Episode 4 Part 2: Emotional Health with Essential Oils

Russel Buttars: So we've talked about which essential oils to use. Dr. Pickett, you just hit where and how to apply them. I think one other thing that I've talked to you a lot, Dr. Riggs, about is in addition to which essential oils, but it’s how do you live your life? What other things can you change in your daily life to help with those emotional behaviors? So do you want to talk about maybe some of those life changes or things that they can do every day? 

Dr. Riggs: Yeah, there are things that we can do that we know helps with mood. And it tends to be those things that when we are feeling good about ourselves and who we are, we do anyway, we’re naturally attracted to. The challenge is when we are having issues with mood those are the first things to go away. So for instance getting a healthy amount of sleep is important. What we see with folks that have challenges with low mood is they either sleep a ton or they don't get to sleep enough. And so one of the recommendations that's easy is go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every day. Just make it very regimented and that's going to help just naturally with the challenges that you're having. 

The other issue that Heather and I were talking about is a healthy diet. You want to mention something about that? 

Dr. Pickett: Sure. I'm sure there's a million and a half different opinions on this on the internet. But I think one thing from a science basis that we can agree on that’s been on the rise is the gut microbiome. So the bacteria in our gut and how it plays in with how our mood is. And it's called the gut brain connection. And both Western medicine and Eastern medicine Integrative Alternative have all been looking into this. And I just did a literature review on this recently and the value of probiotics in helping out your gut flora because like 90% of your serotonin which is your feel-good hormone brain chemistry neurotransmitter is produced in your gut. And if you realize that and then all of the people populating that gut are angry and inflamed and not doing well because of diet and sleep and lack of exercise and toxin exposure, all of those kinds of things, your serotonin production isn’t going to be as good. And so doTERRA PB Assist is a perfect complement to that and they have the pre and the probiotics to optimize how it's going to get absorbed into your system, and for the kids the PB Assist Jr. 

Dr. Riggs: Which I love instead of the PB Assist because its amazing flavor—it’s like a Pixy stick.

Dr. Pickett: It's a Pixy stick I know. We're saying our age now. 

Dr. Riggs: Right, exactly. So a couple of other easy things are setting goals, even small goals. You know it seems kind of ridiculous but just saying “Every day I'm going to get up and make my bed." Or "Every day I'm going to do dishes at the end of the night." Accomplishing those things anything actually floods the brain with dopamine which is a feel-good hormone, right? Feel-good compound in the brain. And so, setting small goals and being able to accomplish those are phenomenal for your health. 

And then also exercise. Exercise is so important again one of those things we throw out as soon as we start feeling bad but can be so helpful at flooding the brain with endorphins to help us feel better. Particularly in morning light, actually. And there's some research to support the fact that there's a wavelength of light of UV light in the morning hours that hits the pineal gland going through the optic nerves into the pineal gland of the brain that helps us reset our sleep wake cycle. So for those folks that are dealing with sleeping too much or not sleeping enough that morning exercise outside can really be amazing at knowing, telling the brain when it's time to go to sleep and when it's time to wake up. 

Dr. Pickett: Right. And even if it's too difficult to try to say "Okay I'm going to do a whole program" even just five to minutes three times a day. That's been shown to be effective. And walking. Walking has probably more data associated with it than anything in terms of its health benefits. 

Dr. Riggs: And then lastly, I would say that it's important to challenge negative thoughts. We all tend to trust our brains we trust our brains to tell us the correct message. But when we're having issues with mood or feelings of anxiousness it’s important to say “Okay what is really going on here? Is what I'm feeling actually correct? Does this person really not like me or am I just feeling that way? Is it true that my family would be better off without me or am I just feeling that way?" And look at what is the real evidence because after all we’re trying to retrain the brain to think healthy. And so especially at that time it’s good to question what our thoughts are so that we can really think through it logically. 

Dr. Pickett: My dad's a child psychiatrist and so he's been great resource for all these years, and one thing he would tell me to talk to patients about is just like what you said you just say, "It's not me, it's my brain talking to me." And your brain will say different things to you. And if you understand that "Okay this isn't me this is my brain talking to me," whatever the issue is going on. 

And also understanding that when you have certain thought processes that have been going on for years, it's like the pioneer wagons make those ruts right? In the dirt. And you can even still see them now in the Oregon Trail, you can see the ruts. That's where your brain's going to go. It's just going to go right into that rut and ride along there. And that's where oils and changing your thoughts can help get those wheels out of that rut and go into a new rut. But it is a training. And it's not just “Oh I inhaled the oil and I don't feel better." It's all of the, it's the whole package. 

Buttars: It's a combination of everything. 

Dr. Pickett: It is. 

Dr. Riggs: Most of our emotions are in the oldest part of the brain, right? The animal brain. 

Dr. Pickett: The most primitive part. 

Dr. Riggs: And we have to use that outer cortex of the brain, the human part of the brain where we developed, to think our way or to work on our thought process to where we're feeling better. That's not trusting that animal brain to tell us all the messages are correct. 

Dr. Pickett: Right. 

Buttars: So one thing that you mentioned just a little while ago was how just the weather outside can affect us. So what has been your experience you know we're coming out of winter we’re going to be heading into spring? A lot of those times can change your emotions right? So what are your experiences with that and how essential oils can help with that? 

Dr. Pickett: Well, since you brought me here from Las Vegas, the land of perpetual sun—

Dr. Riggs: I'm from Tucson, sister! 

