Have you ever had someone just totally come along and do your work for you? A writer for the New Yorker just did exactly that, and I’ve got to give a serious shout-out to my friend Basia for passing it on to me.

Rachel Monroe, in the October 9th issue of the New Yorker, wrote an article called “How Essential Oils Became the Cure for Our Age of Anxiety”. While I think I may have to argue the title, the article has everything I was looking to know about the essential oil industry, a lot of which are conclusions I had reached on my own that it was reassuring to have confirmed.

I’ve been diffusing essential oils for about a month now. My kids hate them. I can’t stand patchouli and eucalyptus smells like a cold. Cinnamon reminds me of stores that sell wicker and musty fake wreaths. Other than those, I’m pretty open. I have noticed that peppermint perks me up in the same way that chewing gum and toothpaste kind of wake up your mouth.

But I didn’t seek out essential oils to find a cure for anything, and I think that may be key. The quote that stands out to me from the article is from the husband of a woman who sells oils. He talks about how research into what essential oils do is not necessarily important or understood, because with his wife, and with most people, “what’s real to them is the experience they’re having”. The valid research out there is minimal, and the proven results marginal, but that’s not what you’ll hear from representatives from the two main essential oil companies. I’ll get to them. What I think is important is that there are different kinds of people in this world – and two very distinct kinds are those who continually seek and those who find.

EO (God, I didn’t want to use that but “essential oils” is a lot of typing) advocates are finders. The belief that something will work is sometimes as powerful as the actually mechanics of it that cause change – the old mind-over-matter. I happen to not believe that rubbing a few drops of grapefruit oil on my stomach is going to make my cramps go away, so, you know what? It’s not. There may be some truth to it – but I guarantee it’s not scientifically proven. What I’ll also guarantee is that if you concentrate on grapefruit oil really hard you’ll pay less attention to your cramps, and that, eventually, believe it or not, cramps go away. You can thank the grapefruit oil if you want, but these weren’t the same cramps you had in junior high, right? Separate set of cramps? See? They come and go independently of grapefruit.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m fascinated by natural remedies. When Ayla left the Clan of the Cave Bear and grew up to become a medicine woman/hunter/hero for all mankind, I was enthralled by her use of plants and herbs. But I don’t think they’re the be-all and end-all, and I don’t think we should imbue them with qualities they don’t possess. Please don’t tell people that EO’s are going to cure their cancer. That’s just fucking mean. I’ll buy that they may mitigate some of the symptoms of cancer. But the minute someone who markets an unregulated product as a cure or a treatment they are crossing a line.

Because we are living in an age of anxiety. And I would posit that EO’s are dealing with anxiety in the same way that they deal with cancer – by addressing symptoms instead of the disease. Sure, I can breathe some rosemary if I’m blue, and maybe every now and then that’s fine, but if I’m blue every day then I ought to figure out why I’m blue. I can diffuse lavender to help myself sleep, or I can address what’s keeping me up at night. I can rub bergamot on my stomach for indigestion – or I can change my damn diet.

In some ways, EO’s may perpetuate anxiety. I have a friend who has been suggesting that I purchase EO’s from her, and she wrote me a letter explaining why I needed to do this. Did you know that 95% of cancers are caused by environmental factors? Like products in our homes? Of course I care about my children and myself – why would I expose us to these things? I should start making these products out of essential oils. I need these oils!

What I don’t need is one more thing in this world telling me I’m inadequate. We face enough pressure and scrutiny as moms, as women, as people, without an added stressor, without another bar against which to measure ourselves. And this brings me back to the husband’s point – that the only thing that is real is one’s own experience. We all have different needs and notions, and we should all be allowed to seek and find on our own. My issue with EO’s is not the oils. It’s the companies. It’s something or someone telling us what we need or what we should experience. For something that’s supposed to be all natural, it seems pretty fucking contrived.

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