People exhibit confusion when met with outstanding stress. The human brain is designed to take note of patterns, but when the stress is turned up too high, the brain registers relative pandemonium. Stress simply happens however, often in profuse amounts. How to remedy such a dilemma? Lighten up! Smell the roses, or the morning coffee - whichever you prefer. But take time out to smell it!

Which brings us to the subject of olfactory stimulus. Smell, interestingly enough, overrides many other kinds of sensory stimulus in effect and intensity. Smelling something rosy can literally alter (or reorganize) brain patterns, and help to de-stress the individual. Try thinking cinnamon, mint, or any fresh, crisp scent of your liking to reorganize your thoughts and feelings. I assure you, it works! Different scents work for different people. Don't be shy about it! Have fun experimenting with smells that help override the stress of diverse overabundant sensory stimuli in your life ... an IRS audit, a mind-boggling math exam or the untimely demise of a dear auntie Belle.

Aroma to the rescue! Fresh mown lawn if you chance upon it, crisp linen (take a whiff of that laundry!), low tide, anything goes, as long as it reduces your stress factor. Don't take anyone else's word for it. Only your own nose knows for sure. It may be a scent reminiscent of your Grandma's baking cookies, or a hamper full of funky socks that gives you focus. Go for it! - the sure-shot antidote to confusion.

With that in mind, remember - as beauty is in the eye (or nose) of the beholder, the pheromones that make or break our focus are also subject to the subjective. Let's face it, the antidote to confusion may not always be found in a commercial vial of parfume par excellence. Occasionally one must walk the "the road not taken" to find the scent that glues the mind on it's prime objective. Studies have proven that smell is inextricably linked to memory. Try remembering the antiseptic smell of your old grammar school lavatory (assuming it was kept up to sanitary code) - that will certainly help conjure a few latent memories of the three R's: reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic - and help eliminate some present day fog surrounding reading the fine print on your credit card offers, planning your estate or balancing your bank statement.

Bottom line - when confused, take a whiff of something sobering or tune into the memory of Grandma's cookies ... whatever works! Don't despair. Confusion can happen to anyone when overabundant stimuli cancel out well thought out scenarios. A little whiff of the right bane or balsam can always help set your objectives straight!

Learn more about this author, Violet Fortune.
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