D
ana Dupont smiled as she introduced
herself to her table of customers. The
Portland, Oregon, mom was excited
to be working as a server in one of the top
restaurants in the country. But as she
began taking orders, her heart
started racing and she was
overwhelmed by panic.
Excusing herself, she hur-
ried back to the k itchen
and burst into tears.
Dana had been hav-
ing these unexplained
breakdowns for several
years. She’d be driving or
talking to a friend, and sud-
denly she’d go into panic mode.
Chalking it up to anxiety, she’d turned to
alcohol to calm her nerves...and begun
drinking regularly. But realizing that it was
doing more harm than good, she’d gotten
sober. But now, the daily meltdowns had
returned. I can’t go on this way. Dana wept.
But I can’t...I won’t...go back to drinking.A surprising balm
Dana didn’t k now where to turn. Then, one
day, a friend invited her to a class a friendAfter suffering with undiagnosed PTSD for years, Dana Dupont found
an essential oil that calmed her mind and put her on the road to healingGettywas hosting on using essential oils to man-
age emotions. At this point, Dana was will-
ing to try anything. I don’t see how this can
help, she reasoned. But it certainly can’t hurt!
During the class, the practitioner dis-
cussed a variety of oils touted to help
with a range of emotions, and at
the end of the session, Dana
shared the symptoms she’d
experienced with the instruc-
tor. “Is there an oil you think
can help me?” Dana asked.
“Vetiver oil,” the woman
said. Extracted from the root of
the vetiver plant, a tall perennial
grass grown in Southeast Asia, veti-
ver oil, she explained, is renowned for
promoting relaxation and mental balance.
And when Dana did some further
research, she learned that one study showed
the calming effects of vetiver oil were simi-
lar to the anti-anxiety drug diazepam, but
without the side effects.
Hopeful, Dana bought the oil (a 1-oz.
bottle costs as little as $5, and because it’s
diluted in a carrier oil, it can last for many
months). Dana mixed a couple of drops of
the vetiver oil with a few drops of coconutoil and carried the mixture with her in a
small container. The next time she felt a
panic attack coming on, she dabbed a little
on her neck. As she inhaled the woodsy fra-
grance, she felt an incredible sense of calm
instantly wash over her.
Amazed, Dana began using the elixir to
defuse tension, applying a few drops to her
wrists and solar plexus when she was facing
a particularly stressful day. On occasion, she
also wore a special oil diffuser necklace.
As her nerves calmed and her mind
cleared, Dana decided to see a therapist
and soon discovered the root cause of her
emotional episodes: severe PTSD, stem-
ming from a sexual assault in her teens and
a near-fatal car accident in her 20s. By com-
bining the calming oil with therapy sessions,
today, the 45-year-old has reclaimed her life.
Dana is a happy mom to her son, 13, and
studying to get a master’s in nutrition.
“Before vetiver oil, I was in raw survival
mode,” says Dana, who still uses it to deal
with everyday stress. “Vetiver oil helped
me get my emotions under control and
get the help I needed...it put me on the
path to true hea ling! ” —Elisabeth DunhamShare your own inspiring story with us, and we’ll pay you $250 if we publish it! Read or heard someone else’s story you think belongs
in Woman’s World? Send it to us! If you’re the first to share it and we publish it, we’ll pay you $100! Email the story with your name and phone
number to: [email protected]. Or mail to: Scoop, Woman’s World, 270 Sylvan Ave., Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632.“Essential oils
are proven to
calm anxiety,
inf lammation
and pain!”
—Sara Gottfried,
M.D.We (^) pay
$ (^250)!
Eases back pain! Soaking for 20
minutes in a warm bath with 10 drops
of bergamot oil can cut backaches
by 50%, say Norwegian scientists.
Combining bergamot’s volatile oils
with warm water revs circulation and
flushes away pain-triggering toxins.
Soothes dry skin! Adding 3 drops
of myrrh essential oil to your favorite
lotion before applying provides true
healing for dry, itchy skin. Research
suggests the oil’s active ingredients
increase moisture retention and
cut skin inflammation.
Melts belly fat! Japanese research-
ers say taking six slow, deep sniffs of
rosemary oil (or the fresh/dried herb)
once every hour slashes cortisol pro-
duction, so liver and muscle cells can
quickly metabolize stored fatty acids
for fuel, melting belly fat 43% faster.
3 ways essential oils can help you feel great!
“An essential oil
changed my life!”
HEALTHY LIVING
“I feared I was
doomed to live
in emotional
agony, but now
I have hope!”
says Dana
24 4/13/20^ Woma n’s World