically proven and has worked well for me, replacing propranolol and gabapentin in turn. Last time I shopped I noticed that none of the other lavender pills had the same active ingredient, so I dunno if there's a patent there or market-cornering, but I have it now on Amazon subscription so I don't have to get offended as a shopping consumer again.
posted by rhizome at 3:46 PM on November 1, 2023

There's a useful discussion of Silexan here:

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/lavenders-game-silexan-for-anxiety

I know that Scott Alexander is not exactly Metafilter's favourite person (and for good reason!) but he is a psychiatrist so he knows a thing or two about this topic.
posted by HoraceH at 3:55 PM on November 1, 2023

Lavender oil is also fabulous at soothing itchy or dry skin.

When my children had chicken pox, I probably used about a gallon of the stuff.

A bath with lavender oil in it has to be one of my favourite preparations for a good night's rest.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 5:37 PM on November 1, 2023

Lavender seems to be a hormone disruptor - affects estrogen (which is also tied to mental health). Might want to read into it to see what level of use feels right for you personally.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:41 PM on November 1, 2023

Just note that while Calm Aid does contain Silexan, which is derived from Lavender, it also contains the anti histamine Diphenhydramine, which can also have a calming effect.

I'm just mentioning it because the OP is specifically asking about lavender, and Calm Aid's effect might not be solely atrributed to that.
posted by Zumbador at 9:31 PM on November 1, 2023

I took CalmAid for a few months. I didn't have the effect I'd hoped for. Be aware, that it does thin the blood a bit, so if you need surgery or something, you need to discontinue it beforehand.
posted by ruddlehead at 4:49 AM on November 3, 2023

My husband used Calm Aid and swears by it. When I tried it, I found the flower-burping unbearably obtrusive.
posted by tomboko at 6:18 PM on November 3, 2023