Therapeutic Massage for Anxiety Relief: The Best Massage You’ve Never Heard Of
You cherish Alaska for its ability to bring you closer to mother nature, make your big problems feel smaller, and, yes, kinda get away from it all.
But sometimes, despite your best efforts to live life off the beaten path, you’re overcome with feelings of anxiety.
Maybe you get trapped in a swirling storm of overthinking at night.
Or you feel chest pain or dizziness when life’s stressors get overwhelming.
Perhaps you can’t seem to sit still.
Although many people turn to medication to help manage anxiety symptoms, massage therapy can also offer significant relief from anxiety.
In fact, massage therapy that targets anxiety symptoms may be the best massage you’ve never heard of.
At Anchorage Massage Therapies, we’ve treated hundreds of clients who left our massage studio feeling calmer and less anxious.
In today’s blog, we’ll look at how massage therapy can ease anxiety symptoms and what you can expect when you book an appointment with that in mind.
Ready?
Let’s… calmly… dive in.
What is anxiety?
First, let’s talk about what exactly anxiety is.
Anxiety is a normal emotion often characterized by feelings of fear about what is to come.
You may feel anxiety before having surgery, before the first day of a new job, or when you meet a new person.
Although anxiety is a healthy emotion, too much of it can be a bad thing.
Some people can develop an anxiety disorder, which causes them to have longer-lasting feelings of anxiety.
Chronic anxiety can lead to issues like over-thinking, insomnia, exhaustion, or other health problems.
Anxiety disorders are common in the United States. One study showed that almost 19% of Americans have an anxiety disorder. Another 2023 study done in Alaska found that 32.2% of adults in Alaska reported symptoms of anxiety.
If you’ve experienced anxiety, you know how uncomfortable it can be.
That’s why we want to ensure our community knows there’s a holistic option for anxiety treatment — massage therapy.
What causes anxiety disorders
There are many reasons why you may develop an anxiety disorder. Understanding the root cause of your anxiety may help treat it.
Genetic Factors: Anxiety disorders may run in families, suggesting that a combination of genes may increase the likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder.
Brain chemistry: Neurotransmitters are chemicals that regulate various aspects of our behavior and are known to play a role in anxiety disorders. An imbalance of neurotransmitters can lead to anxiety symptoms.
Environmental Stress: Life events such as experiencing a traumatic event, significant life changes, or prolonged stress such as work demands, family issues, or financial concerns can trigger or exacerbate anxiety disorders.
Personality Factors: Certain personality traits may increase the chance of developing an anxiety disorder, such as a tendency to be shy or withdrawn when facing new situations or meeting new people.
Medical Factors: Some physical health conditions, like thyroid problems, heart arrhythmia, or asthma, can be associated with anxiety symptoms or trigger anxiety disorders. The side effects of certain medications can also lead to anxiety.
Substance Use: Miuse or withdrawal from drugs or alcohol can lead to heightened anxiety levels.
Developmental Factors: Experiences during childhood, such as bullying or trauma, can influence the development of anxiety disorders later in life.
It’s important to note that all of these factors interact in complex ways and that experiencing one of them doesn’t necessarily mean you will develop an anxiety disorder.
For those who do, massage therapy can offer some hope in managing your symptoms.
How therapeutic massage for anxiety works
Therapeutic massage can be an effective way to treat your anxiety.
For starters, massage calms your nervous system.
When you experience anxiety, your body’s brain and nervous system may go into what’s called fight-or-flight.
Fight-or-flight is your body’s response to stress. It’s an automatic, physiological defensive mechanism your brain uses to ensure your survival when it detects a real or imagined threat.
Some examples of when your body may be triggered into fight-or-flight include:
Swerving to avoid a car accident.
Dealing with a difficult boss or family member.
Hearing a loud noise in your home.
While fight-or-flight mode is necessary for survival, sometimes our brains forget to shut off this response.
This chronic activation of your body’s fight-or-flight response may result in anxiety disorders. However, our massage therapists can help get you out of fight-or-flight.
Massage therapy counteracts fight-or-flight by activating your body’s parasympathetic nervous system.
Your parasympathetic nervous system is the opposite of your body’s fight-or-flight response.
Rather than all of your senses being on high alert to ensure your survival, the parasympathetic nervous system helps you rest and digest.
The best massage to activate the parasympathetic nervous system
During a massage designed to calm the nervous system, our massage therapists use techniques to activate your body's parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) to get you out of fight-or-flight and ease your anxiety symptoms.
Rather than targeted pressure or deep tissue work, your therapeutic massage therapist includes long, gentle, gliding strokes, music, and aromatherapy to help you enter the rest and digest state, which can profoundly impact your mind and body.
Reducing Stress Hormones: Massage therapy can decrease your cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone that can reduce your stress response and activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
Increasing relaxation: Massage can increase your levels of serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters associated with feelings of relaxation and well-being, further promoting PNS activity.
Lowering Heart Rate and Blood Pressure: By promoting relaxation, massage can reduce your heart rate and blood pressure regulated by your PNS.
Enhancing Depth of Breath: Massage can encourage deeper and more regular breathing, which is connected with the relaxation response of your PNS.
Improving Sleep Patterns: By promoting relaxation and reducing stress, therapeutic massage can enhance the quality of your sleep, which is associated with the restorative functions of your PNS.
Muscle Relaxation: Physically manipulating your body’s tissues during a massage therapy session helps relieve muscle tension, which can send signals to your body to activate your PNS.
Our massage therapists are skilled in activating your body’s parasympathetic nervous system.
Our clinic has some of the best massage therapists in the city, and they’re knowledgeable about the body’s nervous system. We even have clients who specifically ask for a “fight-or-flight” massage to calm their nervous systems.
After their massage, the clients report feeling less anxious and worried and more optimistic about the future and their ability to handle life’s stressors.
It’s not a massage treatment you’ll find on our “menu,” but it is a message that exists. Some say it’s the best massage Anchorage has to offer.
What happens after your parasympathetic nervous system is activated
In addition to sleeping better and feeling more relaxed, once your PNS is activated, your body can do some outstanding healing work both on and off the massage table to help relieve your anxiety symptoms.
Increased Digestive Activity: Your PNS stimulates your digestion, allowing your body to process and absorb nutrients more efficiently. This includes activating the peristalsis, the movement of your intestines, to aid digestion and waste elimination.
Enhanced Immune System Functioning: As your body relaxes, your immune system can function more effectively, which is vital for healing and maintaining your health, especially if you tend to feel anxious.
Improved Metabolic Functions: The PNS regulates metabolic functions such as glucose and fat metabolism, contributing to energy conservation and storage.
Overall, activating your parasympathetic nervous system is crucial in maintaining your body’s response to stress.
It counteracts your body’s fight-or-flight response, allowing you to rest, heal, and restore yourself, which is essential for long-term health and resilience against anxiety-related disorders.
Take a deep breath with Anchorage Massage Therapies
By activating your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, massage therapy can help ease your anxiety symptoms and bring your nervous system back into balance.
With all these fantastic health benefits, it’s a wonder why massage therapy is still considered “just a luxury” in some circles.
It truly does have the power to transform your physical and mental health, which is why we’re so passionate about offering our services to you… our community.
Whether or not it’s the best massage in Anchorage is up to you.
When you’re ready to see for yourself, book a massage therapy appointment. We look forward to treating you.
