Aromatherapy and Business networking

Huh-What?

Thinker
Huh-What?
Joined
May 6, 2005
Messages
153
This may be just a quick rant, but I wanted to tell someone who at least understands my skepticism.

I was invited to a business networking group and happily joined. At my third meeting the VP of the group gave her presentation. She was an aroma therapist. I squirmed in my chair for most of the presentation hoping I would not obviously roll my eyes. Her different products were a couple of ounces of essential oils in roll-on dispensers. Here are some of the claims that made me upset:

* A Tummy oil that rid you of nausea and stomach aches. "...it’s good for childbirth too." She mentioned cancer patients that buy this product to help with nausea.
* An oil that rids you of scars, she pointed at her own face to demonstrate two scars that she no longer had.
* Many oils for diabetics. Aimed at many of the conditions that ail diabetics, not the disease itself.

For the most part I tuned out what she was saying. The skeptic inside of me was like a rabid caged chimpanzee banging at its bars trying to crack my nodding and smiling facade.

The turmoil was between the business professional looking forward to networking with most of the group and the skeptic screaming inside of me who wanted some evidence other then anecdotal. I may be absent for her next presentation as I do not know if the skeptic inside me can be contained.
 
Massage is excellent for nausea, I find. And it's certainly true that massage with oil or lotion is recommended by surgeons to reduce scarring after surgery, although I'm skeptical it would work on existing scars.

Methinks she's putting too much faith in the oils themselves and not the more obvious trigger of symptom relief, massage.

Although I think certain smells are beneficial for nausea.
 
tkingdoll said:
Massage is excellent for nausea, I find. And it's certainly true that massage with oil or lotion is recommended by surgeons to reduce scarring after surgery, although I'm skeptical it would work on existing scars.

Methinks she's putting too much faith in the oils themselves and not the more obvious trigger of symptom relief, massage.

Although I think certain smells are beneficial for nausea.
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She was talking about existing scars. I can understand that certain smells may relax you, but she admitted there was no universal scent for relaxing as people have different favorites.

I almost forgot one;

* Anger oil. Apply it when angry and ten minutes later you will be fine.
 
I understand exactly what you were going through.

As a person who uses passive-aggressive techniques I would take a note book in my hand as I raised my hand and asked for what double-blind studies were done that proved your fine products were as capable as she stated. I would do it in a manner that showed I was thinking of helping her. I then would ask the deflating follow-up questions when I learned that material was unavailable.
 
Pass the Anger Oil!!

That's great. Is it a joke? Who is angry ten minutes later? Apart from teenagers. On the offchance it's not a joke:

If you're angry and apply angry oil, you've gone through a fairly long internal process to get to the application, namely recognising you're angry, recognising your anger is having a negative effect on you or others, recognising you need to do something about that, remembering you have oil, becoming calm enough to go and get the oil, remaining calm enough to apply it. Then you have the placebo effect from knowing in ten minutes you won't be angry any more cause of the oil.

Replace the oil with, I dunno, butter, and I'd bet £100 it has the same effect.
 
tkingdoll said:
Pass the Anger Oil!!

That's great. Is it a joke? Who is angry ten minutes later? Apart from teenagers. On the offchance it's not a joke:

If you're angry and apply angry oil, you've gone through a fairly long internal process to get to the application, namely recognising you're angry, recognising your anger is having a negative effect on you or others, recognising you need to do something about that, remembering you have oil, becoming calm enough to go and get the oil, remaining calm enough to apply it. Then you have the placebo effect from knowing in ten minutes you won't be angry any more cause of the oil.

Replace the oil with, I dunno, butter, and I'd bet £100 it has the same effect.
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Unfortunately it was a real oil. Only $20.00 for 2-3 ounces.
 
Huh-What? said:
The turmoil was between the business professional looking forward to networking with most of the group and the skeptic screaming inside of me who wanted some evidence other then anecdotal. I may be absent for her next presentation as I do not know if the skeptic inside me can be contained.
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I know what you're talking about. In my networking group, a member who delivered gourmet food began talking about a water purification system. It shrank the molecures or rearranged them ionized them in order to make your body less acidic and cure ... everything (he even claimed it would regrow hair).

We solved that problem by pointing out to him that he was not the "water" guy in the group, he was the "food" guy. He could only talk about the catagory he had been admitted for.

In your case, the ultimate responsibility is the Membership Committee's. They have to decide whether they want people in the group who cannot do what they are promising (because it's scientifically impossible). I know some groups that have five or six seats filled with woo-woos who pass each other a fantastic amount of business. Our group has decided to keep it to one chiropractor and an insurance agent who claims to be able to know when you're going to call him before the phone rings.

In all cases, as a member you should be as positive and supportive as possible. You don't have to refer her any business, but you do have to make sure that meetings are fun and stress-free for everybody. Why? Because, in the end, a happy group is a group that makes you more money.
 
