Second Cruise, Baby! // Essential Oils for Sea Sickness and Nausea

In 2010,  I went on a cruise with Jeremy's family, where I had such a hard time with anxiety, sea sickness, and claustrophobia, that I vowed to never, ever go on a cruise again. I wanted to share my experience the second time for anyone out there who deals with sea sickness or anxiety (ask me how come I decided to go on a cruise again - that's a whole 'nother blog post involving faith, and bikram yoga, among others.) 

The cruise the second time was so much fun - I really enjoyed myself! But I know I wouldn't have been able to do it without help from these oils.

On my first cruise, I experienced nausea & vomiting, even though I had patches on. Additionally, I really disliked some not-so-fun side-effects from the patches - like blurred vision. I still threw up 3x on my first cruise with this medicine plus others. I knew that the second time around I was going to have to find something else. 

The following recommendations are based on my personal experience and ideal for someone who is looking for a safe, side-effect free, natural remedy for sea-sickness and anxiety.

Here are the Essential Oils I Used While Cruising:

Ginger - the chemical constituents in this oil can help disrupt the message our cell receptors send to our body, telling it to "throw up." {See this cool study here on how Ginger has been used for post-operative nausea.} I put it in a roller ball with fractionated coconut oil (has to be diluted, so this makes for easy application), carried it with me, and applied each time I felt symptoms (sometimes every 15 minutes, others every few hours). By the 3rd day, I rarely needed to apply (my body just kind of adjusted to my surroundings).

Peppermint Beadlets - these fancy little guys are just like a mint - a tiny bead that contains peppermint oil. I used these in tandem with the Ginger oil. They can help soothe and calm and relieve nausea, plus they are so easy to pop in my mouth - I love the convenience.


Balance - small spaces, new noises, rocking, tons of people, new environment, disaster drills - just a few things that caused my anxiety on the cruise. I used balance oil - it's so calming to me - the smell almost instantly calms my whole body and especially my mind. I kept this one with me in a roller ball as well for easy application.

Additional oils I used as needed:

Lavender Oil-  to help me calm down; it can help with 'fight or flight' feelings.
Coriander Oil- for when I felt dizzy.
Digestzen Oil - for my upset stomach from some of the "cruise food" (not the real food diet my body is used to...)
Terrazyme Digestive Enzymes - helps me digest food
Peppermint Oil - helps me with headaches
Past Tense - helps me with headaches from dizziness, tension, or eye stuff.

I applied many of these oils directly next to my ear because the cause of my sea sickness is an inner ear problem. Several people in our group never felt the boat move at all - must be nice!

Highly recommend the slide. 

Happy to report - I did not even get close to throwing up on my second cruise. Whenever I felt the urge coming on, it went away so quickly after using the ginger oil.

On my first cruise, I experienced little relief from anxiety and had several panic attacks due to claustrophobic feelings. This time around, oils helped me calm myself and overcome in the moments that I felt those feelings again on the second cruise.

I'm so passionate about Essential Oils because of the many benefits I have experienced in my life. If you want to learn more about essential oils or try a sample, let me know by commenting below, or you can visit my website to explore more on your own.

Self- Care (Pt. 1)

I have been learning quite a bit lately about what it means to really steward my body, to take care of it, to nourish it. I used to think that "self-care" meant being into myself... I accepted my sloppy habits, or lack of habits, because my mentality was that I need to be focused on everyone around me, not myself. Wrong-O.

I think that it felt to me as if it were shallowness. I don't want to be the person who spends hours everyday on her appearance and is always seen looking in the mirror. But perhaps I have been swinging the pendulum too far to the other side.


My curiosity about this whole topic was peaked as I sat across from a friend discussing essential oils. I had been doing some research, had a ton of questions, was super skeptical, and grilled her for about an hour. As she talked and we conversed, I realized that I had quite a few ailments in my life that I put up with on a daily-basis and had accepted as common-place. What do you do for headaches, she might ask.... Care to know? Nothing. How often do I get headaches? Almost daily. I began to look at my life, my health, and things jumped out at me like a flashlight had just been shone into the woods. Chronic digestive issues, anxiety, fatigue, the list goes on.

As you can probably guess, I got some essential oils - stat! I experienced great relief from my headaches and constant nausea! Then I met Wild Orange. Mixed with Peppermint, on the back of the neck, is the most invigorating feeling ever. I started using that frequently and found that my constant state of stressed-out-ness began to fade and overall I was much less anxious. I stepped back and realized that my M.O. was quite unhealthy, and I had ignored it like many other ailments, accepted as commonplace. 


You may have noticed my constant food posts lately as I have been doing the Whole 30 Program.  (Highly recommend it; post to come with more details!) I'm happy to say that this is the biggest step I have ever taken to put my health first, cure chronic problems, and say to everyone else and most importantly to myself, that self-care is so important. What we do to our bodies and put in them has great significance.

What self-care habits do you have in your life? Please share! 

-Amber

Want to learn more about using Essential Oils? Website // Email: hansenamber07@gmail.com