Massage Helps Depression

The Importance of Feeling Great via Euphoric Cleansing
This is an article posted online here about the beneficial effects of Raynor massage on depression. It was written by a student of ours that did our massage course. Here it is in its entirety for your benefit:

Endorphins and my story
Let ...The Importance of Feeling Great via Euphoric Cleansing
This is an article posted online here about the beneficial effects of Raynor massage on depression. It was written by a student of ours that did our massage course. Here it is in its entirety for your benefit:

Endorphins and my story
Let me begin with explaining why I found myself learning about massage and endorphin release, I found myself going through a variety of problems, stress, depression, poor diet, to name but a few, generally I felt trapped. I was not happy with my current situation in life and I felt powerless to change it. I needed to feel great desperately. Plus I wanted a new sense of purpose, one which I could believe in. So I randomly searched the internet and stumbled on Brandon Raynor’s School Of Natural Therapies (http://www.raynormassage.com). They explained the health benefits of massage and also how most other techniques do not fully understand the power of good deep tissue therapeutic massage.

My endorphin release can only be described as a feeling of total calm and euphoria, it felt like a tide of bliss caressing my aching mind. I believe the endorphin rush was released due to the massage freeing up the tension in my body, and by stimulating my pain receptors, thus allowing my energy to flow with more efficiency and to create a sense of euphoria. This feeling is not to be compared with the so called “Runners High”, experienced by long distance runners; this was a very powerful feeling of total ecstasy… an endorphin rush of a strong concentration. I also believe that this rush of endorphins may have very important healing properties; I hope that further research is conducted on this fascinating subject.

Feelings of doom and gloom, pessimism, lack of purpose, paranoia and other dark negative emotions are becoming more and more common these days especially with young men, not surprising really as we all live in a very turbulent emotional world. Having experienced these emotions my self rather deeply I might add, I can relate to people who are going through these traumatic feelings. I believe that deep negative emotions are on the increase, and do contribute towards suicide, schizophrenia, clinical depression, psychosis and other serious mental disorders. Even more so if combined with physical ailments, resulting from poor diet, lack of exercise, tension in the muscles (due to lack of massage), addiction, and societal pressures. I have read that the world statistic is around 1.5 billion people who suffer from some sort of mental disorder, with varying degrees of complexity. And that healthy, fit, mentally stable people could be described as elitist or few and far between!! So not only are we facing a possible epidemic of mental problems but also serious detrimental physical conditions both being on the increase.

“Healthy Body Healthy Mind, Healthy Mind Healthy Body”

If you are suffering from emotional and physical ailments for long periods of time without mental bliss to help ease the pain, then what you are dealing with is a pressure cooker waiting to blow, usually resulting in the fight or flight syndrome, which can’t be carried out in modern day living. The effects of this suppression on the individual’s emotions, character, psyche and physical whole over long durations of time, would probably be seriously detrimental and in some cases the damage may be irreparable. And of course it is not just the individual who suffers; the person becomes a serious burden to his/hers family members sometimes resulting in the destruction of the family bond due to severe stress applied from the individual suffering from the mental condition. The state bears the brunt of this economically, due to the complexity of the individual’s mental state and the time and resources required dealing with such complex mental cases. The individual becomes counter productive and a burden to us all because identification of the route causes of any mental problem is very difficult. We all know that the system is at breaking point. It becomes a snow ball effect. So what ever we can do to help people feel great must be considered. Endorphins make you feel great, so more research must be done.

Below I have listed my general mental and physical condition prior to my endorphin release, you will see that I was in a deep state of mental depression; I can only thank God for my discovery, and my relief.

These are the negative mental emotions I was experiencing prior to my endorphin release gained through the massage technique and various stretching out techniques. Towards the end of this report I have included an equation which brings all the relevant elements together.

• Overwhelming anxiety
• Clinical Depression (Although not diagnosed)
• Paranoia
• Conspiracy Theories
• Feelings of doom and gloom
• Fear
• Powerlessness
• Stress
• Anger
• Social Anxiety Disorder
• Rage
• Worthlessness
• With out purpose
• Addiction (Smoker)
• Lethargic/Lazy
• Pessimistic
• Suicidal (two attempts)
• Constant thought processes, unable to stop thinking
• Insomnia
• Energy levels and reserves seriously depleted
• Delusions of Grandeur
• Thinking I was GOD
• Feelings of mistrust towards everyone, including family members
• Lack of respect for financial obligations
• Becoming extreme in my religious views
• Jealousy and envy towards others with more material wealth

Below describes my physical condition prior to my endorphin release gained through massage and various stretching out techniques.

