How Aroma evokes the Emotions

Essential oils have an important role to play in bringing about a state of relaxation that can favour healing. In today’s society, much money is spent on deodorants, perfumes and other toiletries, suggesting that people place a high priority on smelling good. Perfume is used to attract members of the opposite sex, create respect, and deliver a sense of class and for many other social reasons. Smells are also used extensively in the market place such as supermarkets having the smell of fresh bread pumping out at the front door.

In a famous marketing study Dr Alan Hirsch of the Chicago based Smell and Taste Foundation, examined the effects of odours on product perception (Heidegger 1992). Subjects examined a pair of Nike shoes in two different rooms, one with purified air, the other scented with a mixed floral smell. Eighty-four percent of the people in the study said that they were more likely to buy the shoe in the scented room. Many said they would be willing to pay $10 more for the product.

Physiologically odour molecules reach the nasal cavity either by direct inhalation from the front of the nose or via the throat. They are inhaled up the nasal passage where they dissolve in the mucus lining, known as the olfactory epithelium. In the roof of the nasal septum, these volatile, inhaled molecules come into contact with the olfactory cilia which are microscopic hair-like endings of the olfactory receptor cells. The molecules then pass to the olfactory bulb where it divides into 2 pathways. The first is where the nerve impulse passes to the thalamus where over 100 olfactory receptor cells analyse the smell and consciously identify and interpret what the smell is. The second or alternative pathway bypasses the thalamus, and flows directly to the hypothalamus, amygdala and other regions within the limbic system. Processing of the nerve impulse produces the emotional response to the odour.

There is no doubt that when we smell an aroma it can bring about an emotion within us. Whether the emotion we feel is pleasant or unpleasant depends on two factors:

1. The nature of the smell itself; for example, everyone finds the smell of bad eggs unpleasant, while almost everyone is happy smelling roses

2. Our previous experience of the particular aroma; often Frankincense can have a mixed response because many associate it with being in church for funerals or other unhappy religious services.

As always with aromatherapy this suggests that emotions evoked by smells are special to the individual and as aromatherapists, we are in the very privileged position of being able to offer aroma as therapy to those whose emotional and physical states can benefit from the effects. With our knowledge we can try different blends until we come to one that works for that person.

During an aromatherapy treatment, the client will be experiencing touch, smell, sound and vision – four of the five senses. If our clients have good memories of treatment and improvement while in our care and in our clinics they will come back for more. Aromatherapy will eventually then become a treatment worth having regularly for all its holistic benefits, rather than being solely a massage with smells.