One in ten women suffer from endometriosis (also called ‘endo’) – and I know the pain well, as I have suffered from it. It is a mysterious and often misunderstood condition that the mainstream medical system doesn’t really have an answer for, which is exasperating at times because it can feel so debilitating for so many women. It can often leave women feeling isolated and misunderstood.
What science does know about it is that it is where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes (though it can end up anywhere). Its symptoms can include pelvic pain – in your abdomen, or back – as well as severe period pains and pain during or after sex. So, if you’re suffering with these symptoms, and struggling to find answers, this could be a possible cause.
My own journey of being diagnosed took about ten years because I had suffered from symptoms for a long time that didn’t make sense to anyone – including painful bladder symptoms similar to cystitis (my endometriosis was on my bladder). I remember feeling so incredibly frustrated that no one had any answers. The good thing about frustration is it can lead us to keep learning for ourselves – and so I took to self-healing – and I did also find a good doctor who understood the condition as well as anyone could.
What I learned along the way was that essential oils can be really supportive in helping us to heal and relieve the pain – and the mental/emotional challenges of feeling so alone in it. So, I thought, today, I’d offer some blends for both easing the pains of endometriosis, and also for the mental-emotional challenges we can feel as we are so misunderstood in our mystery.
A deeper root cause
Before I do, I want to offer a new perspective for you to ponder your worldview – you can take it or leave it, but this article doesn’t feel complete without it. As I deepened into my journey with endometriosis over the years I learned, from my studies of the science and art of holistic healing, that there’s a deeper root cause of endometriosis that may not be understood by allopathic medicine. I began to notice how our bodies will manifest physical symptoms to bring deeper underlying energetic patterns to our attention. One of the most common physical ailments I see women struggle with is their wombs and their cycles and rhythms, and I believe that this is due to our femininity being shamed in a world that prefers a masculine yang.
As women, we are cyclical beings, just like the moon, yet we are so disconnected from our natural rhythms, with things like the pill, or just pushing through our body’s pains at our bleed so that we can keep up with the world. I believe that this is the deeper cause of endometriosis. In my view, female physical symptoms are often a silent call from our bodies to us busy, productive women to slow down, embrace our true femininity and come more into harmony with what we are designed for (aka to be more ‘yin’ and soft and tender). This harsh, busy, chaotic world conditions us to ‘do more’ and our bleed can feel like a hindrance to ‘keeping up’ – yet, we weren’t designed to be constantly in ‘go’ mode. If you are struggling with endometriosis, I invite you to read the book ‘Wild Power’, by Sjanie Hugo-Wurlitzer and Alexandra Pope, and come into deeper harmony with your cycle; it could well be life-changing. You can also read our previous article on Menstrual Pain which talks about this more. Of course, we can also use our essential oils to support our journey with endo, so let’s dive into those now.
Essential oils for endometriosis pain
Let’s begin on a functional level – because the most challenging thing we can experience with this debilitating-feeling set of symptoms is pain. Period pains, painful sex, painful ovulation – any kind of pain – can be really difficult to cope with, and yet essential oils can be really powerful.
When we are in pain, we can become tense and tight. Magnesium is really powerful for tension and cramps, so it’s worth including that with your essential oil blends, because it’s a great way to relax your painful endo symptoms.
Blend 1 – Magnesium Salt Bath Ritual
Measure 1 cup of Magnesium/Epsom Salts. Mix 15ml Bath oil with 3 drops Rose, 3 drops Clary Sage, and 1 drop Clove, then add to the salts and mix thoroughly. Draw a bath, and add your aromatic salts to the warm running water, allowing them to dissolve in the bath fully. Close down any distractions (turn off your phone, close the blinds, etc) and allow yourself to relax there for 15-30 minutes.
I’d actually recommend not just using this as a ‘therapeutic’ pain reliever for the times when you are in pain but extend this ritual for your whole cycle. Try this ritual once a day for 30 days, if you’ve not tried it before, because magnesium is so powerful as a pain reliever for these kinds of symptoms, but if you’re low on magnesium it can take a while to build up. If you notice any ‘tingling’ with this ritual, that can be a sign you are low on magnesium, so keep going.
As well as a bath, It can also be really soothing to tenderly and gently massage your womb when you’re in pain – especially if you are on your bleed, so I’d also recommend creating a regular oil to use each day. Our wombs get very little attention, and yet if we begin to give them some love and care, and actually listen to them – maybe even asking them what they are letting us know with our pain (as crazy as that might feel) – we can often reveal more about our body’s needs. So often we will bypass subtle little whispers from our body that are saying “slow down” – and our wombs can begin to communicate with us on that. So, let’s try this next blend to begin womb healing.
