Massage for Anxiety and Depression
We’ve been hearing a lot lately how a significant number of diseases are very closely related (highly positively correlated) with stress. This isn’t surprising, considering the damaging effects stress can have on the human body. A very quick summary is that stress activates the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and when something like your email inbox triggers that stress… and then is just there all the time, we’re stuck in fight or flight. This impairs digestion, which means your body isn’t absorbing all the nutrients it could, and then we don’t sleep as well because our melatonin/serotonin production is off, and the vicious cycle continues.
What’s the good news?
Massage is scientifically PROVEN[1] to reduce anxiety in as little as one session and reduce the effects of depression over a series of treatments. WOW! So what am I recommending? Mostly I recommend long, slow, deep exhalations to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) and when you’re feeling anxious, go get a massage. If you know you have something on your schedule that ALWAYS stresses you out (ie, public speaking, speed dating, cooking for your in-laws, moving house, etc) book a massage in advance or straight after. If you suffer from depression, keep doing what your doctor tells you to do and also book a series of massages and let the massage therapy do its work.
Bottom line: massage is very good for your health, especially your mental health.