Can Massage Help With Your Anxiety?

If you suffer from anxiety on a regular basis, you feel the effects of your condition every day. You experience panic attacks, lack of appetite, fear when going out in public, distraction doing daily tasks, thinning hair (and possibly brittle nails), and other side effects of constantly putting your body under stress.

Anxiety is treatable with medications in severe cases, but you can manage much of your condition by doing things that help ease your stress and keep your anxiety in check. One of those things is getting a regular massage. Learn how massage can help with your anxiety.

Stress Relief

Getting a massage can release the feel good hormones in your body that help you relax. Relaxing, in turn, makes your anxiety less severe. Schedule a massage on days when your anxiety is usually worst, such as on days when you run the most errands, have an important meeting at work, or experience other stressors that make you anxious.

Pain Relief

Anxiety and stress are often your body's response to pain. If you suffer from too-tight muscles due to sitting in a chair all day or have headaches from stress, massage releases endorphins that naturally manage pain and relaxes muscles, allowing you to feel better. When your body feels better, your anxiety starts to fade. If you have trouble sleeping at night due to aches and pains or suffer daily stress or tension headaches, see a massage therapist for relief.

Mental Relief

Sometimes taking a break from your everyday life to take a half hour or an hour to yourself is all you need to keep your anxiety at bay. When you get a massage, you have the opportunity to forget about the things that make you anxious and reset your mental state. If you get a massage on a regular basis, you can retrain your mind to handle your anxiety differently. When you feel overwhelmed with your thoughts, a scheduled massage can help you relax even before your session begins.

You can schedule a massage any time you want to, and there are many types of massage available. Hot rock and Swedish massage are some of the types of massage you can get. If you have anxieties about being nude or partially clothed during your massage, you can leave your robe or some clothing on. Your massage therapist will work with you to keep you comfortable and relaxed during your massage experience.

If you have medical problems or are pregnant, talk to your doctor before beginning massage. Your massage therapist will also let you know if massage will work with any health conditions you have.