As someone who is allergic to some fragrances, I would certainly ask questions. No reason you can't ask questions, either, just keep the rabid caged chimpanzee in check ;) If there are other woos in the group you may find the situation unbearable if you remain completely silent every time one gets up to speak.
 
fuelair said:
Possibly capsaicin oil. That would certainly get rid of your anger - as you ran around trying to find something to block the burning pain!!!:)
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Raw turpentine is good too. Once tried to wipe some paint off
my shorts with turps while painting a boat - ended up having
to jump into the water to get rid of the burning in my groin.
 
tkingdoll said:
Pass the Anger Oil!!

That's great. Is it a joke? Who is angry ten minutes later? Apart from teenagers. On the offchance it's not a joke:

If you're angry and apply angry oil, you've gone through a fairly long internal process to get to the application, namely recognising you're angry, recognising your anger is having a negative effect on you or others, recognising you need to do something about that, remembering you have oil, becoming calm enough to go and get the oil, remaining calm enough to apply it. Then you have the placebo effect from knowing in ten minutes you won't be angry any more cause of the oil.

Replace the oil with, I dunno, butter, and I'd bet £100 it has the same effect.
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I volunteer to apply the butter to any skepchick who is feeling angry.

It's a dirty, dangerous job but I feel like it's time I stepped up for the cause.
 
fuelair said:
Possibly capsaicin oil. That would certainly get rid of your anger - as you ran around trying to find something to block the burning pain!!!:)
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Actually capsaicin is an effective topical analgesic for certain types of neuropathic pain.
 
Senex said:
I understand exactly what you were going through.

As a person who uses passive-aggressive techniques I would take a note book in my hand as I raised my hand and asked for what double-blind studies were done that proved your fine products were as capable as she stated. I would do it in a manner that showed I was thinking of helping her. I then would ask the deflating follow-up questions when I learned that material was unavailable.
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...except that the purpose of the group is not to debunk and humiliate each other, but for a group of business professionals to support and to network with each other. Taking dead aim at another member's pet belief--and not only her pet belief, but also her livelihood--seems negative to me, and might even get you asked to leave the group. "We're here for support, not to attack each other..." I see you being told.

I think that if you want to stay in the group, you'll have to suck it up and keep the skeptical chimp caged.

Ask yourself this: If she volunteered a religious belief that you strongly opposed, would you feel the same obligation to call her on it, to debunk it, to demand proof of it? Answer: probably not. So try to approach this aromatherapy thing the same way, eh.
 
Unfortunately in a group like this, it becomes very touchy to challenge woo beliefs. Since these groups are specifically for networking and support, being the skeptic can lead to unnecessary friction that would run counter to the original aims of the group.

The best one can do is to be very careful in bringing up more scientific based approaches to the said claims. Well, if the person says that scent of oil X does Y, one can bring up a scientific claim that is related to the person's claim...unless that claim is completely false, than I would correct the person.
 
luchog said:
Actually capsaicin is an effective topical analgesic for certain types of neuropathic pain.
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True - but I guarantee that if you get it in finger webs, inner elbows, back of knees, most of back, stomach and groin, most of face, it will not feel at all analgesic. If mixed with alcohol all areas burn. Cinnamon oil likewise.
 
Goshawk said:
...except that the purpose of the group is not to debunk and humiliate each other, but for a group of business professionals to support and to network with each other. Taking dead aim at another member's pet belief--and not only her pet belief, but also her livelihood--seems negative to me, and might even get you asked to leave the group. "We're here for support, not to attack each other..." I see you being told.
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This depends on what everyone else is selling. If I'm selling advertisements for a newspaper I'm not defending the woo selling aromatherapy. I may not burn my bridges, but I can't deny who I am.

However, if the aromatherist was female, my age, not disfigured, and single I would try to be her best friend.
I think that if you want to stay in the group, you'll have to suck it up and keep the skeptical chimp caged.
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See above.
Ask yourself this: If she volunteered a religious belief that you strongly opposed, would you feel the same obligation to call her on it, to debunk it, to demand proof of it? Answer: probably not. So try to approach this aromatherapy thing the same way, eh.
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If she tried to sell it I would oppose.
 
Aromatherapy is not totally woo, and if you did let the SkeptiChimp out of its cage and tried to confront her, she just might pull out this NIH study, or maybe even this one, or possibly this cancer.gov summary and findings, and then you'd be standing there with egg on your face, not to mention having busted up the harmonious functioning of your networking group to no purpose.
 
Goshawk said:
Aromatherapy is not totally woo, and if you did let the SkeptiChimp out of its cage and tried to confront her, she just might pull out this NIH study, or maybe even this one, or possibly this cancer.gov summary and findings, and then you'd be standing there with egg on your face, not to mention having busted up the harmonious functioning of your networking group to no purpose.
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Or maybe I'll just point her to what Quackwatch has to say and keep my integrity and the group's integrity and enjoy any egg that comes my way.
 
But...what if the group doesn't happen to appreciate the fact that a self-appointed guardian decides that the group needs its integrity preserved by getting in a member's face about her chosen career? That's the chance you're taking, that you'll alienate people you're supposed to be networking with. You might have your integrity--but you won't have any new business friends. Is that what you'd want, to preserve your splendidly skeptical and integrity-laden solitude, in what's supposedly a support group? That's not how support groups work.
 
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