Mental Health and Massage: How Your Physical Well-Being Affects Your Mental Health
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How Your Body and Mind Work Together | Breaking the Cycle | Mindfulness Through Massage | Physical Connection | Adding Massage to Your Mental Health Strategy
May is Mental Health Month. A time to acknowledge the struggles millions face and to celebrate everyone who is living with, or has ever faced, a mental health challenge.
Addressing mental health is becoming progressively more advanced, and many have found it’s ironically not all in the head. Your physical and mental health are deeply connected and reflect one another. One scientifically backed and extremely helpful self-care practice that bridges this connection is massage therapy.
Let’s talk about how massage therapy benefits your mental health and overall well-being.
How Your Body and Mind Work Together
When we feel stress, anxiety, or depression, our bodies enter a highly alert state. The sympathetic nervous system triggers the “fight or flight” response, rushing your nervous system with cortisol and adrenaline. This response is triggered by common things such as:
- Never-ending text messages and emails
- Doom scrolling, which leads to social isolation (social media really gets ya!)
- Financial pressure
Massage helps shift the body from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic nervous system, often called the “rest and digest” state.
Hormonal Shifts
Clinical studies have shown that professional massage can significantly lower cortisol levels while boosting serotonin and dopamine (neurotransmitters known to improve and stabilize mood).
Oxytocin Release
Commonly called the “cuddle hormone,” oxytocin is released during physical touch. It promotes feelings of trust, safety, and social connection, all of which tend to decline as mental health deteriorates.
Breaking the Cycle
Mental health struggles are often expressed through the body. This is known as somatization. If you’ve ever felt tense or had a headache during a stressful day, that is your emotional state manifesting physically. Crazy, right?
This creates a vicious cycle. Mental stress causes muscle tension, and muscle tension signals to the brain that the environment is unsafe, which typically increases anxiety.
Massage therapy breaks this loop by releasing tension and relaxing tight muscles. Your therapist tells your brain through touch: hey you, it’s safe to relax. For people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) or PTSD, the physical touch of massage can lead to progress that talk therapy alone might take much longer to achieve.
Mindfulness Through Massage
One of the greatest challenges of mental health is getting stuck in a dark place of fear, regret or sadness. Mindfulness, the practice of staying in the present moment, is a primary tool for combating this seemingly endless loop.
For many people, sitting quietly and simply relaxing is extremely difficult. Massage therapy offers a different, more physical approach to mindfulness. The warmth of the table, the scent of essential oils, and the massage itself guide the body into a relaxed state that would be much harder to reach alone.
During a session, you aren’t just trying to think about being present, you’re led there. This allows racing thoughts to quiet down, giving a much-needed, calm and peaceful silence.
Physical Connection
In our increasingly digitalized world, many of us are “touch starved.” Physical human connection is often stolen by screens, leaving us feeling isolated even when we appear well-connected.
The therapeutic environment of a massage session offers a unique form of human interaction, a space where the focus is solely on your well-being. For those struggling with depression or low self-esteem, allowing yourself to be cared for is a powerful exercise in self-compassion!
Adding Massage to Your Mental Health Strategy
Massage isn’t the only physical self-care tool. Just like combining exercise with a good diet, combining bodywork with other mental health practices can make a significant impact.
Post-Session Reflection
After a massage, take a few minutes to sit and think. Notice how tension is no longer in your body or how it feels like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders, and let it set the tone for the rest of your day.
Consistency Matters
Massage isn’t a one-and-done cure; like therapy, the benefits of massage are seen after consistent sessions. Regular sessions can help mitigate overall stress in the long run.
Communication Is Key
Share your goals with your massage therapist. If you’re there specifically for stress relief or emotional grounding, they can tailor your massage to meet your needs.