Dr. Pickett: That's true. 

Dr. Riggs: So, I understand. (Laughing)

Dr. Pickett: We're both desert rats. I get it, yeah. 

Dr. Riggs: Like we get sunshine all the time. 

Dr. Pickett: Don't see much of it out there right now. So one thing that I’ve found to be really effective, and it goes back to what you were just talking about. You went down to Arizona, and I'm not telling everyone to go down to Arizona, but you went down to Arizona in January and it was the orange, right? So, this is coming back to the citrus, right? 

What the oil does in nature and what plant it comes from is also what it does to your body. So where are the citrus fruits? That's the one I found out about that's amazing. So, Lemons are up there, I’m from California. Lemon tree, Grapefruit tree, Lime, we have all of that in our backyard. You reach up and you pick it up and that's the same thing it does to you. It elevates you when you’re in a gray zone. 

So specifically going back to what we first said about utilizing the citrus oils a good study was done at a medical center, a major health center, using some of the essential oil blends and looking at work productivity, work-related stress, and positive feelings. And it was also during the winter so these things can be even worse. You're inside of a building, and this has kind of been a societal issue, right? We're inside of buildings a lot more than we used to be a hundred years ago. And the top two oils statistically significant that came out to really improve mood, positive feelings, sense of wellbeing, work productivity, were Forgive and Cheer. And Forgive has the pine, the uplifting with the pine trees, and then the citrus in the Cheer. 

Buttars: Cheer is one of my favorites. 

Dr. Pickett: It's phenomenal. 

Buttars: I love that blend use it all the time. 

Dr. Pickett: Great blend. 

Dr. Riggs: Yeah. I agree. And then talking about the light. You were going to talk a little bit about the UV light and what that does. 

Dr. Pickett: Right. So, we know, and I've talked to a lot of folks here already in Utah that I'm seeing who could have seasonal challenges, understanding what the 10,000-lux light is about. So those are, well, I call them happy lights. 

And when I was stationed up in Alaska, they had them all over the place. Because Alaska in winter you don't see the sun. You don't see the sun up there, exactly. So, they have full spectrum lights and they're much more easily accessible now online. Get full spectrum lights they need to be 10,000-lux and the data is significant. Compared to medication in the first two weeks of starting to use a happy light or a full spectrum light every day for thirty minutes a day it can be as effective, if not more (because of minimal side effects), as compared to traditional antidepressant. Now I know we're not talking specifically about those but that's just a great data point to talk about light. 

And you want to use it, and I've been telling patients now you can go online and get a pretty inexpensive one for your desk. You want 12 to 18 minutes, in the morning, like if you can't get out to exercise, but you at least want to have the full spectrum light. 12 to 18 inches away from you for 30 minutes. Don't look directly in the light but you want to have the light being able to impact your pupil. And so, it'll be coming in peripherally. 

Buttars: That's been amazing information and you can see how blessed we are to have you guys as part of doTERRA. And I know everybody across the United States is excited and anxious. They probably want you to announce when we're going to have clinic in their city. 

Dr. Riggs: It's coming! 

Buttars: And isn't that the awesome news is we're going and we’re growing slow but we are we’re expanding beyond Utah and our campus here. And all of you are going to have the benefit of having experts similar to Dr. Riggs and Dr. Pickett close to you so that you can ask them questions, you can visit. But just to wrap up your information’s been so valuable so thank you very much. 

Any last things last tips or tricks that you want to share with everybody in regard to essential oils and emotional health? 

Dr. Pickett: I think I'd like to say that I think in this society with people comparing themselves all the time constant input from the internet constant you know what waste fear of being left out?

Buttars: It's the comparison. 

Dr. Pickett: Yeah. FOLO I think. 

Buttars: FOMO. 

Dr. Pickett: FOMO! Fear of missing out, yeah. We know there's something called an internet related depressed mood and I just want to encourage people to know that it doesn't have to take over them. To “a.” ask for help if the emotions seem like they're really concerning you. And don't try to just do it on your own. That's the beauty about the oil is you can utilize them but work with a team. And that's part of the reason why we're having the healthcare initiative so you can work with your physician on your own wellness. And you're not just trying to do it alone. 

Dr. Riggs: Yeah, I agree with you. 

Dr. Pickett: It's such an amazing opportunity. 

Dr. Riggs: I think too that the point of lifestyle is so important in this issue. It's really one of the key things. And as we look at the building blocks if you can have a healthy lifestyle, that’s going to take care of a lot of the mood issues that you may deal with. And then on top of that if you can have a great supplement regimen, if you can have good probiotics healthy gut, etc. And then past that, oils. If you're dealing with specific issues you have that to reach for. And then not to discount at all what we do for a living. There are times in which it is appropriate to seek professional help! Whether it be a counselor whether it be a physician and there are times where those issues may require medication. And that's not a failure on anyone's part. We are a very complex system and this the oils and the lifestyle just give us more tools to help deal with the challenges that we all experience. This is normal. It's not an abnormal thing for us to at various times in our lives to deal with these issues and it's nice to have lots of different things that we can reach for that can address those problems. 

Buttars: That is great advice. And everybody can take a piece of that. Whoever is listening to this webinar. That wisdom, right there, one piece or all the pieces will apply to one or all of us.

So thank you both thanks for what you do and everything you contribute to doTERRA. We look forward to hearing from you again.