Our Weekly Tip: If You’re Grieving, Try Massage Therapy

Credit: cheadle-holistic-therapies.co.uk  

Our Tip of The Week:  Touch can be an incredibly effective tool for people who need a sense of grounding and connection as they deal with grief. Dr. Berit S. Cronfalk, one of a team of researchers who carried out a study on grief and massage at Karolinksa Institute in Stockholm, says that gentle but firm massage activates touch receptors in the skin, which aids in the release of oxytocin, a hormone that promotes relaxation and general well-being. Oxytocin is also known as the “bonding hormone” because it promotes empathy, trust and maternal behavior. Its release through massage may help lessen the sense of emptiness and loneliness that grieving people tend to feel.

Eighteen people participated in the study, each receiving a weekly massage for eight weeks after losing a loved once to cancer. According to Dr. Cronfalk, all of the participants used the word “consolation” to describe the effect of the massage on their grief. They also told the researchers that “the massages helped them to balance the need to grieve and the need to adapt to life after the loss of their relative,” Dr. Cronfalk said.

Credit: falmouthmassage.com

How-to Suggestion: In the Karolinska Institute study, participants received a 25-minute hand or foot massage once a week for eight weeks. The massages were performed at their choice of location — either in at the hospital, at work or in the home. The massage therapist used slow strokes, light pressure and circular movements, using citrus or hawthorne scented oil. 

If you would like to try massage therapy to help you deal with your grief, contact a massage therapist who is familiar with soft-tissue massage. To locate a therapist in your area, contact the American Massage Therapy Association or the Associated Bodywork Massage Professionals.