When you read about essential oils, it will seem that they all purport to give you some kind of lift. Some are known as calming (they can lift you from your stress) and others exciting—they will lift your mood. In some ways, the oils that life your spirits are highly individual, because we all have different associations with various scents. If your dad wore Old Spice and the scent makes you recall him lifting you up and whirling you around when he came home from work, that smell is linked very closely in your brain with a happy memory. If your dad wore Old Spice and you associate the smell with him yelling at you for not cleaning your room, the smell won't trigger happy feelings because it's associated with an unpleasant memory. If you find that a particular essential oil brings back unhappy memories or creates a bad feeling, discard it in favor of one that has no unhappy associations.
All that said, there are essential oils that, as long as they aren't associated with highly individual memories, have been found to life the spirits of most people. Mandarin orange is once example of a scent that most people find happy and invigorating. Clary sage, jasmine and bergamot are also known as uplifting. Lime and basil are both considered mood lifters, and some perfumers are combining the scents with great success, as they complement each other wonderfully.
There are essential oils for nearly any mental condition you can imagine. If you're stressed or anxious, you might feel better with vetiver, lavender or frankincense. If you're fighting depression, you may find that essential oil of rose makes you feel happier, and geranium oil is said to have that property as well. Fighting fatigue? Try oil of peppermint, spearmint, clove bud, rosemary or petitgrain. If you're overwhelmed by all your choices, lavender is the best all-round essential oil, being calming, uplifting and having natural antibiotic properties as well. Use it in the bath, diluted on pulse points, on bedding or in candles to promote a general feeling of well-being.