• Poor joints specifically the knee joints
• Generally feeling weak
• Headaches
• Muscles feeling stiff due to years of tension and poor body posture
• Poor physical condition (smoker)
• Poor diet

The mental ailments intensified from the period of 2000-2003. I felt very lethargic due to the energy lost during intense thought loops, which is obviously not good for the physical whole.

As you can see from the points below, the massage itself helps the physical condition; however the endorphin release in my view is responsible for providing tremendous mental relief from the negative emotions. This of course is of paramount importance for any person in need of healing. If you free the mind from the dark negative emotions, the person has a greater chance of making a full recovery both mentally and physically. As we all know the body is linked to the mind, and visa versa.

“Healthy Body Healthy Mind, Healthy Mind Healthy Body”

After the massage/endorphin release I felt the following positive mental emotions

• Clarity of mind (Relief!!!)
• Overwhelming sense of energy
• State of mental bliss which lasted for about 3-4 days (not drug induced)
• New sense of purpose
• A great sense of personal satisfaction and achievement
• New hope to carry on living
• Extremely relaxed
• Cool, Calm and Collected
• More conscious of the environment
• Gained more self respect

After the massage/endorphin release I felt the following positive physical changes

• Joint problems had cleared up temporarily
• Warm glow surrounding my joints, I felt younger!!
• Anxiety/Butterflies in the stomach had gone
• Stamina had improved
• I felt supple and loose all over

Everyone is aware of the benefits of massage, but I am not sure to what extent people realize its potential, yes the above feelings where gained through massage but I believe the power is in the endorphin release, stimulated by deep tissue massage and various stretching out techniques.

And it is this endorphin release which I would like you the reader of this report to seriously consider as a means of providing relief from the darker emotions mentioned earlier, and as a serious therapy to make people feel great!!!. As you can see from my experience the endorphin release has proved to be 100% positive in all areas of my negativity. The overall effects of my endorphin release have gradually phased, however, a year on I am still feeling positive.

Other factors to consider
I believe the average person should experience an endorphin release at least twice a year, people with complex mental disorders would have to be assessed on an individual basis. Let’s think of some factors which may influence endorphin production.

As we know all humans have the capacity to produce endorphins, however there are multiple factors which could influence the amount of endorphins released. Let’s take two subjects both experiencing clinical depression, Subject A has a typical unhealthy diet, consisting of all the major junk foods, and take’s little exercise, drinks heavily and smokes. Subject B has a lifestyle which provides all the balanced vitamins and minerals required to maintain a healthy body, takes exercise, and does not smoke.

Now it is my view that subject B is more likely to have a higher endorphin stock waiting to be released than subject A.

If we were to provide a deep tissue stimulation massage to both subjects, I believe that subject B would have a higher feeling of euphoria than subject A. Simply because subject B has more vitamins and minerals present in the body. Subject A would probably still have an endorphin release, but the experience might not be sufficiently powerful enough to help treat the clinical depression. We know that the endorphins are released constantly to help maintain a normal way of thinking in all people, but in cases of extremity, such as clinical depression, schizophrenia or psychosis an endorphin rush of a higher concentration maybe required. How we increase this concentration is of great interest to me, I have written to the British Nutrition Foundation asking them for information on food groups which have the ability to:

A. Increase endorphin Stock
B. Decrease endorphin Stock

For some reason our brains will not release the endorphins without catalysts providing assistance such as prescribed medication or illegal drugs, even in extreme cases of mental depression of physical pain suffered during horrendous accidents our natural pain killers remain blocked. The problem with using catalysts such as medication or illegal drugs, are the side effects. Some people would argue that our endorphins are released during physical pain, but they are certainly not released during intense mental disorders such as psychosis, clinical depression and schizophrenia.

Ask yourself these questions.

1. Why are the endorphins (natural pain killers) present in the brain?
2. Why won’t our brains release the endorphins when we are in pain, or feeling depressed?

Now some people will argue that painkillers should not be considered as a means of treating illness, now let’s not get carried away here, endorphins are not to be branded solely as painkillers, there are there to make you feel great, and as I mentioned earlier, do not underestimate the importance of feeling great. If you have a patient suffering from advanced stages of cancer for example, they usually undergo intense sessions of chemotherapy, which make the patient feel week, both physically and mentally. This would obviously make the patient feel very negative. If you are in need of healing for whatever reason, it would make sense to feel great about yourself during whichever treatment you have been prescribed.

