Travel editor and blog writer Catharine Hamm answers a reader's query about how best to counteract olfactory nuisance in closed quarters and planes in particular (you really can't step out to take a breather, can you). A major direction of thought in the article is to oppose
the force to such obnoxious effluvia and
the force in this case is the right mental attitude: think positive, think zen, think compassionate thoughts, it can help.
"And no doubt about it: The mind does play an important role -- and in ways beyond our primitive reaction to odors.
"When we are stressed, we can overreact to smell, fueling our
irritability and getting into a negative loop -- 'How dare this person
do this to me!' " said Debbie Mandel, author of "Addicted to Stress."...
Stress and flying -- now there's a concept.
The only problem now is what we do to make everyone happy. Marple says
that there's no pill and that Suggitt may need to "hold her nose and
get on with life." Mandel says that "by reframing the experience with
kindness and compassion, we can become resilient, adapt and let it go."
And I say that it's yet again another matter of recognizing that being
polite means striving not to offend by word or deed, even if we didn't
know we were. By seeking not to offend with body odor, perhaps we have
swung the pendulum too far the other way. Is it time to dial it down?
Makes scents."
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