Olfactotherapy: On The Effects Of Odors On The Human Psyche - Self-development

Despite all the civility, we remain a part of the animal world, and our animal part is strong. Smell is an evolutionarily ancient and basic sense organ necessary for survival. The impact of odors on the human psyche is still strong and uncontrollable. What is olfactotherapy?

The male butterfly can sense the female several kilometers away. Why are we worse?..

When we breathe, the smell penetrates directly into the body, enters the brain and begins to affect it. These are basic, primitive processes in the body that cannot be controlled by consciousness and will - the evolutionary new cortex of the cerebral hemispheres. The smell can evoke a memory, remind of trauma, or, conversely, of something pleasant. It can change the emotional state, and the bodily one too.

Since ancient times, mankind has learned to use smells for various purposes:

• attract a partner,
• enter into an altered state of consciousness,
• become more active,
• relax,
• cheer up.

In addition to personal experiences and associations, each of us is a carrier of instinctive universal schemes. There is a so-called "olfactory code" - a universal effect of a particular smell. Therefore, based on the universal properties of fragrances, manufacturers of perfumery and cosmetic products can create relaxing bath foam, invigorating air freshener, aphrodisiac perfume.

Psychologists also began to use olfactotherapy (scent therapy) for their own purposes. For example, a scent can become a resource and change the psychophysiological state of a client for the better. Or it can awaken a long-standing repressed memory, which will help the client remember important events in the past.

The selected smell can tell a lot about the current state: what is happening to a person and what he needs. And this will be the deep truth, what is actually relevant, and not the client's speculative ideas about what is happening to him. “The body doesn't lie,” says the basic law of body-oriented psychotherapy. The body knows much more about our needs than consciousness.

The fragrance chosen by the client can speak of his need for relaxation, safety, grounding, activation, more adaptation, and regression. Thus, olfactotherapy and psychological work can be combined together.

Of course, the work of an olfactotherapist-psychologist requires preparation and tools: a palette of scents, both natural and chemical. And an isolated office so as not to disturb the neighbors. In this case, of course, the wider the palette of aromas, the better.

Who can a psychologist-olfactotherapist work with? And with adults, and with children, and with teenagers. The main thing is that he has professional training that allows him to work with this age.

Olfactory psychology helps to effectively bypass the client's resistance, because the effect of smell occurs at a deep level, regardless of our desires.

And, of course, this work takes place in an interesting form and with pleasure.

About the effect of odors on the human psyche and the work of the psychologist-olfactotherapist, see the 18th edition of "Dinner with Solovieva": a conversation with the olfactotherapist Anna Sivacheva.