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The Reason I Gave Up on Essential Oils

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As a family medicine physician who spent most of her twenties with sick people, I feel qualified to comment on state of modern medicine and how my submersion into the world of natural health and essential oils over the last few years has opened my eyes to so much that I never knew.

Very early in my career as a physician, I developed a love/hate relationship with pharmaceuticals.  Sometimes they were life-savers. Most times, they caused more problems than they helped.  Certainly, I realized pretty quick that someone who takes 10 (not uncommon in my neck of the woods in someone over 50) prescription drugs in a day does not usually feel very well. Not to mention how prescription drug abuse has devastated the county where I live in East Tennessee.  So began my quest to stop or wean as many medications as I could from as many patients as I could.  People felt better, often got their energy and their passion and their lives back.  And since doctors are trained to prescribe medication above all else, by the time I quit, I was basically an anti-doctor, feeling very out of place in the profession I spent so much time training for.

And to be honest, from the beginning, I was the health care professional who never took antibiotics and tried to take as little of anything as I could.  I can still count on one hand the number of times I’ve had my kids to a doctor’s office or on any type of pharmaceutical.  Somewhere deep in my subconscious was a healthy skepticism toward the system—the system that is amazing at keeping us alive (and I’m very thankful for that) but not very good at keeping us healthy and thriving.

I wanted something different for myself and my own family than what I saw at work day in and day out. 

After I quit my job, I continued to be fascinated with health and nutrition and natural ways to stay well.  I was also saddened by the declining state of health care and the declining state of our overall health—despite our obsession with it, despite the fact that there’s a drug store on every corner, and despite the fact that though  we spend more money than every other country on health care, we don’t seem to be thriving in the wellness arena.  We seem to be getting sicker and sicker and more dependent on the system.

Honestly, when I got my first set of essential oils, I did it mostly to prove to myself (and to my friend who convinced me to buy the kit!) that it was just another fad.  I kept the box of oils in my china hutch, stored away under lock and key like you would store Grannie’s heart medication. Occasionally I’d go to the trouble to drag the box out, open up a few bottles, rub some lavender on my skin and then put the whole thing away, all the while saying to myself.  “It’s all hype, just like I thought.”

I basically gave up on them after having that box in my house for almost a year, thinking it was just a box of things that smelled good.

Then.  Something changed.  I went to a conference where I saw some of my friends carrying little bags  in their purses full of small cute bottles, and applying them multiple times a day, all the while giggling and happy and sharing them freely with others.  I did a double take and realized that I had those same oils back home in my china hutch, standing on the ready for the next yard sale.

The problem with essential oils is that we view them like medicine, which they are not.  We’re afraid of them, not sure what to do with them, and sure that we’ll do something dangerous like overdose on them or use them in the wrong combination.

Here’s the honest truth. After two years of finally using them as they’re intended to be used, (more like food than medicine) I can tell you that I could never go back to life before oils and I could never practice medicine in the same way either.  Why? Because I’ve had life changing results and now I know too much. I know that for 90% (or more) of what ails us, there’s a much easier and way safer answer than pharmaceuticals, beginning with nutrition and removing the worst toxins from our daily life. I also know that essential oils will balance everything from hormones to mood to skin to immunity to digestion and on and on and on. I’m so thankful for my medical training but I’m even more thankful that I didn’t stop being willing to keep learning, even if that has meant relearning much of what I was taught.

The reason most people fail to have the same results as I eventually did when they start using oils is because they’re scared of actually using them.  

And perhaps rightly so. All oils are not created equal and I wouldn’t trust my health or that of my family’s to any company but Young Living.

But, using oils is more like eating fruits and vegetables than taking a medicine.  Can you eat grapes with apples and oranges at the same sitting? Sure.  Can you eat cauliflower in the same day or at the same meal that you eat broccoli and swiss chard. Of course. Will everything be okay if you have twelve different fruits and vegetables in one day? Absolutely. Things will be better in fact!

Those nutrients were made by God for our benefit and because He made them, they know what to do in our bodies. You don’t have to understand the chemistry of how Vitamin B works to get the benefits of it.  But you do have to eat foods rich in it and eat them often.

The same with oils.  There’s very little you can do wrong with pure grade oils and SO MUCH you can do right.

Once you try therapeutic grade oils and once you know how to use them, you will never go back to not using them.  I promise.

You just need a guide to help you.

Which is why I’ve spent the last two years teaching people how to use them.

And why I created a course to get you started with more confidence.

The best news is— this week only, my essential oils course is part of an amazing natural health bundle where you get $400 worth of educational products and courses for $29, which is $10 cheaper than my course alone. It’s almost too good to be true! AND. If you purchase the bundle through my link, you’ll get a pdf and a (slightly dorky) video of me showing you exactly how I use essential oils everyday to feel better and more energized than I have in years. I think you’ll find it fascinating if you’ve always wondered what people do with those little colorful bottles.

