Do you recommend lavender oil for the treatment of anxiety in your practice?

As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I am more conservative when considering treatments for children vs. adults. Lavender oil is approved for use in Germany but has no FDA approval in the US. In the studies on lavender oil, there has been evidence of benefit. The problem in the US is that it is m...

I have just begun to use lavender oil, as produced by the supplement maker Nature’s Way, called Calm Aid. Its mechanisms of action have similarities to many conventional medications, such as serotonin 1A agonism. It was helpful for a patient in his early 40s with GAD, who was also on Trintellix with...

I have been using Silexan, a proprietary form of lavender oil that has been shown in clinical trials to be effective for anxiety, for a few years. The brand I use is Calm Aid and I titrate the dose to 160 mg. It takes at least two weeks to become effective, with the best effect after a couple of mon...