Page 81 - Total War on PTSD

The next oil that is showing promise in many research documents is Citrus Bergamia, also known as “Bergamot,” which is a plant belonging to the Rutaceae family and is defined as a hybrid of bitter orange and lemon. It is an endemic plant of the Calabria region (Italy). Bergamot fruit is primarily used for the extraction of its essential oil. Clinical studies on the therapeutic applications of Bergamot essential oil (BEO) exclusively focuses on the field of aromatherapy, suggesting that its use can be useful for reducing anxiety and stress.
Abstract: BEO is used widely in aromatherapy to reduce stress and anxiety despite limited scientific evidence. A previous study showed that BEO significantly increased gamma- aminobutyric acid levels in rat hippocampus, suggesting potential anxiolytic properties.
Basil plays another important role. Amongst other properties, Basil is anti-spasmodic and a cephalic (in Aromatherapy, pertaining to remedies for the head). It has the ability to clear our minds and help to relieve voluntary or involuntary muscle spasms. Looking at case study on a 37 year-old male with panic attacks and agoraphobia was taking venlafaxine 225 mg, alprazolam two mg, and risperidone two mg daily, after three months of olfactory conditioning with Basil, he was able to go without his presently used drugs.
At his one year follow-up, he was smelling Basil only once or twice a month and no longer suffered from panic attacks or agoraphobia.
During a single-blind randomized clinical trial, a comparison was made of the effects of massage therapy utilizing aromatherapy for anxiety and pain on burn victims, it was found that the aromatherapy reduced the anxiety and pain exponentially. Anxiety and pain are recognized as major problems of burn patients; because pharmaceutical treatments for controlling anxiety and pain symptoms lead to complications and an increase in health costs, non-pharmacological
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