The Scent that Saved Me during my Son's Addiction

There are moments in life that divide everything into two chapters. The before and after! For me, that moment came when my son was struggling with an addiction to cocaine. As a mother, there is nothing that prepares you for watching your child disappear while they're standing right in front of you. Every phone call made my heart race. Every night I wondered if he was safe. Every morning began with the weight of fear before my feet even touched the floor. I wasn't sleeping, sometimes I felt that I wasn't breathing, I certainly was not living - I was simply surviving. When we carry someone we love through the trials and tribulations of addiction, we lose ourselves. This was the very thing that happened to me - I lost myself. I became my sons keeper, the mother of an addict, an addict myself (finding solace in my wine as I tried to unwind my mind). My body stayed in a constant state of fight or flight. My mind never stopped racing. Even when nothing was happening, it felt like everything was happening. 

I needed something that could help me find my way back - not by changing my circumstances, but by changing how my body responded to them. I met with a friend of our family who introduced me to the five second rule. Snap an elastic band on your wrist and count down from five (four, three, two, one) ... the frontal cortex of the brain resets and allows for a moment of perhaps clairty. Well, I was wearing out the elastic bands and the five second rule, it just did not hold long enough to be my shield. That is when my journey into scent (aromachology) began. Not perfume. Not fragrance. Pure Essential Oils.

It became clear how incredible the connection between aroma, the brain, emotion, and memory really was. I began studying aromachology at Tisserand, learning how certain aromas speak directly to the limbic system - the emotional centre of the brain. I discovered that scent could interrupt the endless cycle of stress, worry, and overwhelm, creating a small but powerful pause. That pause changed everything.

This is why I ask everyone to Pause. Breathe and then enter Nadurra. We all need a moments PAUSE.

During those difficult days, I created a blend that I reached for again and again and again. I decided to call it Anam (A-Num) Scottish Gaelic: Soul Balance. This blend of my powerful favourites Eucalyptus, Spearmint, Blood Orange, Cedarwood and Balsam Fir. With every inhale, I was reminded that hope still existed. I was able to breathe, truly breathe. And the linger of Balsam Fir gave me something strong and solid to hold onto when everything else felt uncertain. 

Anam wasn't created to smell beautiful. It was created to help me remember who I was beneath the fear. It reminded me that even when life feels overwhelming, our soul remains steady. It reminded me to breathe, to stand firmly on the earth beneath my feet. To find gratitude in moments that felt impossible. To become grounded again.

That simple ritual became part of my healing. Not because scent solved everything. I discovered that I could meet moments with my son and the demon he carried differently. With steadier breathing. With a quieter mind. With a nervous system that wasn't constantly preparing for disaster.

Today, Anam is still the first ritual I reach for when life feels heavy. It reminds me that wellness isn't about escaping difficult seasons, it is about finding small moments of peace within them. My belief in this and the power I know essential oils have is why Nadurra exists.

Every collection we create is inspired by an emotion, a need, or a moment in life that deserves gentleness. Whether you need calm, clarity, sleep, love, joy or simply a moment to come back to yourself... My hope is that these rituals help you the way they helped me.

Because sometimes healing doesn't begin with a grand gesture. Sometimes ... it begins with a single breath.

Much Love

Mel