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Maybe you’re like I was? Too paralyzed and full of questions to really use the oils you bought. I created this course with us in mind.

Or maybe you feel guilty about the box of oils that’s been sitting in your house that you’ve been afraid to really use? This bundle is for you and will give your  the knowledge and confidence to finally make the purchase worthwhile.

Have you been on the fence, wondering if the oils would work for you and your specific situation? They will. And there has never been a better time to arm yourself with a library of resources.

Do you see the writing on the wall and realize that we must do something to start taking charge of our own health? This course will give you the confidence you need to take the first steps. You are going to LOVE the way these natural oils balance everything in your life. They are by far the best investment I’ve ever made for my health.

A sample of other things you get in the bundle:

  • 101 Essential Oil Blends for Topical & Aromatic Use by Rachel Zupke of Mason Jar Values ($7.99)
  • Best Herbs & Essential Oils For Labor & Delivery-Audio Class & Transcript by Jenni Wilson of Natural Oil Mom ($19.95)
  • Handbook of Home Remedies by Wellness Mama ($24.00)
  • Herbs & Oils: Beyond the Basics by Jessie Hawkins of Vintage Remedies ($165.00)
  • Homegrown Healing, from Seed to Apothecary by Chris Dalziel of Joybilee Farm ($9.97
  • Wholistic Vitality: Healing Foods for the Whole Family by Dr. Karen Lee of DrKarenSLee.com ($9.99)
 If you click this link or the yellow box below, you can see a short video I made about the bundle!

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(The bundle sale starts today and will only be available for one week and likely never again, so snatch it up before it’s too late!)

Also, if you happen to click before then, you will submit your email and then they’ll notify you when the sale starts. OR. You can just come back and click the link after 9:30.)

(And if you haven’t yet used essential oils and would like to begin using them AS you learn, I’d be honored to have you in my group! Click here to get your oils purchased. We have lots of fun, learning together and sharing our answers with each other.)

If you purchase the bundle sale, come back and add your email address to the form below so we can send you your bonuses next wee!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tammy says

    I’m interested to read your thoughts on essential oils, since you have a medical background 🙂 I do have oils sitting in my cabinet and I have been nervous to over use them— but it’s because ive seen in a close friend some negative effects of overuse. This friend got into oils and she was diffusing daily, using YL shower products, cleaning products, and oils topically. She developed a hypersensitivity to many common ingredients in foods and products after months of using the oils. She gets major rashes on her face and body and serious face swelling now if she comes into contact with one of these things that used to never give her problems.

    Thoughts?

    Reply

    • Jewel says

      Reading your comment made me shudder. I am going through the same thing right now. It started with a reaction to Frankincense, but I haven’t used it or any other oil in almost 4 months now and I still have excruciating rashes all over my body. They can’t find anything to suggest it’s a reaction to anything other than the oils.

      Reply

  2. J says

    Hi Edie, I followed the link to buy the bundle, but it took me to someone else’s site. Is the link malfunctioning or are you partnering with another vendor?

    Reply

  3. Mel says

    I had a severe reaction to oils. One that took 3 weeks of high dose steroids to overcome. I was told by 3 doctors not to use those particular oils now because I’ve developed a sensitivity. People in the EO community never want to hear about this and have even told me I was detoxing! Oils when used properly are amazing but most sellers aren’t educated. To balance your article I feel you need to tell both sides of the coin.

    Reply

  4. Maureen says

    I’m confused by the title of this post which says you gave up on essential oils. Did you mean when you stuck them in the cabinet for a year?

    Reply

    • Tonya says

      I basically gave up on them after having that box in my house for almost a year, thinking it was just a box of things that smelled good.

      Then. Something changed. I went to a conference where I saw some of my friends carrying little bags in their purses full of small cute bottles, and applying them multiple times a day, all the while giggling and happy and sharing them freely with others. I did a double take and realized that I had those same oils back home in my china hutch, standing on the ready for the next yard sale.

      Reply

  5. dj blalock says

    Could essential oils help with low hormones? I’ve had bloodwork done and been diagnosed, and would like to treat this as naturally as possible.

    Blessings!
    dj

    Reply

  6. Maaike Prins says

    Hi Edie,
    I LOVE your blog and I have been following it for years. Most recently I have been enjoying the Lentern Series – thank you of much for them!
    I’m writing because I have been exploring Essential Oils and like every good researcher, I’ve tired to remain unbiased and find the best company available to purchase my oils from.
    I recently came upon THIS blogpost which concerned me greatly.

    https://www.krystaltrammell.com/left-young-living-essential-oils/

    I wonder if you have read it, and if you have thoughts about whether these statements are true or not. IF they are, I am very cautious about purchasing from this company. I feel like I trust you and your honest opinions – so please do respond via email if you have time to send me a response.
    Every blessing, Maaike

    Reply

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