Mental benefits of massage therapy: Mental Health Month

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Mental benefits of massage therapy Mental Health
Month
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• Mental illness is a health condition that affects
  the person thinking, mood, behavior and may
  interrupt the ability to do daily activities.
  Furthermore, it can make life miserable and can
  cause problems with work, studies or with
  relationships.

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According to Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC)
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• Depression is the most common type of mental
  illness, affecting more than 26 of the U.S.
  adult population. It has been estimated that by
  the year 2020, depression will be the second
  leading cause of disability throughout the world,
  trailing only ischemic heart disease.

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• Alarming isn't it? As this epidemic mental health
  problem continues to grow throughout the nation,
  many people are in search of positive benefits
  from a healing touch such as massage therapy.

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• Study shows that a massage therapy is an
  excellent tool in treating depression, anxiety
  and insomnia. According to Ezzat, a registered
  massage therapist (RMT) practising in Pitt
  Meadows, BC, "the state of calm is achieved,
  allows one to have a better chance of using
  coping skills that have been acquired in other
  therapies such as counseling".

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Another massage study conducted by the Touch
Research Institute at the University of Miami
School of Medicine

• concludes that massage therapy relieves
  depression and anxiety through the body's
  biochemistry. The study includes about 500 men,
  women and children with depression or stress
  problems. They first measured the stress hormone
  (cortisol) in the participants before and
  immediately after the massage therapy. They found
  out that the stress hormone lowered by up to 53
  after the massage session. Massage therapy also
  increases the happy hormones that helps reduces
  depression.

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• Massage therapy is a powerful tool against the
  increasing cases of mental illness in our
  country. If you feel that you are having one or
  any member of your family, talk to your doctors
  and find a certified massage therapist to see how
  massage session can fit into your overall
  treatment plan.