Veteran's Day Special: Fragrances and Curing Depression/PTSD

My cooking crew in the Army. I am at the bottom left. Photo Credit: Julia Mathis Ebenboeck

Hey guys. Today is Veteran's Day. A day to celebrate everyone who has served in the US Military. I served myself from 2005-2013. This is going to be part of my story of how fragrances helped me with PTSD and depression and hopefully how they can help you if you struggle as well.

During my 8 years in the military, I did a tour in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. I won't go into detail as to what happened, but it took it's toll on me mentally for years. From being afraid of a simple Coca-Cola can in the road to hating fireworks. From paranoia of crowds to thunderstorms. They all stressed me out. Anything that was loud or reminiscent of things that happened there. It put me in a deep depression. Always worrying about what happens next.

It started getting better with time, but it was never completely gone. That is until I found fragrances. They took me to a better place. Instead of taking me back to the smell of smoke and carbon they could take me to a beach with the smell of the salty air and a fruity drink. They could take me to a forest with such intense smells that I could hear the mosquitoes buzzing. They could take me to a coffee shop with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the first taste to wake you up in the morning. They could take me a mountain top with the mineral smells of a rock baking under the hot southern sun overlooking the Blue Ridge forest. They could take me on a hayride in the fall, with that first taste of cool crisp autumn air after a hot summer. Also, memories of campfires, snow, marshmallows, and scrumptious sweet food. They could take me anywhere...away from the memories.

Was it a crutch? Perhaps. It helped me get started into fragrances. It soothed me. It helped give my mind a break. It allowed me to overcome. Well, fragrances and some Jesus.

Thankfully these two things had my back. Now I am much better than I was. It does rear its ugly head every now and then, but I have some backup now.

Fragrances are strong emotional tools. They can put you in a better place. They can help you free your mind and focus on better things. It's a step by step process of replacing one negative thing with something positive. Day by day it gets better. Before long you notice the change and you work harder because you know you can get better. You can do it.

I think fragrances are a viable solution to help with depression. I know everyone is different and it won't work for everyone, but it did for me. Now, I enjoy fragrances even more now, even though I don't use them for that anymore. It started me on a road of passion and I didn't even realize it at the time. I am super thankful to all of the content creators and friendly people in the Facebook groups who helped me learn and grow. They say Veteran's Day is for veterans. Well, I say this Veteran's Day is for you kind folks. From a veteran, thank you.

Tomorrow I am going to post a fragrance list of some that helped me during this time. So, stay tuned and hit that blue follow button if you want to support me. It is greatly appreciated!

Let me know your stories in the comments and if you agree or diagree. Feel free to PM me on Facebook if it's private or shoot me an email on here! Have a fantastic day everyone!