REDUCE STRESS THROUGH TOUCH

My focus as a therapist has always been to find ways to stimulate the patient's own healthy core and provide tools for self-help. A valuable tool for stimulating our own well-being system is different types of touch. Positive touch releases one of the body's most important hormones, oxytocin.

OUR OWN FEEL-GOOD HORMONE

Professor Kerstin Uvnäs Moberg,  is a pioneer in research on oxytocin. In her research, she presents oxytocin as our own feel-good hormone.

Oxytocin strengthens our immune system and makes us less sensitive to pain. It also has a positive impact on heart rate and blood pressure, as well as on nutrient storage, growth, and healing processes in our bodies. Furthermore, it seems to positively affect our friendly and social relationships.

From a stress perspective, oxytocin is also one of the body's most important substances. It actually helps to reset the entire nervous system and puts us in a kind of anti-stress mode. This calm and relaxation reaction is as important for our health and survival as its opposite, the stress reactions triggered during fight or flight.

ACTIVATE YOUR OWN WELL-BEING SYSTEM

Body contact and warmth, different types of gentle touch, such as tactile massage, hugs – and likely also other positive experiences such as listening to enjoyable music or dancing – have been shown to increase oxytocin release. Singing in a choir or crafting with our hands has also been shown to stimulate release, especially if hand movements are repeated often and are calm, such as in knitting. The different body awareness exercises that you find in my book, which are also performed at a calm pace, also stimulate oxytocin release.

It has also been seen that oxytocin is released in both us and our pets when we cuddle with them. Maybe that's why the animal settles down comfortably and sighs while you feel the stress and worries loosen their grip on you.

WEIGHTED BLANKET

If you have experienced prolonged stress and struggle with severe anxiety, it can be beneficial to sleep under a weighted blanket. Various studies have shown that weighted blankets have an anxiety- and stress-reducing effect, as this type of touch clarifies our body boundaries and thus increases our own sense of security. You can read more about your own well-being hormone in my book; Regaining Balance, the Swedish Healthcare Method to Reduce Stress, Anxiety and Pain". - evamoberg.com/en/aterta-balansen