The Power of Smell

The power of smell

7:46

Anxiety management can feel frustrating, overwhelming and difficult to achieve. I have my fair share of experiences in that field. The power of smell – I didn’t realize something that simple would turn out to help me. I discovered the power of smell through a happy (not-so-happy) accident.

I went out one evening to a dollar store and picked out a scented candle. Something I didn't need, something I had never bought before in my life. I picked out a Watson rose-scented candle that had pink wax, was in a glass container and had a suction-based flat lid on it. The candle was small, had a sticker that read something like "burns up to 30 hours," and was priced at $2. I didn’t think too much of it, $2 wasn’t going to harm me, so I picked it up. That same evening, I lit the candle in my room. I couldn’t smell the candle even after 20 minutes of it burning. I wasn’t disappointed though; I got it from the dollar store and didn’t really have expectations.

I had to exit my room to use the washroom where I began to have an anxiety attack. At that time, my way of dealing with an anxiety attack would be to simply sit on my bed until that feeling passed. Sometimes I cried it out or curled into an imaginary cocoon, holding myself as tightly as I possibly could. Attacks like these have a way of sneaking up on you in the most unexpected way. I continued to spend around five minutes in the washroom hoping and praying it wouldn’t get worse. But by the sixth minute, I could feel it worsening. I tried to rush out of the washroom to my bed, my safe space, and that’s when I first smelled the candle in the room. Surprisingly, the candle was really strong. It smelled like a garden when I opened the door of my attached washroom to enter my room, like someone had put a large bouquet of red roses in my room while I was gone. What was supposed to be a panic attack getting worse turned out to be a rosy night (pun intended) in the park. As funny as that sounds, it was true. My anxiety felt controlled. I was able to breathe and didn’t feel frozen. My heart had been racing seconds earlier, but I could sense it calming down. My eyesight was blurry, I slowly started to gain clear sight and control of my mind.

I have a theory of why this worked for me. I grew up in India and lighting incense sticks (agarbatti) is a very common tradition in most households. We would do it maybe once or twice a day. Sometimes when I smell a certain scent or incense stick, I get taken back to a memory from my childhood. Sometimes, it just reminds me of people in my home. That’s how deeply rooted smell has been in my life. Yet, this isn’t something I imagined would someday be a grounding technique. It had been right there all along but I had to experience this happy (not-so-happy) accident to come to realize the power of smell.

Since that day, I have had at least three different smells within arm’s reach at any given point. I had major anxiety issues during that phase of my life when I discovered what smell did for me. Almost every other day felt impossible to get through. Therapy didn’t work, confiding didn’t help, but thankfully, the candle did. In the next few days, I went on to buy more of those inexpensive candles. Over a period of time, I realized the same scent didn’t work as a grounding technique for me. Maybe my brain got used to it, making me less sensitive to the smell? I don’t know for sure! So, I had to switch it up and have fun with different scents that I liked. Whenever I felt anxious, I would vigorously start smelling one of those things I intentionally kept around me until one of them started to calm me down. It worked wonders for me. Was it really that easy to get your anxiety under control? I was thriving with this new technique until, of course, I couldn’t count on it every single time. Then, I would go back into trial-and-error mode to try something different to see if that did the trick.

Even today, scents help me. Depending on how bad my anxiety is, I am still able to ground myself using scents. They work a majority of the time, especially because scents have become a huge part of my life. I do not wait to feel anxious to use scents around me. I have found scents calm me down and I use them all the time. I was able to ground myself even at the start of an anxiety attack and sometimes I think I have completely avoided having one because of scents. Lighting scented candles, using perfumes when going outside or even staying indoors, roll-ons, bed sprays, body lotions, hand creams and face mists in different scents have since become a part of my lifestyle. Sometimes, when I have trouble sleeping, I spray a calming scent on my pillowcase, and it helps me sleep like a baby. While I would love to do that every day, I’m afraid my brain will get used to it, and the technique would stop working, so I balance it out and use it only when I need to.

I have discovered my favorites in the last few years. Some of them are roses, peonies, lilies, lavender, shea and argan oil extracts. For better sleep, I lean more toward earthy smells like eucalyptus, sandalwood or rosemary. Over the years, I have realized I am more of a floral and earthy notes kinda woman. Some products I highly recommend (even if you don’t struggle with anxiety) are:

1. Bath and Body Works’ “Aromatherapy” line, specifically the eucalyptus oil mist “Stress Relief.” After a long day, spray this on your pillowcase and you will have the soundest sleep. If you don’t want it on your pillow, just spray some in the air around you or perhaps on your blanket. Their lavender and ginger scents are also good, but I've had mixed reviews about these from friends of mine.

2. Saje’s linen spray “Sweet Sheets” is such a good product. Their roll-ons are highly recommended too. They also have curated kits that help you with sleep, relaxation, mindfulness or becoming stress-free.

If you don't fancy these, you could always buy essential oils and rub them on the top of your palms too. They tend to be a little strong, but you could dilute them with some neutral, non-fragrant oil. Please note, none of these are sponsored. These products have genuinely helped me over time and I am hoping they help you too. Fresh flowers, herbs or even spices can be a great alternative in their most natural form.

From my experience, I can confidently say do not underestimate the power of smell. It may sound simple or even silly, but it really has the power to calm your nervous system. It may take some time to get comfortable with it, but trust me, you will see results. I have shared this experience with many friends who have also found smell therapy (if that’s a thing) super helpful, even if they don’t experience anxiety. It helps with stress management, meditation and overall well-being of the mind. I hope my story encourages you to explore self-care through the power of smell, whether you experience anxiety or not, it doesn’t discriminate.

February 2025

Disclaimer: This is purely a trial-and-error method that worked for me. If this doesn’t work for you, please don’t give up. It might take some time for you to discover what works best for you but it is important to keep trying. There are other grounding techniques that could help you. Just keep going—I promise you there is light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dark it feels right now.