In this fast-paced world, it’s not unlikely for a lot of people to experience physical as well as mental stress. If left uncontrolled, doctors say, all sorts of health issues may strike — from diabetes, heart disease to anxiety.

Unfortunately, we cannot simply turn our backs on our everyday duties and responsibilities in the workplace and also at home. But the good news is it’s very much possible for us to deal with stress. There are in fact so many ways to your stress levels to a minimum — you can listen to calming music, take a soothing bath, hit the day spa and get a full-body massage, watch TV sitcoms, go to the gym and pump iron, perform guided meditation.

Then it’s also possible for you to apply a little calming balm under your nose, on your temples, wrist or even chest. Especially when paired with other stress-relieving activities such as doing yoga or taking slow, deep breaths you can rest assured that it won’t take long before your stress levels go from a hundred to almost zero.

So where can you buy this calming balm? You don’t buy it — you make it!

This DIY product is actually based on a popular brand of sleep balm. It is tweaked a little so that it can help you calm down rather than fall asleep so that it can be a more versatile product, the kind that you can use no matter if it’s just 10 in the morning or already 10 in the evening.

In making this homemade calming balm from scratch, you need to get your hands on a few essential oils. Living a stressful life? Then it’s a wonderful idea for you to have some essential oils within your reach. According to scientists, there are essential oils that can actually help soothe your tired body and frayed mind — taking a whiff of them can help bring down the levels of stress hormones coursing to your bloodstream.

Commonly, essential oils are used with the help of burners or diffusers — it’s perfect if you want to fill your room with the smell of the essential oil of your choice. It also enables you to fill the air with your proprietary blend of essential oils that perfectly suits your taste, lifestyle and needs.

Essential oils can also make a difference even without you investing in a burner or diffuser. Most of the time, you simply have to uncap a bottle of it, take it closer to your nose, close your eyes, and start taking slow and deep breaths.

Making your very own calming balm of course eliminates issues such as accidentally dropping a bottle of essential oil (which doesn’t really come cheap) or drenching other items in your purse with it. A calming balm lets you take advantage of the stress-reducing properties of essential oils without leaving you stressed should an essential oil mishap strikes.

Here’s the simple calming balm recipe:

Ingredients:

• 20 drops of lavender essential oil
• 11 drops of fir essential oil
• 10 drops of red mandarin essential oil
• 7 drops of ginger essential oil
• 6 drops of rose geranium essential oil
• 5 drops of frankincense essential oil
• 5 drops of rosemary essential oil
• 3 drops of chamomile essential oil
• 16 grams of shea butter
• 16 grams of safflower oil
• 7 grams of beeswax

Directions:

1. With the use of a double boiler, melt shea butter, safflower oil and beeswax all at the same time.
2. Remove from heat once melted.
3. Stir in essential oils without delay — the mixture of shea butter, safflower oil and beeswax hardens at room temperature.
4. Pour into a 30 ml tin and let cool to room temperature before using.