What does Thai Massage have to do with depression? Thai Massage – and most massages – are probably about the farthest thing from depression that you can find. And that is why it can be very helpful.
A case of medical intervention without considering alternatives
Recently I got a message from a friend of mine. She revealed to me that her doctor told her that she had a case of depression and put her on heavy anti-depressants. He told her she should keep taking them for several years!
She complained to me that the drugs had strong side effects. That’s not exactly surprising. In fact, it is common knowledge
I know this person well enough to know that she is not seriously depressed. She never had a big problem with depression until she was told that she had it. And now she is popping pills like candy. Quite a sad story, really.
The value of medical science in perspective
To make it clear, I know that there are cases where people are a danger to themselves or to others, and they might have to be medicated.
It is a fact that modern medicine does a great job of fixing broken things in the body, reattaching parts, replacing parts, and stitching accident victims back together.
But I also know that medical science has a very weak track record when it comes to healing immune system issues, chronic diseases, depression, and yes, even the common cold.
Ingesting lots of chemical pills can and does cause a lot of problems and, unless absolutely necessary, is something to be avoided as much as possible, especially if there are good natural alternatives available.
If anyone doubts this, you can check out the side effects of any drug here. It is scary, to say the least!
Setting the record straight
We are talking here about natural remedies for light or medium cases of the blues or depression. Nobody is disputing that there are severe cases of clinical depression that might require other types of medical intervention.
However, the fact is that the US is the most medicated country in the world, and in many cases, chemical pills are prescribed too quickly while neglecting other solutions, as presented here in this article.
Common sense and some easy remedies
I cannot diagnose diseases and I am not an expert in medical science, but I do have some good common sense that has served me quite well – especially in my Thai Massage career.
This depression episode of my friend and client got me thinking.
Most of us get a little depressed every now and then. Life has its ups and downs, and the downs can get to us. Just using some old-fashioned common sense and a lifetime’s worth of experience – what might likely help a mild case of depression?
12 tips to prevent or counteract depression
Here are some things which you can do when you get the doldrums (not one of them was suggested to my friend by the doctor):
- Deep breathing
- Exercise (check out my follow-along exercise in this video)
- Improve your diet, drink lots of fresh-squeezed juices
- Get some sun on your body
- Spend time in nature
- Hug someone
- Take advantage of nature’s pharmacy
- Play with a puppy or kitten
- Help someone else instead of primarily focusing on yourself
- Stop taking yourself so seriously
- Read or listen to something funny
- And last, but not least, GET SOME GOOD THAI MASSAGE – or any massage.
Thai Massage therapy to the rescue
I dare anyone to feel depressed when you are getting an excellent Thai Massage. It is actually pretty difficult if not impossible since Thai Massage increases the production of endorphins.
Those little fellas are perfectly designed to counteract anything depressive that comes anywhere near them.
Personally, when I have a case of the blues, I go down to the local mall and get a one-hour foot massage or Thai Massage. I have never managed to NOT feel good when I do that.
Luckily here in Thailand massage is cheap and available everywhere. This is not the case in most other places in the world, but there is a possible solution coming up below.
Why Thai Massage works so well for depression
Massage in general is a great antidote for depression. Considering that depression is not a physical disease but manifests itself on an energetic level (mind and emotions), Thai Massage has the unique advantage that it works on the energy as well as the body.
Energy work is part of Thai Massage – so how does this work or help? It balances and stabilizes the energy flow in your body. This kind of treatment has been practiced and proven in Asia for many hundreds of years.
Imagine feeling calm, happy, content, and centered. That’s a state you can reach when receiving a good Thai Massage session.
This state of being directly counteracts a state of depression. This does not mean that it provides an instant cure, but it is a step toward improvement, and this happens without any harmful side effects.
How to get a Thai Massage when you cannot afford one
If you live in a place where Thai Massage is expensive and not so easily available, suggest to your partner, spouse, girlfriend, or boyfriend to learn some of those skills so that you can work on each other.
It will not only get you out of depressive moods, but it can be of great value in improving your relationships as well.
At Thai Healing Massage Academy, we have produced the perfect online training course for this: “Thai Massage For Friends And Family“.
This is a practical and very inexpensive way to learn some Thai Massage skills for use within your circle of family and friends.
This can be a lifelong skill and a great hobby. You don’t have to spend lots of money on professional massage therapy if your budget is tight.
Just invest a little time to learn some Thai Massage skills yourself and share the experience and the knowledge with your loved ones.
My personal experience
Thai Massage is often my first line of defense when I don’t feel right. Thai Massage is not just good for your body, it is good for your mind as well.
I love the relaxed, trance-like, peaceful, carefree, happy, clear, and light feeling after a good massage. It makes me feel like I am walking on clouds. And you can be sure that there are no unwelcome side effects.
The professional Thai Massage path
If you feel inspired to help others with their problems, learning Thai Massage as a rewarding profession is something you might consider. Here is a good resource:
The author, Shama Kern, is the founder of Thai Healing Massage Academy. He has been practicing and teaching Thai Massage for over 2 decades, and he is the creator of 20 Thai Massage online training courses.
I love the points of relaxation that you have mentioned:
deep breathing
exercise (check out my follow-along exercise in this video)
improve my diet (which is already vegetarian), drink lots of fresh squeezed juices
get some sun on my body
spend time in nature
hug someone
play with a puppy or kitten
helping someone else instead of focusing on me, me, and me
stop taking myself so seriously
read or listen to something funny
And last, but not least, GET LOTS OF GOOD MASSAGE
but i can not find exercise for depression. i know two peaple who need help and medicine doesn’t help
Anna, my article is full of exercises for depression. And I suggest massage as an excellent way to help with depression.
This is a terribly irresponsible post my friend and demonstrates your lack of understanding of depression. While I agree massage is beneficial – as are all of the other practices that you list – clinical depression often cannot be cured by these practices alone. Also, you will find that depressed individuals often cannot manage to undertake many of these practices. Why? Because they are depressed.
I did not state anywhere in the article that massage or other holistic/natural means alone can ‘cure’ depression. I just said that it helps – which you seem to agree with. So you misquoted me here.
While I agree that some severely depressed people might not be able to get themselves to follow the suggestions of the article, there are many people who are less than severely depressed who can definitely follow some of the suggestions and benefit from them.
My whole point is that there are holistic and natural practices which can help with depression to some degree – massage being one of them.
Just because there are some people who suffer from severe clinical depression does not negate the value of these suggestions for people who are not in the extreme category of depression.