Professor Ilona Croy, of the Technische Universität, Dresden, and Professor Barry C Smith, Director of the Institute of Philosophy, University of London came together with AbScent’s Chrissi Kelly to learn how smell and mood are closely linked. Here’s a short summary of some of the points they covered.
It’s still an area of research interest, but it’s recognised that the olfactory channel feeds directly into the emotional brain and this physical link could explain our emotional connection to smell. It’s seems to be a two-way street, so someone who has depression may have a reduced sense of smell, and someone with a reduced sense of smell can be more vulnerable to depression.
Our sense of smell is entwined with so much of our experience of the world. It is how we enjoy food, it helps us avoid hazards and is so much part of what makes us social animals. There have been a number of studies where participants’ emotional response has been linked to their ability to smell. Even intimacy is affected by what you smell, and anosmia has been shown to have a negative effect on personal confidence.
Smells often provoke a strong emotional response. Odours are very rarely received as neutral, people always have an opinion and they are not afraid to voice it! Sometimes it’s a happy memory, but if you have an altered sense of smell - parosmia - that response could be disgust. Dealing with disgusting odours on a daily basis is wearing, and not smelling them at all leaves you a real sense of loss.
Talking about loss is important to come to terms with it, but it can be difficult for others to understand and empathise. We don’t have the language to communicate this sensory impairment. To other people, it doesn’t stop us being able to do anything so it’s hard to understand what the problem is. But the reality is that olfactory disorders severely impact the way we experience daily life.
Another common emotion in people with smell disorders is anxiety. The fear that you may be missing a hazard that can cause you harm can be constant. From personal hygiene, to eating something rotten, to not noticing the smell of gas; suddenly the world is full of potentially harmful situations you can’t protect yourself from.
Disappointment is another common negative emotion, and Barry and Ilona agreed that this is one of the most difficult things for people with smell disorders to deal with. The process of recovering your sense of smell is often devalued because it’s not perceived as the same, or as good as before. A patient may technically have a good sense of smell, but because things are perceived differently, it doesn’t feel good. Recovery never happens in a straight line and a minor set-back can feel like a real blow.
With all these different elements in the mix, the impact on well-being is a complex picture and it’s no surprise it can leave you feeling low. Accepted therapies for managing low mood and depression will help, and anyone who has been feeling unusually low for a long time should talk to their doctor. For many people, time and being kind to yourself, will bring you through these difficult days. Talking to others with the same experience is strongly recommended too. Coming to terms with a different way of experiencing the world around you is not easy, but you will not always feel so bad about it.
As Chrissi describes it, recovering from smell loss is like emigrating to a new country. At first, everything is strange and difficult, but as you start to become more familiar with your new surroundings you gain confidence and enjoy life once more. Accepted, it’s not where you started from, but it’s made for a richer life experience and it’s part of what makes you who you are today.
You can see the whole discussion here. For more information and support about low mood and depression, please go to the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/low-mood-and-depression/
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Nerves take time to heal. Depending on the damage, this could be two months or it could be two years, or even longer. No one can predict how long recovery will take or how completely you will recover. But we do have evidence that smell training helps.
Doctors recommend that you commit to smell training for a minimum of four months, but training longer, with variation in the scents used, will bring greater benefit.
Olfactory nerves are the wiring between the nose and the brain. They can get damaged by something as ordinary as a cold, or as traumatic as a knock to the head. The good news is that olfactory nerves repair themselves.
With any injury, recovery can take time but smell training can help speed up the process. Just like a broken leg needs physiotherapy to build up strength, so does your nose. Smell training is physiotherapy for your nose.
Everyday, take the four fragrances and sniff each in turn. Just lots of short, light, little sniffs - we call them bunny sniffs - just taking air into your nose. Spend about 20 seconds on each smell.
You may not see an improvement for many weeks, so it’s helpful to keep a note of how you get on so you can see the progress, however small.
Progress might also be the way you feel about your sense of smell. Smell and emotions are closely linked and people living without a sense of smell are more likely to experience low mood or depression.
No, you can assemble your own kit and any fragrance will do. AbScent’s Original Smell Training Kit has been formulated to replicate the aromas used in the original scientific studies into the effectiveness of smell training. Lemon, Rose, Eucalyptus and Clove were the fragrances selected for the trial and we have blended those four fragrances in a way that will remain stable over time.
All proceeds from AbScent’s Original Smell Training Kit go straight back to the charity to help people living with smell disorders.
No, any fragrance will do. There is no evidence that essential oils are more effective than other fragrances. Even herbs or spices from your kitchen can be used for smell training. Remember, we don’t use the scents because there is something special about them. We use them to stimulate your sense of smell.
It’s helpful to have a smell that you know you can rely on to remain stable over several months. That way you know the changes are in what you can smell, rather than changes in the fragrance.
If your olfactory nerves have been damaged, it’s possible that you won’t go back to smelling things as you did before. Thinking about the leg injury again, imagine having a scar where you’ve hurt yourself. . Smell training can help you heal, even if your sense of smell does not recover 100%.
