If there’s something I’m familiar with, it’s being a ‘highly sensitive’ - or perhaps ‘neurodivergent’ - person - and I know many people who are naturally drawn to essential oils often are, too.  It’s as if nature calls to those who need it more deeply than others (because we sensitive ones weren’t born to live in a box, we were born to be in the wild).  As we move into 2024, we have an opportunity to begin to work with our sensitivity and see the gifts in it - once we have healed some of the common wounds that we face.

You see, ‘sensitive souls’ are those who tend to struggle to ‘fit into’ the chaotic modern world. We’re the ones who may have more ‘needs’ than others in society - such as a need for more ‘alone time’ than others - or those who can feel ‘overwhelmed’ by a lot of things.  We ‘feel’ more - in every sense of the word - physically, emotionally, spiritually.  And because of that, we may have been labelled as ‘shy’ or ‘over-sensitive’ - because we will be impacted by things like noise, touch, lights, smells, electricity, drugs - and sometimes ‘other worlds’. 

We are also the ones who have a particular resonance with essential oils - and who essential oils are crucial for. And so, today, I wanted to speak to this ‘label’ of the ‘highly sensitive’ person - for whom essential oils are often life-saving - and share some ways we can integrate aromatherapy into our lives for the vital soul nourishment we need (often more than others).

Challenges for the Highly Sensitive Person

As I’ve mentioned already, the highly sensitive person tends to have more ‘needs’ than others in society - because our culture is not directly set up for people who are this way.  Yet, most sensitive souls don’t tend to view it like this and most certainly find it a challenge to honour their basic needs. Instead, we tend to shame ourselves for not being able to ‘keep up’ with the fast-paced world. This illuminates the first wound of the sensitive person - we tend to feel a sense of ‘failure’ - like we aren’t ‘enough’.  

Simultaneously, because of having so many more needs than most - like a need for space, a need for quiet - we will also feel like we are ‘too much’ - and in that, we shut down our needs, and they become shamed and lost.  This leads us to another wound of the sensitive soul - we end up feeling frazzled and burned out.

When we arrive in this ‘frazzled’ state it becomes a vicious cycle because, at this point, we have learned to shame our needs so deeply that we then become anxious and overwhelmed - and our nervous systems are on edge.  We will likely go round and round in anxiety and burn out.

And the shame is, that largely, sensitive souls are here with deep gifts that they also hide and shame because they are gifts that society doesn’t recognise.  They can be the healers of the world - many Aromatherapists themselves are deeply sensitive because they need to be to do this work.  They will have gifts like:

• Deep affinity with the natural world - that draws them to essential oils
• High levels of empathy - which they harness to listen to clients
• Deep intuition - which they use to create healing essential oil blends
• Being able to read people’s energy
• Being able to connect to the spirit of essential oils and work from spirit-led guidance

And whether you’re an Aromatherapist, or not, these gifts are deeply healing for the world - for our families, for our communities, for our clients.  Our harsh, fast-paced, logical, linear world needs more of this.

So, how can we work with essential oils to help heal, if we are suffering from the wounds of the highly sensitive person?

Essential oils for ‘sensitivity’ healing 

Because highly sensitive souls really do respond well to nature’s essential oils, I’ve created a list of blends for you to work with specifically to help you work with healing each of the ‘wounds’ of being a sensitive person.

The deepest work for a person who is highly sensitive, though, is to allow yourself permission to actually work with the blends, to offer yourself some soul-nurturing that is much needed in a world that wasn’t built for us.  So, my invitation is to pay attention to any resistance you have to stepping into integrating these blends into your daily life; what fear comes up when you think about carving out time to be with this self-healing?  There are three common fears that can arise in this - perhaps it is the fear of losing approval, the fear of losing security or the fear of losing control.  The work is to notice, and love yourself in that, so you can embrace your sensitivity and its gifts.

Healing fear of failure

If you notice that you are commonly feeling a fear of ‘failing’ because you are more sensitive than others, I’d recommend the following blend of oils:

• Patchouli – with a musky, sweet, spicy herby scent, this is a very grounding and balancing oil for the emotions, and helps calm the mind of untruths
• Cedarwood - a woody oil that is wonderful for transforming negative emotions, like fear of failure
• Ylang Ylang - a sweet floral oil that is an emotional healer - perfect for fear, depression and sense of failure

Diffusion Blend: Mix 3 drops Patchouli, 3 drops Cedarwod and 1 drop Ylang Ylang in some water in an electrical diffuser or candle burner, and diffuse for 30 minutes a day, when you are feeling a sense of failure - reminding yourself that this is actually not true, and that you have particular gifts as a sensitive soul.

Healing burn out

For fatigue and burn-out, I’d recommend the following blend of oils:

• Valerian - a very grounding oil that can bring us back to our bodies. Releasing trauma and tension, this herby, woody musky oil is a great sedative which helps us relax
• Rosemary – has a strong fresh sent with woody undertones. This is the perfect oil for fatigue as it is very energising
• Lavender - a sweet, herby floral oil that is a calming and grounding oil and good for tired bodies

Massage Blend: Mix 4 drops Lavender, 1 drop Valerian and 1 drop Rosemary into 15ml of Grapeseed oil and massage into your skin, all over your body (in a direction towards the heart) when feeling fatigued.

Healing overwhelm - and a heightened nervous system

If you’re often feeling overwhelmed and your nervous system is feeling frazzled, here are some oils I’d recommend:

• Bergamot - one of the best oils for overwhelm and a nervous system that’s on edge, Bergamot is a fruity, floral, sweet citrus oil that is exceptionally calming
• Roman Chamomile - a strong, herby aromatic oil that is known for its deeply relaxing properties and is really powerful for calming the nervous system
• Cypress - a woody, refreshing oil, that is brilliant for nervous anxiety and restoring calm for sensitive ones.

Bath Blend: Mix 3 drops Bergamot, 2 drops Chamomile and 1 drop Cypress into 15ml of Bath Oil and add to the running hot water of your bath.  For a sensitive one, having some time to yourself in a nice warm bath can be really nourishing, so switch off your phone, let everyone know not to disturb you, close the windows and inhale the aroma from your bath so you can have some time to restore your nervous system.

Owning the gifts of sensitivity

Perhaps the biggest challenge of them all is welcoming your sensitivity - in all its challenges and gifts.  I’d recommend the following oils to begin to help you welcome your gifts:

• Frankincense - a fresh, woody, balsamic oil with strong meditative properties - which can be very helpful in beginning to see the truth of the gifts of sensitivity
• Myrrh - a spicy, wood herby oil that has been used for years in the world of healing, and can help enhance spirituality - which is one of the gifts of being a sensitive soul
• Rose - a beautiful floral, this particular oil is the ‘epitome’ of the sensitive soul - and, in particular, it is also an oil that helps us to release negative emotions and reclaim the positive

Meditative Blend: Mix 3 drops Rose, 2 drops Frankincense and 1 drop Myrrh in some water in an electrical diffuser or candle burner, and diffuse for 30 minutes.  I’d recommend journaling as you do, around the gifts that you can illuminate around being a sensitive person - what does it offer you - and others - if you will love yourself in the challenges of being sensitive?

Overall, it is helpful to know that being a sensitive soul is actually much needed in the world - now, more than ever - and to be of service with the gifts of empathy, intuition, connection with the natural world, energy and spirit, we must firstly meet our own sensitive needs.

Happy healing!

Nicole Barton
Consultant Aromatherapist

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