With the economy, the stock market, and banking companies going under, many people are under even more stress than they were earlier this summer with the extremely high gas prices and grocery prices. Stress can be relieved in many ways, from medical to massages, scents to relaxation music.
It has been proven over and over that different aromas help reduce and relieve stress and tension. When you are under stress, you begin to loose concentration. Nothing you do ever works out, or you just can’t seem to accomplish what your goal is, whether it is getting household chores done, or handing in that report the boss is waiting for. When people are stressed, they also become very grouchy, to put it nicely. If you see a person that is usually smiling and cheerful, and you notice that they aren’t smiling anymore, or they are angry and walking around looking like they are about to choke someone to death, they are more than likely under stress or there is something major going on in their lives.
My favorite scent for stress relief is vanilla. Vanilla has a soft subtle scent and helps unwind all of the stuff that is wrapped around you from the day. After I had a nervous breakdown and was sent home because I had no insurance, and was not considered a threat, I started looking into ways to relieve the stress. I first started by reminding myself that I have to take care of me, because I am the one that has to work, take care of bills, and raise my kids. Being a single parent is stressful enough on its own without all the other hassles that come with working at a demanding job and working with people that should be in a barnyard, not in a place of employment, if you get my meaning.
Looking into products that help relieve stress, I not only found that vanilla is a good one, Jasmine also works wonderful, with a little stronger scent. Another scent that works great is rose scented and is usually a softer scent, although you need to take caution with this, be sure that the scent actually smells like roses. A rose is a rose is a rose, and a rose by any other name is not a rose. That holds true for the scent. I can not understand what rose smells like some of the rose scented oils and lotions that I have tested out. Maybe dead decaying ones? Lavender is another soft scent that you can use, as is lilac. These both are great stress relievers.
No matter which scent or combination you use to relieve the stress, remember to test out the scent first if you can. You may find that one scent that everyone else uses is not for you, it makes you feel even more uptight, or the smell irritates you to no end. The rose scent and the lavender has a tendency to do this to me, so I use them less than everything else.
Some great companies to try out and use their products first start with my favorite one. Home Interiors is my favorite candle place to shop. You can easily find a demonstrator close by, and you can rest assured that if they do the business even a little bit, a phone call is all it takes to purchase a candle. Sure, you can go out to Walmart or the local dollar store and buy yourself a vanilla candle, but the scent does not seem to last, and most of these smell great when they are not lit, but once you light them, there is no more smell, it seems that these only have scent when unlit. The candles from Home Interiors not only hold the scent while lit, but the scent will fill the entire area.
For other scents, you can look for candles that are sold in stores such as the Family Center, if you live in the right area. It is a farm supply store, but it also has many items for inside the home and apparel. They have several types of candles, and you can purchase those made from soy. These are great to use and burn clean. Many of the soy candles you buy, you can just open the jar and leave it set, as you can with the Home Interiors candles.
Other candle companies that have stress relieving scents that actually work is Gold Canyon candles, Yankee Candles, and Scentsy. Scentsy makes candles that are wick-less, and these have a great aroma, but the aroma doesn’t last as long as the candle does.
With so many choices out there, you can easily obtain a candle, or a whole herd of candles in just a matter of minutes. Some other great places to get candles is at flea markets set up in towns on weekends. Look for any festival, there will surely be someone there from Home Interiors, or someone who makes their own candles.
Home Interiors candles range from a couple of dollars to as much as twenty dollars, depending on the style, the type of candle or if it is in a jar, and if the jar is styled. But for the money, this is the best of them all. Yankee Candles run about the same. You can pick up votive candles for about a couple of dollars, or you can spend twenty or more for large jars or pillars. Both of these companies also sell candles in sets, as does Gold Canyon. All three run about the same in cost. You will find that a good scented candle that not only carries well but lasts long, will cost a lot more. You do get what you paid for. If you get a vanilla candle at Walmart, and you pay seventy-five cents, you are getting your money’s worth, or the lack of. The candle is usually lightly scented, and forget the scent when you are burning them. The only other smell you will get is after you blow it out, you have that smell of the candle being blown out, and then you can smell the candle. They do on occasion have some better ones, but the prices are still too high and the scents too low. I have never found any at Walmart that can begin to compete with any of these other candle companies.
With Scentsy, you are not actually burning candles or just leaving wick-less candles sitting around. If this worked well, we would never have to put a wick into a candle to begin with. Scentsy sells candle wax that is colored and scented. To use a Scentsy, you need to buy a warmer first. Warmers appear to range from $15 for their new plug in warmers, that plug into the wall socket with the warmer on the top, to a steady $30 each. You can find the different scents in anything from a spray to a brick with prices ranging from $3 for car candles that hang from your mirror, to $5 for a bar, or $8 for the spray, and $20 for a brick.
Home Interiors candles sell from anywhere in the $6 neighborhood for a set of six votive candles, to $20 for jar candles. Candles now come with wood wicks that when burning, you can actually hear the crackle, like having a fireplace burning. These candles sell for $15 each and are in a jar. Home Interiors have a wide selection of scents to choose from, and a wide variety of candle jar toppers.
Yankee Candles are easily found on the internet. They deal with candles alone, and have a wide variety of candle scents and sizes. The candles start out at $ for tea lights in a box of 12, or for a votive or tart $2 each to pillars up to $15 each or jar candles in the $25 area. They also sell gift sets and many holders, burners and much more.
Gold Canyon is a great candle company. The rate up there with Home Interiors. They have everything ranging from tea lights for $7 for a nine pack, votives at $7.50 for a pack of four, to pillars and tapers starting at $7 for a set of two tapers, and ranging to $28 each for pillars, and jar candles for as little as $15 to as much as $20. They also have decorative jars and set that can be purchased.
Infusers are a new addition. They are great for using where you can not light a candle, such as work. Infusers can be found in many candle areas of your store, but still, the best ones I have found belong to two companies. The first is of course, Home Interiors, with diffusers complete with jar, scented oil and reeds for $17. Another place that sells diffusers, believe it or not is Tupperware. There diffusers are pretty much the same in quality as the Home Interiors diffusers, and sell for $34. Yankee Candles also have diffusers, and theirs sell for $22 to $30. I did not however find any diffusers in Scentsy. If they do have them I am sorry for missing them.
So when you come home stressed, light a candle or two, or have a diffuser already open when you leave, and the house will fill with calming scent. Soak in a tub filled with any brand of stress relieving bubbles or oil, play soft music that does not irritate you, and after coming out of the tub, feel free to rub in some lotion that matches the scent of your candles or bubble bath. This is very relaxing and can take away much of your stress. Another good idea is vanilla flavored coffee or coffee with vanilla flavored creamer, or just simply drop in a bit of vanilla into your coffee cup. Keep the lights low, and the noise to a minimum, and don’t talk to anyone that can upset you or is grumpy. This will also help you to relieve yourself of any stress. Watch what you are watching on tv. Stay away from the news, stay away from the violent shows, and stay away from anything negative!
Cited:
www.HomeInteriors.com
www.scentsy.com
www.yankeecandles.com
www.tupperware.com
www.goldcanyoncandles.com
