How Massage Therapy Improves Mental Health: Trigger Point Therapy & S.E.R's

Its World Mental Health day, so let me hit you with a cliche right now...

Massage Therapy directly impacts your mental health. For those of us familiar with the benefits of massage we know that numerous studies and empirical evidence have shown that regular and even intermittent massage improves sleep, mood, relieves anxiety, helps depression and overall, provides a sense of well-being.

So when you're feeling like Robert ^ up there, slouching at your desk; bored with the mundane everyday routine; overwhelmed by the immense work-load your pushing; annoyed at listening to your co-worker gossip about her 'friend', who clearly isn't a friend, for the 5th time this week and aggravated by that customer who wants to super-impose their political opinions on you... you don't just need a mental health break, your body needs one too.

Giving your body that much needed break doesn't mean just plopping in your bed after a long day to binge watch a TV show and eat ice cream. Although I support that decision entirely, it has to be coupled with active therapeutic approaches of tending to your physical needs.

Listening to your body, tending to it and taking care of it will directly impact your mental health. That is scientifically proven, nerds and nerdettes.

All of that mental and emotional stress that you're currently facing, if this applies to you.. which if you're human, it probably does, gets stored in your body. In fact, your body doesn't only store the stress you are currently dealing with, it has stored the trauma, adverse experiences and years of avoidance or neglect you have accumulated throughout your life.

Shoulders hiked up to your ears? Neck in discomfort? Low back aching? All of that can very likely be various emotions and psychological stress being stored in the body. Even though, yes, your poor posture also has something to do with it.

Mental Health Awareness places an emphasis on the importance of counseling and talk therapy, two very important forms of self-care. It also places an emphasis on meditation, hypnosis, breathwork and massage therapy. This is because the body, the mind and the spirit are connected. Seperate yet connected, therefore, one effects the other. So all three must be nurtured.

As an LMT certified in Trigger Point Therapy, I not only can feel but, I find the exact spots where this internal stress has turned to physiological response when I discover trigger points in a client. Trigger Points are localized areas of tension built up in the layers of tissue.

The sensation of a trigger point correlates to how deep it is in the tissue. Itchy sensation: superficial layer. Dull/achy sensation: the muscle. Sharp pain: the periosteum (the tissue that covers the bone).

Clients often ask me, how do I get a Trigger Point? I tell them, being alive.

Trigger Points can develop from any subtle or drastic movement, repetitive positions or movement, bad posture, bending over to tie your shoe too fast or... stress.

Going back to that gossiping co-worker, that unnecessarily political customer or some much deeper emotional trigger that you don't often talk about and isn't my place to ask you about. But, we all have them.

Sometimes releasing a trigger point can result in whats called an S.E.R (Somatic-Emotional Release). Which is psycho-emotional stress that has been stored and manifested as physical pain (a trigger point) that has formed and is now being pushed out and released.

Somatic-Emotional Releases are real, I have seen and experienced them. Harvard Health even published an article about them (you proof-needing nerd, you) and it can be seen here.

Sometimes the response can be laughter, sometimes anger, other times, hysterical crying. The idea of it happening can make a person uncomfortable, but the truth is, it needs to happen. It needs to be released.

I have stood and just held a client's hand before while they sobbed from an S.E.R. It wasn't on purpose and there was no judgement. It was something that had to happen, I may have been the faciliator but I was not the cause.

One time I did it to myself when I was releasing a trigger point in my jaw due to some intense TMJ and I started sobbing.

I have seen someone have a full blown laughing fit after an S.E.R, not even understanding why they were laughing. It even happened to me personally before in Massage Therapy school.

I have seen anxiety spells, you name it. Its not to scare people away, its to tell them: come face it, feel it and let it go. Which is exactly what happens afterwards. A good, caring therapist would never judge you for that.

Once that source of pain, physical and emotional, is released, there is a feeling of emancipation thats very empowering.

So on this World Mental Health Day, I say all this to remind you to nurture your mind, body and soul.

Some Sources that Explain the Connection:

If you're interested in diving deeper; the books "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel Van der Kolk, MD and "Anatomy of the Spirit" by Caroline Myss, a medical intuitive, can be a good place to start. These authors discuss the profound impact that life-situations have on our mind and how they directly affect our body.

In the Body Keeps the Score, Van der Kolk explains how traumas are not just psychological but physiological as well. This is why veterans returning from war often dont just deal with the struggles of PTSD, but also chronic pain and other physical health-related issues. Although some critics suggest the book avoids the realities of social and political issues and focuses solely on individual responses that can stigmatize trauma survivors, it is important to remember that while social and political issues are real factors that impact our lives and stress levels, it is our individual choices that make the difference in how we will manage, cope and deal with the circumstances that are out of our control.

In Anatomy of the Spirit, Myss explains how generational patterns, toxic bonds, poor mental health and other forms of mental-emotional distress can correlate to very specific ailments, disease and bodily pain. She explains how the framework for addressing these problems can be found through integrating anatomical awareness with spiritual practices for self-discovery and empowerment.

Real trauma experienced by abuse survivors, veterans or those who have witnessed horrible situations is not easily erased, ignored, or avoided, it remains and must be channeled in some form. Its stored inside us and the only way to overcome it is through release. Preferably, a healthy one if we are too really address that which afflicts us. Actively working through the triggers, the emotions and the fears through internal work and healthy physical channels like exercise, massage and breath-work. Healing happens when we face ourself and give ourself grace to go through the ups and downs of overcoming adversities. It is not a linear path, but a continuous effort to progress forward.

The wise know: we can’t control others but we can control ourselves. That means how we respond and react, or choose not to. Energy flows where energy goes. That can be good or bad.

So when the frustration, anxiety and stress kicks in; move your body, embrace your body, receive some safe-informed touch and breathe.