MASSAGE FOR DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY

 Massage is touted as one of the first treatments available for depression. However, with the advances in science and technology in the 1940s and beyond, the treatment of massage for depression soon became replaced by drugs and other  seemingly  more scientific therapies.  While massage remains a viable alternative, it fails to garner the same attention as more publicized treatments such as pharmaceuticals.

A review of more than a dozen massage studies conducted by the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine concludes that massage therapy relieves depression and anxiety by affecting the body’s biochemistry. In a series of studies including about 500 men, women, and children with depression or stress problems, researchers measured the stress hormone cortisol in participants before and immediately after massage and found that the therapy lowered levels by up to 53%. (Cortisol can drive up blood pressure and blood sugar levels, precipitate fat storage,  and suppress the immune system.) Massage also increased serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters that help reduce depression.

The scientific community has acknowledged that anxiety intensifies several types of chronic, potentially fatal diseases. As more irrefutable evidence links anxiety disorders to heart, respiratory and digestive diseases, anxiety relief is becoming more important than ever. Massage therapy has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to reduce anxiety levels within the medical research model. Thus, bodywork is emerging as one of the most valuable  and viable therapies for addressing the concurrence of emotional and physical health.

Essential oils that can be beneficial in massage for people suffering from depression and anxiety are:

Lavender

Orange

Lemon

Frankincense

Wishing you Peace, Harmony and Balance.