I have studied a variety of alternative therapies since I can remember. There was always something inside of me that knew Western medicine was good for some things but for others we needed a time tested approach to our health. In the “New Age” of therapy, with the freedom to explore just about anything at out fingertips all the information is overwhelming and sadly many times the practices ineffective.
Today there are as many medications and drug combinations as there are diagnosis for mental imbalances. Just the classifications alone are exhausting. Mood stabilizers, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and inhibitors. It always seems to me that there is “anti-something”. In a world where we feel lack to begin with - Why are we striving to anti-anything? Why is the approach not to make additions? Give? Balance?
Don’t get me wrong. I am not a doctor. I am not a psychologist.
I live in this world with simple observations. Just like you. I am not saying that anyone should go off their meds. I have just wondered, like everyone else, how we got here and what I can do to improve my corner of this world. So I started looking into how things have changed since we have had such a drastic increase in medications prescribed and the difference between people that feel more balanced compared to people that felt off kilter. And found a TON of information by doctors and psychologists.
It seemed to me the answer was that we were living more and more isolated. We don’t really know our neighbors. We go to work, we come home. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. We used to see our loved ones every day. We used to make meals with them every day. We used to receive touch every day. From people that know us. Care for us. Now it’s a hug or two on special occasions.
The result? There are terms for it. “Touch Hunger” “Touch Deprived” even “Skin Hunger” And yes my friends - These are real and recognized by modern medicine as real conditions. Babies will die or later develop anything from mild to serious mental disorders from lack of touch in just the first few months of life. As a matter of fact don’t trust me - Go to Google. Fredricks Experiment. And if you think that some antiquated information from ages ago is not good enough - https://stpauls.vxcommunity.com/Issue/Us-Experiment-On-Infants-Withholding-Affection/13213Clean. Germ free. Healthy. Fed. Cared for. Babies that can’t understand the placebo effect in an experiment. And to them the need for touch was equal to food, even air.
You are not a baby. However - You are still HUMAN.
Your need for touched has diminished only to the point that you may not die from lack of touch. But you will likely suffer mentally and physically. With a massage therapist available to you that has put years of research and learning into making sure you get the touch you deserve - Not getting a massage seems to me like peeking in a restaurant window while you starve.
I wouldn’t want just anyone touching me. And I don’t think you want just anyone to massage you. I have worked diligently to study a variety of massage modalities. With each massage I evaluate what is going with you in that moment as well as past factors and current conditions that have an effect on what kind of massage you will receive. I graduated from the best school in the state and one of the best in the country. Irene’s school of myomassology. Including staying well above what I need to continue my certification I also am a teachers apprentice at Irene’s, where I help current students learn and develop their career path in massage. It’s an intensive program but well worth it to give that extra for the needs of my clients. I believe in touch. I believe in massage. And I know that massage is not a luxury - It’s a necessity.
As W. H. Auden put it, “We must love one another or die.”
For you that always want more to read...
The Good...
I don’t have to say it when others already have - http://www.wiseoldsayings.com/massage-quotes/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/changepower/201009/the-massage-habit-new-reasons-love-massage
https://www.abmp.com/textonlymags/article.php?article=1009
https://www.allalliedhealthschools.com/massage-therapist/massage-therapy-history/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mind-body-connection/201309/why-we-all-need-touch-and-be-touched
https://www.rd.com/health/beauty/benefits-of-massage/
https://www.plushcare.com/blog/advantages-of-human-touch-hugs/
http://www.michaelgregoryii.com/2015/05/skin-hunger-overcome-loneliness/
The Ugly...
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-art-closeness/201507/4-disorders-may-thrive-loneliness
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/d3gzba/the-life-of-the-skin-hungry-can-you-go-crazy-from-a-lack-of-touch
https://newrepublic.com/article/113176/science-loneliness-how-isolation-can-kill-you
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/loneliness-makes-your-brain-work-differently-study-shows-a6732056.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2232420/Prolonged-loneliness-transform-brain-make-MORE-antisocial.html
http://brainblogger.com/2006/05/15/anti-stigmatization-social-isolation-and-mental-illness/
