Different scents are all around us. Smelling this multitude of aromas can trigger memories and bring forth strong emotional responses. These memories can be associated with people, places, food and events some of which may go as far back as early childhood. Realizing that a smell provokes a negative response from you can help you consciously avoid them or at least cope and it can assist you in welcoming positive scents into your every day life.
My brother Greg recently mentioned that local road construction was creating a scent in the air similar to that of the machine shop on my Uncle’s farm. That heavy oil smell when they tar the road also brings back memories of my Uncle Lloyd for me; he also worked as a mechanic for a time. In Fort McMurray, when the wind is from the north, there is an oil smell in the air from the oilsands sites and it often takes my mind to thoughts of my Uncle Lloyd.
Another smell memory that I recently mentioned to my sister in-law, Malisa, was that of lilacs in bloom. Our apartment in Grande Prairie has numerous lilac bushes across the front as high as our second story windows. Malisa had posted a picture of her purple lilacs and she sounded very happy with them in bloom. For me lilacs bring back a memory from Grade One. I took a few bunches of lilacs to school to give to my teacher. I put them in my desk; the old style with the wooden lid. When I went back into my desk to grab them to bring up the teacher, I discovered ants crawling everywhere; all over my desk, falling out the holes in the bottom of the desk and even on me. Needless to say, this memory is not a “good” memory and my skin crawls as I recall that day.
“Studies have found that memories triggered by smell tend to be more emotional than those triggered by sights or sounds, and stronger than memories associated with words or images.”
https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2020/09/04/why-does-smell-evoke-such-vivid-memories-emotions/
It stands to reason that a smell that is present during an important day or life-changing event will evoke strong emotions. A great example would be the scent of wood burning. When my husband smells it, he is taken back the 2016 wildfire in Fort McMurray. For him the memory is only five years old and quite a bit more emotional. There are times when I am in the garage wood burning and have to stop because I can tell how agitated and short tempered he becomes working in the same space. The more often he is exposed to the smell though, the better he seems to react. Perhaps creating a different memory including the same smell can change or lessen the negative memory over time. For myself, I have the opposite feelings. When I smell wood burning, I am instantly transported back to my Air Cadet days when we would go on weekend camp outs. We didn’t use camp stoves to cook our IMPs (individual meal packs); we would cook them over a campfire. We also had to take shifts at night keeping the fire going. As a result, I would come home smelling strongly of wood smoke. I think of the lean-tos we made to sleep in and hearing the ghost stories from the senior cadets. It makes me smile when I recall those weekends so I must have really enjoyed myself.
Certain scents can be traced back in your memory to where you lived. For myself, there was the smell of wet cardboard ever present in the air in Trenton ON from a factory nearby, the smell of sour milk from the Parmalat Cheese factory in Winchester ON and now the smell of the tarsands from Fort McMurray. If I smell those scents, I think back to that house and the people I met while we lived there.
Sometimes when my husband and I are out for walks, we smell that skunky smell of someone smoking pot; more often now because it is legal. This scent makes me instantly think of skunks, which makes me remember delivering newspapers in Orleans ON after my first child was born and before I had the second. There was often a skunk smell in the air as they are nocturnal and sprayed if alarmed in any way. I never did get sprayed myself. The memory is attached further to the early morning news release of Princess Diana’s death. I recall sitting in my car at 5am after delivering papers, hearing it on the radio and feeling a deep sense of sadness.
Many early memories are associated with food. When you are tasting different flavours in food, you are actually smelling them. If you eat something and pinch your nose, you can distinguish whether something is sweet or sour but you don’t taste anything specific. If you let go of your nose, there is a flood of flavour to your senses.
“Air rushes up behind the palate, into the nose from the back, those molecules meet the receptors and spread the news that jellybean in your mouth is popcorn or licorice or watermelon.”
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/fragrant-flashbacks
Growing up there was smells that now trigger the feeling of “home”. The smell of fresh bread from when mom would make cinnamon buns and also the fact that we lived a block from the local bakery. That smell in the air just before it rains; you don’t experience that everywhere but definitely in a small town in the prairies. The smell of dirt and potatoes reminds me of Labour Day weekend trips to the farm to dig up the potatoes and also the root cellar in my grandparents basement where we would go to sprout the potatoes. I am sure there are others that I won’t realize until I smell them.
Scent has the ability to “reduce stress, increase focus, enhance memory and uplift our mood.” Therefore, you should factor scents in when decorating your home. You want scents that provoke a sense of calm and contentedness in you. For me that would be scents like vanilla, cinnamon, coconut and beeswax. Personally, I would stay away from other scents such as lavender, rose, lilac and mint.
Some seniors residences are using scents to help their residents with memory recall and socialization. They take scents that tend to resonant with that generation and have them guess what it is; they begin sharing memories triggered by the smell. Common scents used are mint, lilac, coffee, cedar, apple and bread.
It wakes up their brains in a different way.
https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/how-scents-evoke-memory/
Celebrating Canada Day tomorrow, many people will attend fireworks celebrations; a great chance for you to create a memory using scent. The strong smell in the air that hangs after the last firework has gone off is very hard to miss. For me the smell of fireworks reminds me of a visit to Kamsack SK with our family when my children were young. I took them and some cousins to the railway tracks a few blocks from my parents house to view the fireworks. What I really remember is the effect the fireworks had on our dog Brandy. She had stayed at the house and was shaking uncontrollably. The other memory was us driving into Ottawa to watch the fireworks on New Year’s Eve when we lived in Russell ON . We got stuck in traffic downtown very close to where they were shooting them off. Poor Brandy was sick on the floor in the front seat; perhaps she had a flashback due to the smell of the previous trauma?
I will leave you with two thoughts.
- The next time you are having a great visit with friends and family or experiencing a once in a lifetime adventure, think about the smells. Breath deep and concentrate on the strong scents around you. It will help you recall the happy memories of the day.
- Take a few minutes and write down the scents that you enjoy, those that bring back fond memories and even those that bother you or trigger negative emotions. Be specific about the good and bad. If you ever develop Alzheimer’s or Dementia, this information may be helpful to your caregivers to keep you calm and happy.