The earlier you start training the better. You may be concerned that you can’t smell anything at all when you go to sniff your jars of scent. Remember that smell training is not only about the sniff. It’s the thinking about the smell that is also part of the exercise. You’ll be engaging everything about your sense of smell from the tip of your nose up into the part of the brain that stores your memories and emotions.
If you constantly experience an unpleasant smell, or your favourite food suddenly smells like burnt rubber, you could be experiencing parosmia. This is a natural part of the recovery process as the nerves regenerate, but can last several weeks or be more persistent. Smell training will not help parosmia specifically, but it helps the regeneration process and could help you get back to smelling things normally more quickly. You can find out more about parosmia here.
Yes, Covid-19 is a viral infection and it’s common for people to lose their sense of smell following a virus. Studies on patients before Covid-19 have shown that smell training helps recovery. Watch our short video for more information.
In some cases, yes. If your head injury is less severe then it may help you. Starting as soon as possible after your injury gives you the best chance of recovery, but people who have not started smell training until some years later have also benefited. Smell training won’t hurt and your time investment is low, so everyone should be encouraged to give it a chance.
Studies have shown that 30 percent of people above the age of 75 have little or no sense of smell. Like all our physical abilities, what we don’t use, we lose. Smell training in older people has been shown to improve other abilities such as processing information and mental agility. A study also showed that smell training in a group of older people improved mood.
Nerves take time to heal. Depending on the damage, this could be two months or it could be two years, or even longer. No one can predict how long recovery will take or how completely you will recover. But we do have evidence that smell training helps.
Doctors recommend that you commit to smell training for a minimum of four months, but training longer, with variation in the scents used, will bring greater benefit.
Olfactory nerves are the wiring between the nose and the brain. They can get damaged by something as ordinary as a cold, or as traumatic as a knock to the head. The good news is that olfactory nerves repair themselves.
With any injury, recovery can take time but smell training can help speed up the process. Just like a broken leg needs physiotherapy to build up strength, so does your nose. Smell training is physiotherapy for your nose.
Everyday, take the four fragrances and sniff each in turn. Just lots of short, light, little sniffs - we call them bunny sniffs - just taking air into your nose. Spend about 20 seconds on each smell.
You may not see an improvement for many weeks, so it’s helpful to keep a note of how you get on so you can see the progress, however small.
Progress might also be the way you feel about your sense of smell. Smell and emotions are closely linked and people living without a sense of smell are more likely to experience low mood or depression.
No, you can assemble your own kit and any fragrance will do. AbScent’s Original Smell Training Kit has been formulated to replicate the aromas used in the original scientific studies into the effectiveness of smell training. Lemon, Rose, Eucalyptus and Clove were the fragrances selected for the trial and we have blended those four fragrances in a way that will remain stable over time.
All proceeds from AbScent’s Original Smell Training Kit go straight back to the charity to help people living with smell disorders.
No, any fragrance will do. There is no evidence that essential oils are more effective than other fragrances. Even herbs or spices from your kitchen can be used for smell training. Remember, we don’t use the scents because there is something special about them. We use them to stimulate your sense of smell.
It’s helpful to have a smell that you know you can rely on to remain stable over several months. That way you know the changes are in what you can smell, rather than changes in the fragrance.
If your olfactory nerves have been damaged, it’s possible that you won’t go back to smelling things as you did before. Thinking about the leg injury again, imagine having a scar where you’ve hurt yourself. . Smell training can help you heal, even if your sense of smell does not recover 100%.
The earlier you start training the better. You may be concerned that you can’t smell anything at all when you go to sniff your jars of scent. Remember that smell training is not only about the sniff. It’s the thinking about the smell that is also part of the exercise. You’ll be engaging everything about your sense of smell from the tip of your nose up into the part of the brain that stores your memories and emotions.
If you constantly experience an unpleasant smell, or your favourite food suddenly smells like burnt rubber, you could be experiencing parosmia. This is a natural part of the recovery process as the nerves regenerate, but can last several weeks or be more persistent. Smell training will not help parosmia specifically, but it helps the regeneration process and could help you get back to smelling things normally more quickly. You can find out more about parosmia here.
Yes, Covid-19 is a viral infection and it’s common for people to lose their sense of smell following a virus. Studies on patients before Covid-19 have shown that smell training helps recovery. Watch our short video for more information.
In some cases, yes. If your head injury is less severe then it may help you. Starting as soon as possible after your injury gives you the best chance of recovery, but people who have not started smell training until some years later have also benefited. Smell training won’t hurt and your time investment is low, so everyone should be encouraged to give it a chance.
Studies have shown that 30 percent of people above the age of 75 have little or no sense of smell. Like all our physical abilities, what we don’t use, we lose. Smell training in older people has been shown to improve other abilities such as processing information and mental agility. A study also showed that smell training in a group of older people improved mood.