Massage and Mental Health

This year was a whirl wind for everyone for many different reasons. The one thing we all had in common was our mental health was affected. Many lost jobs, daily routines were shot, we had little to no outside, human contact and everyone’s mental health took a hit. In 2020, Ohio alone ranked at almost 20% of its population having an adult mental illness. (https://mhanational.org/issues/2020/mental-health-america-ranking-guidelines)

What does mental health have to do with massage therapy? When our mental health is affected, so is our physical health, and vise verse. It makes sense, when our body feels good it makes it easier to live our daily life and that makes us happier. Things don’t feel difficult which gives us a sense of clarity. Massage is beneficial to multiple mental health ailments;

• Stress relief

• Anxiety reduction

• Improves sleep patterns

• Increase in serotonin and dopamine production

Stress Relief

When receiving a massage, you have the chance to completely shut your mind off, while your therapist helps your body to “take a break” while releasing the tension in your muscles. In a lot of cases, the only meditation people get are during their massage sessions. The daily hustle and bustle of our busy lives makes it difficult to take time for ourselves. When we schedule a massage, we MAKE the time for ourselves, we take the time to work our schedule around us for once. There are no interruptions and we know that for our session time we don’t have to worry about anything. 

We notice the relief in our sore muscles, but do you pay attention to the clarity you feel in your mental state? That feeling of zen you have while peeling yourself from the table? The next time you have a session, take a moment to appreciate that zen you feel not only in your body, but your mind as well.

Anxiety Reduction

A randomized controlled study was done where 68 patients with generalized anxiety disorder were exposed to massage therapy, thermotherapy (application of heat or cold) and relaxing room therapy. The study found that all participants of 10 sessions over 12 weeks had reduced anxiety symptoms at their 26-week follow up. Massage therapy did not outweigh the other therapeutic interventions, however when you set up a massage session you are entering a relaxing room, and most times have the option of hot or cold therapies to be added to your session. Look more into the study here.

At Complete Wellness Therapy, we give you the option to come to our in-home studio or we can come to your home. By doing this we offer you multiple ways of relaxing; is it relaxing to get out of your house and come to the studio? No problem, that’s an option! Do you have a space in your home that is completely relaxing for you and you’d prefer to have your massage there for maximum relaxation? Also, not a problem! Let us bring our tables and tools to your home so that we can help create the most comfortable, relaxing session to make sure that you get the best results possible from your session.

Improves Sleep Patterns

We’ve all been affected by a bad night’s sleep. Notice how your brain is fuzzy, you move in what feels like slow motion and it just seems harder to get through the day? How do we shut our brain off when we lie down to sleep? Our brain produces a sleepy hormone called melatonin that helps us relax to sleep. Melatonin is produced by the brain with the help of another hormone, serotonin, which has an increase in production after massage therapy sessions. 

Not only is it easier to sleep when our brain is producing the correct hormones, but massage therapy helps with tension release in our body helping reduce any aches and pains that may keep us up at night.

Increase in Serotonin and Dopamine Production

We’ve already mentioned a few ways serotonin production can be helpful to our minds and bodies, but we haven’t mentioned that serotonin and dopamine both make us feel good. They are hormones that give us a happy feeling, and who doesn’t love to be happy? During a massage therapy session the production of dopamine and serotonin in our brains increases which leaves us feeling well rested, happy and less anxious. 

Massage therapy is not a cure for depression, anxiety and stress related diagnoses. It also is not a replacement for medications you have been prescribed by your physicians. However, if we could have the option to have regular massage sessions to see how our mental health reacts to massage therapy, with no side effects, would you be willing to try it?

At Complete Wellness Therapy we respect the connection between the mind and the body and care about making sure you you feel well leaving us in mind and body. Not convinced by reading this blog? Let us prove ourselves by setting up a session with us here.