Mental Health Awareness Week

12th – 18th May 2025

It is Mental Health Awareness Week and with 34% of adults in the UK frequently experiencing extreme levels of stress, it is important that we talk about it. Despite short-term stress sometimes being beneficial (enhancing performance to meet a particular deadline), long-term stress can be detrimental to our mental health, contributing to the development of conditions such as anxiety and depression.

A 2018 study by YouGov also found that 37% of adults reported feeling lonely as a result of their stress; this is a reminder of the importance of community, which is this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme.

We know ways in which we are advised to manage stress, whether it be exercise, maintaining a healthy diet or getting enough sleep… But did you know that when used consciously, our sense of smell can help us manage stress? Here’s the scent tools you can use to do so:

Constructive

Rooted in the psychological process of classical conditioning, this is where an association is built between a scent and a positive coping strategy. For example, meditating may be something you find super calming. Whilst it is not always possible to do this at any given moment, having a particular scent there for you to smell every time you meditate can lead to smelling the scent alone having the same calming effect on you.

Grounding

Focusing your attention of what scent you can smell. This is a distraction method and works by disengaging your mind from stressful activity. This technique can be expanded on by focusing your attention on other senses too – what you can see, what you can hear, what you can touch, etc.

Disruptive

This involves the use of aromatherapy to create a more positive environment. For example, lavender is well known for its calming properties and is recommended to ease anxiety and improve sleep. Other scents reported to reduce stress include chamomile, sandalwood, vanilla, bergamot and citrus. Whether it is a scented candle, a diffuser or an essential oil applied to your pulse point, we encourage you to give this a try next time things feel overwhelming.

Would you like the opportunity to put the constructive scent tool to the test? Join our Mindfulness workshop on Thursday 15^th May – you can register on our Grow Academy registration page!

https://www.rhgconsult.co.uk/courses/mindfulness