Essential Oils For Grief, Transitioning and Letting Go

by | Essential Oils

Grief is a natural response to the loss of something or someone to which we have formed a bond or an attachment. It can also be the feeling of sorrow we experience with change we feel in a familiar pattern or behavior.

Usually death comes to mind when we think about grief, but in reality, we can have grief over many things – loss of a job, loss of a beloved pet, loss of friendships, moving to a new city, etc. The book entitled Necessary Losses by Judith Viorst is a classic reference on these topics.

Elizabeth Kubler Ross talks about the 5 stages of grief being:

  1. Denial
  2. Anger
  3. Bargaining
  4. Depression
  5. Acceptance

Everybody is an individual, so these stages and the order of the stages varies from one person to another.

The experience of grief can be excruciatingly painful. It can feel like a cannonball just passed through your gut. It’s postulated that there is such a thing as ‘grief resolved’. This means that the loss is still deeply recognized, but one is not stuck in the initial phase or suck in the feeling of ‘I can’t keep going’.

‘Let it hurt, let it bleed, let it heal and let it go’ ~ Nikkita Gill

There is no wrong way to try and heal grief. Grief is an energetic experience. There is a deeper subtle experience happening at the soul level. Some find comfort in connecting with nature or in their spirituality.

I personally love to connect with nature during periods of grief or transition.

This is why essential oils can be a powerful force in the healing process – energetically, emotionally and physically. When you use essential oils, you are interacting with plant essence.

In fact, I recorded a whole video on how essential oils can help us through the grieving process. Watch it below.

It’s interesting to note what particular part of the plant an essential oil comes from as this can make an impact on what it does with your body and how you connect on a soul level.

Here are some of my own experiences using essential oils for grief, loss, transition or change.

I resonate really well with Root Oils – I feel grounded, safe and centered when I work with Root or Wood Oils.

Imagine a blend made from flowers. It’s very sweet and floral. When I inhale this blend I personally feel it resonate it in my heart.

Note: if what I share doesn’t resonate with you and you feel it in a different part of your body then please honor that – everyone is individual.

Essential Oils For Grief

Below I’ll list the essential oils from particular parts of a plant and how they can help in the grieving or transitioning period.

Flower Oils

Lavender, Jasmine, Roman Chamomile, Ylang Ylang

When to use: When you need to get out of a dark place, the sweet scent of a flower oil can help you get there. Lavender is known to be an emotional balancer and I recommend this as a starter oil.

Resin Oils

Frankincense, Myrrh

When to use: When you are feeling wounded or beaten up. Resins also have properties to help heal physical cuts.

Historically resins are used in meditation practices and rituals.

Citrus Oils*

Bergamot, Orange, Lemon

When to use: When you need to inject an uplifting and refreshing approach to life and help heal a dark and heavy feeling – the cloud of dread or hopelessness that often is attached to grief.

These oils are also good for the ‘letting go’ phase and releasing anxious feelings.

*Read Safety Guidelines here about using citrus oils as they can be photosensitive.

Wood Oils

Cedarwood, Sandalwood

When to use:  When you need something to help you feel strong, maintain your core strength and hold it all together.

Root Oils

Spikenard, Vetiver, Ginger

When to use: When you need to feel grounded and centered. These oils help anchor you just as the roots anchor the plant to the soil.

Leaf Oils

Basil, Mint, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Spearmint, Rosemary, Melaleuca

When to use: When you feel you need to breathe in new life. Leaves are the respiratory system of the plant. Sometimes colds and respiratory problems manifest themselves from leftover emotions that we need to get out of our system.

Cone Oils

Cypress, White Pine

Cones serve as a symbol of enlightenment. Oils from a cone can be used when you want to connect with what is lost and help let go.


Examples of how you can use the essential oils in your healing process:

If you don’t want to blend your own essential oils, doTERRA has created an Emotional Aromatherapy System with blends addressing different emotions:

If you want to know more about these particular oils, please contact me here.

*If you are new to essential oils, please read the guidelines here. Citrus oils can be photosensitive. Use carrier oils for topical essential oil application.

Source: Aromatic Wisdom Podcast by Liz Fulcher.

Lindsey Victoria

Lindsey Victoria

Lindsey is the author of A Life Well-Balanced, a lifestyle blog dedicated to helping people live a more balanced life – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

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