How the Power of Touch Can Help Manage Anxiety
Written By: Jill Di Donato
The Slow Beauty Journal reached out to Hope Gillerman, an aromatherapist, holistic healer, author, and senior-level certified Alexander Technique teacher to explain how the healing power of touch can help navigate and manage anxiety. The Science of Receiving Touch
Gillerman explains the science behind receiving touch, and how touch can impact our thoughts and emotions. “Your skin is one, huge sensory organ,” she says. “When a location on your body is touched or rubbed by an object or a person, nerve endings in your skin send a message to the brain that identifies the location and the quality of the touch.” She goes on to explain, “This sensory message, once in the brain, affects our thinking and functioning.”
In other words, we then form an opinion to identify and classify if we like or dislike the sensation of the touch. From there, we launch a response.
“The communication between touch nerves and our brain also conveys information,” explains Gillerman. “This information increases our body awareness, our kinesthetic awareness (our sense of movement) and proprioception (our sense of where we are in space) and our sense of balance.”
Can Touch Relieve Anxiety?
A 2011 study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that massage can be effective in relieving symptoms of anxiety.
Gillerman explains. “Touch stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system which works to reverse the fight or flight response: our body’s response to stress.”
She adds that “when we are under constant stress, cortisol builds up in the blood which is damaging to our health and state of mind. Touch can help to reverse this. When our nervous system is calmer, there are physiological changes. Our breath and heart rates slow, and the adrenal gland produces less cortisol.”
Once the body finds a new rhythm, people can better navigate and manage anxiety.
“Naturally, once we are no longer in the stress-induced hyper-aroused state,” Gilerman explains, “we feel calmer and more focused, less anxious. At the same time, on a chemical level, touch also stimulates the brain to produce more serotonin and dopamine – the signature chemical uptick that helps with depression and anxiety.”
The Best Types of Massage to Relieve Anxiety
To relieve tension and anxiety, many people seek out deep massage because it offers a sense of relief. Gillerman makes the point that a harder, deeper touch doesn’t necessarily mean a deeper release. “As a certified Alexander Technique Teacher for the past 40 years, I teach people with pain or chronic tension how to heal by learning to access a relaxed movement style and a more natural posture.”
The most tension-relieving type of touch Gillerman explains is delicate. “The more delicate the touch, the more open we are to receiving information. Think of the difference between a shove and gentle guidance.”
SLOW BEAUTY JOURNAL TIP
For a soothing massage –Ask your therapist for long, gentle, rhythmic, and circular strokes. “When receiving this mesmerizing style, it is best to be completely passive and submit to the release – perhaps even fall asleep,” says Gillerman.
“When done quickly, dry brushing it is invigorating. But when done slowly, at the end of the day, it is mesmerizing and calming.”Self-Massage: A Therapeutic Way to Navigate Anxiety
We might not always have the time or resources for a professional spa massage, but that doesn’t mean we can’t reap the anxiety-relieving benefits of touch. In fact, Gillerman notes that self-touch is just as therapeutic. “Using touch on ourselves can be very educational. Like receiving touch, we can use self-giving touch to become aware of the place we need to relax.”
Here are Gillerman’s techniques for relaxing self-touch:
“Using your intention, focus on the quality of your touch for a relaxing, subtle, soothing style. Here, you can soothe your fears by taking more control. Instead of focusing on the injury, you focus on healing.”
How to Dry Brush to Relieve Anxiety
Gillerman is a fan of using a dry brush to help the body relax. “The many benefits include, exfoliation for skin care, stimulation of the immune system and detoxing of the lymph nodes. When done quickly, dry brushing it is invigorating. But when done slowly, at the end of the day, it is mesmerizing and calming.” SHOP SPARITUAL DRY BODY BRUSH
SLOW BEAUTY JOURNAL TIP
Exfoliate the skin for a somatic experience. Focus on the texture of the scrub and think about the sensation of the grit against your skin. SHOP SPARITUAL BODY POLISH
