Symptoms of Depression that May Respond Well to Reflexology

How Can Reflexology Help Depression?

 

In a previous blog, I wrote about the physical effects of depression and how this illness can manifest itself in real physical ways, such as suppressed immunity, insomnia, eating disorders and an increased risk of self-harm.  I have included an extract of that blog below and also some of the amazing ways in which Reflexology can help to alleviate some of the problems that sufferers have to deal with.

 

From the blog of September 2017:

“One of the best and most enlightening books I’ve ever read is “The Biology of Belief” by Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D.  In the book he explains how our mental state and feelings can actually have a physical affect on our bodies.  It radically changed how I felt about my own thinking, and how my mental state could actually have an effect on my physical wellbeing.  We’ve all heard about someone dying of a “broken heart” and we’ve all felt that very tangible knot in our stomachs when facing something scary.  We’ve read about the negative way in which stress can affect our bodies and we’ve heard the miraculous stories of super-human feats performed in life-or-death situations.  So it should come as no surprise that an illness such as depression can actually have a negative effect on our physical health.  

 

So here are the four most powerful and negative ways in which depression or persistent sadness can affect our physical health:

 

1.  It Suppresses The Immune System

There is growing evidence that suggests that being sad or depressed can suppress the immune system.  If this happens, the body becomes much more vulnerable to chronic autoimmune diseases like arthritis and multiple sclerosis, as well as the more everyday colds and flu.  In addition, with an increase of the negative emotions, there is an increase of stress hormones.  In normal circumstances, these hormones help us deal with sudden trauma and then they get switched off.  However, with depression, they are not switched off and this suppresses the immune system even further.  

 

2.  Eating Disorders

An integral part of persistent sadness and depression is negative self-image.  A vulnerable person who is depressed may be more susceptible to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, because negative self-image and a feeling of being unable to control the depression (or indeed, the circumstances that might have caused the depression) lead to the sufferers trying to take back control, sometimes in the only way they can - by controlling what they eat.  

 

3.  Risk of Self-Harm

If anxious feelings persist and aren't addressed, sufferers may turn to harming themselves through substance abuse, suicidal behaviour or other means. 

 

4.  Exhaustion

Depression causes mental and physical exhaustion.  Sleep patterns are disrupted because your mind can’t still itself and therefore you can’t fall asleep easily.  When you do get to sleep, it is fitful and brief.  If you’re exhausted, every little thing seems like a huge hurdle and life begins to get the better of you - the negative feelings are increased, caused the depression to deepen and the cycle is repeated.”

 

 

So, How Can Reflexology Help?

It’s worth mentioning here that holistic therapies such as Reflexology treat problems with the whole person - the mind, bodyand spirit are parts of a whole - they all have to be working properly if the individual is to be well.  That is why it’s so effective in helping people to manage their emotional problems and improve their physical wellbeing.  In other words, helping them to heal.

 

·      Feeling hopeless and helpless

·      Continuous low mood or sadness

·      Low self-esteem 

·      Tearfulness

·      Feeling guilty

·      Irritability and being intolerant 

·      Lack of motivation or interest in things

·      Difficulty making decisions

·      Not enjoying life

·      Feeling anxious/ worried

 

Very often depression is a hormonal issue and Reflexology is very good at balancing hormones, both the ones that cause stress and those that make us feel relaxed and help us sleep.  It also works to relieve symptoms of depression by stimulating specific points/nerve endings in the feet and hands, which in turn:

• Causes increased blood flow to organs 
• Eliminates toxin build up in the body 
• Stimulates the lymphatic system
• Induces a state of relaxation, restoring harmony to both the sympathetic (the fight or flight response) and parasympathetic (the rest and digest) nervous systems 
• Encourages a release of the natural feel-good hormones, endorphins, which have been well-documented by science to reduce the body’s stress response
• Opens up energy pathways, allowing for optimal nervous system functioning. 

 

 

If you want to get yourself back on track and think that I could help you find your balance again, please do get in touch through my website: www.barefoot-reflexology.co.uk