Blend 2 – Womb Healing Massage Ritual
Find a 100ml bottle to put this blend in and add 10ml of Castor Oil and 90ml of Grapeseed Oil. Blend in 15 drops Jasmine, 10 drops Lavender and 5 drops Geranium and mix well. You can use this blend every day, rubbing tenderly into your abdomen in a clockwise direction, to soothe any pain, and also to begin opening a dialogue with your body. You could ask “womb, what are you wanting to let me know? Show me.”
My advice is to try these blends, even if it’s just for a ‘therapeutic’ method of pain relief. If they feel ‘weird’, stay open to anything being revealed.
Essential oils for mental/ emotional challenges of being misunderstood
Of course, one of the things that rarely anyone talks about with endo is the mental and emotional side effects it can have. Being in constant pain can make us feel depressed and anxious – and being completely misunderstood (I was often called ‘lazy’ and asked if I wanted to just avoid work!) can feel really isolating and lonely. Struggling to ‘keep up’ with a busy world can trigger feelings of being ‘invalid’ and not ‘good enough’ and can really knock our confidence.
And whilst it’s easy for me to say now that we sensitive souls who have endo just weren’t born to fit into a fast-paced culture like this, that’s because I’ve been in a ten-year initiation of learning that my ancient soul just doesn’t suit the modern world. I’ve made peace with that – and I now know it makes me no less ‘valid’ – it’s just that the world isn’t adapted for women like me (or women in general, you could argue!).
So, I know, that it’s going to feel a bit of a struggle and like we aren’t ‘enough’ in society when we are stuck in the same 4 walls in our home, in pain – and I want to offer some blends to help you begin to heal that.
Firstly, it’s important not to beat ourselves up; to know we are worthy and that we are good enough. It’s likely we just have different gifts to others. Women with endo often make good healers, guides and teachers to others going through pain, for example. They make good listeners, good at empathising, good at being with their bodies. They often go on to be the healers of the world. This pain you’re experiencing might just be an initiation into a different type of purpose – and a softer way of living – for you.
Here is a blend to help you begin to face the changes and transitions you are going through into a new way of being – a softer, more Feminine one. This blend is one that can help lift your mood, help you feel less depressed and open you to your deeper direction and more meaning.
Blend 3 – Emotional Support Diffusion Ritual
Add 3 drops Patchouli, 2 drops Bergamot and 1 drop Sweet Orange to water in an electrical diffuser or candle burner and diffuse into the room for 30 minutes whilst journaling as below.
I love to invite women into a practice of free flow journalling each morning to help them begin to navigate their emotions. We often leave so little time in our lives to truly tune in to how we feel emotionally (or physically), so with this blend, I invite you to really spend 15 minutes each morning just writing anything that comes into your mind. In particular, you could focus on noticing what your physical sensations are, and what the pain of endo has you feeling. Getting honest with ourselves can be healing – but go tenderly into this one. If any thoughts come up that feel ‘negative’ it’s helpful to question “is this true?” and remember, we have been conditioned to think we should be fully ‘on’ all the time. If anything comes up for you, you’re so welcome to reach out to me.
Essential oils for cyclical harmony
Finally, we’ve talked about this in other articles, but I just wanted to offer a reminder that essential oils can really help balance our hormones and get us back into harmony with our feminine cycles and rhythms. This is so important in a world which has become disconnected from the feminine – perhaps with the pill, or other hormonal suppressants. I know for many women with endo we are told to go on the pill, and there’s no shaming that if that’s working for you (it could be worth consciously working with someone holistic if you’re feeling called to trial other ways). And, that said, it can still be serving to find a sense of connection to the natural seasons we have within our bodies.
Our natural cycle will often look something similar to this (though no one is identical, so the invitation is to begin to notice your own seasons):
- Inner Spring – Days 6-11 – rising energy, mood beginning to lift, more confidence
- Inner Summer – Days 12-19 – vibrant and alive, confident, energetic
- Inner Autumn- Days 20-26 – less energy, needing to slow down,’ wild no’ to things you don’t want
- Inner Winter – Days 27-5 – tender and soft, low energy, need to surrender
My advice, if you’re just beginning with noticing this, is to match an essential oil to the season and work with it for a week. These essential oils spring to mind to work with to help you embody the energy within your own body:
Blend 4 – Cycle Harmony Ritual
Begin each day by tuning in and noticing which ‘day’ you are in of your cycle, really witnessing the nuance of how your energy is – perhaps on day 19 you’re already in Autumn, or on day 24 you’re already in winter. According to whichever season you are, choose the matching oil, and add 5 drops into your diffuser, to embody whichever ‘season’ your body is in! Try this for a full cycle, noting down any physical sensations or mental and emotional feelings that arise, and note down what shows up in a journal each day! It’s a great cycle tracking exercise and may reveal where you aren’t matching your body’s true needs and desires.
Wherever you are in your journey of endo, know that you’re not alone – and that essential oils can be deeply healing.
Happy blending.
Nicole Barton
Consultant Aromatherapist
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