“She lost the will to live”

How many times have you heard the above comment, if you are feeling positive and happy, then surely your immune system will be stronger and your recover rate will be quicker? If endorphins make you feel great and are 100% natural resulting in no known side effects then I would prescribe them to anyone who is undergoing any intense treatment. Definitely as a complementary treatment and after more research a primary means of treatment.

“Give your body a chance”

People who take drugs for example just want to feel great, and they take drugs as a means of escapism, unfortunately the drugs they take come at a price, the price being ill health and a shorter life. Now what if there was a way to help people feel euphoric, which came at no price, in which you did not need to steal to pay for your habit, visit drug dealers, or indulge in legal means of escapism such as tobacco and alcohol how excellent would that be. Rejoice there is a way; it is called an endorphin rush.

How I believe my endorphins where released
I believe my endorphins where released due to the intensity of the deep tissue stimulation massage, and the follow up stretching routine which seemed to come naturally to me once the endorphins where released. This is where the link between tai chi and endorphin release comes into the equation, as I said, once I began experiencing the endorphin release I began to naturally move my arms and body in a way which helped maximize the release, so the feeling started to surround my body. It felt like a warm glow from seventh heaven. At this point I began to feel euphoric, my breathing became deeper and my nasal passage and airways dilated and breathing became much easier. A deep sense of clarity was achieved.

However there may be other reasons as to why I experienced such a powerful endorphin rush. Prior to enrolling on the course I was going through deep intense negativity, with depression combined with constant thought loops. One could say that this negative mind set had primed the production of endorphins, ready to be released and that the massage/stretching was all that was needed to release the endorphins.

It is an interesting theory that maybe our brains do prime the endorphin stock ready for deployment, but as I mentioned earlier it seems that our brains our incapable of releasing them on their own, thus requiring some sort of catalyst whether it be drug induced or through massage/stretching.

Ok so we have a few ideas, here, but we will have problems with implementation of this technique. Endorphin stock capacity, intensity and duration of experience could all depend on various factors, such as age, build, state of health, dietary habits, gender, genetic makeup (race), and mental state. Touching on the mental state, if a person is of average health, and not suffering from any particular mental condition, then maybe the endorphins would not be in a primed state? Also there is the problem of time, these days we all seem to live fast paced lives, on the go constantly, assuming I am of an average build and genetic makeup, it took me a full 40 hr week of massage and 1 hour per night for 5 days of meditation before I achieved my release of endorphins. There is also the problem of cost.

If for example, the stock capacity and intensity is standard amongst all people, and that a standard amount of physical pressure (Massage) is required for each sex, to release the stock, then assuming this to be so, you would require at least 5 days treatment, 4-5 hours per day, with daily stretching routines with deep controlled meditation. Basing this on my own personal experience of course. However if we could combine all the major factors which influence endorphin stock capacity, and release intensity, and come up with some sort of benchmark for application purposes to determine the required length of time per treatment, then implementation of the technique would be easier. This may be impossible, and the treatment time is likely to be unique per individual, and that the time per treatment will have to be specific to the individuals needs, focusing on the endorphin rush as the primary goal of the therapist and the patient. If an endorphin rush is not achieved, then the patient will still benefit greatly from the massage technique. However whether this will be sufficient enough to help psychosis or other deep routed mental problems is yet to be seen I personally doubt this, and I feel regular endorphin release is the only solution for deep routed mental illness. (From a complimentary perspective).

Other problems would be the amount of trained professionals who can carry out such a technique, if this particular treatment is to be considered as a major means of combating deep routed mental disorders.

Although the massage technique is of high quality, I would like help in formulating a new course to be taught combining the following elements. The primary purpose of this new course would be to release an individual’s Natural Endorphins, not a steady flow, but a strong endorphin rush of a high concentration. Using, revised consultations to assess all possible contra-indications.

Equation
Stretching-Stress Positions (Yoga/Pilates) /Deep tissue stimulation massage/Stretching-stress positions (Yoga/Pilates) -Endorphin Release-Tai chi or similar movement based meditation technique. (Deep tissue massage stimulates the pain receptors, endorphins are then released to cancel out pain, and however, the endorphins create a feeling of total bliss which in my case lasted for around 4 days, EUPHORIC, VERY VERY VERY NICE!!!!)

I hope that this report is considered and you use your weight as an organization to push for more research on Endorphins and the healing properties they may hold.

Endorphins are not just for the sick; they are there for us all to embrace. The Human race has suffered enough it is time for the pleasure.

http://www.raynormassage.com

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