Spa Treatments for Depression

There is not just one cause of depression. It is a complex disease that can occur as a result of a multitude of different factors, including biology, emotional and environmental influences. For some, depression occurs due to a loss of a loved one, a change in one's life, or after being diagnosed with a serious medical disease. For others, depression just happened, possibly due to a family history of the disorder. There is absolute proof that people suffering from depression have changes in their brains compared to people who do not suffer from depression. The hippocampus, a small part of the brain that is vital to the storage of memories, is 9%-13% smaller in women with a history of depression than in those who've never been depressed. A smaller hippocampus has fewer serotonin receptors. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter -- a chemical messenger that allows communication between nerves in the brain and the body. What scientists don't yet know is why the hippocampus is smaller. Investigators have found that cortisol (a stress hormone that is important to the normal function of the hippocampus) is produced in excess in depressed people. They believe that cortisol has a toxic or poisonous effect on the hippocampus. It's also possible that depressed people are simply born with a smaller hippocampus and are therefore inclined to suffer from depression. Chromatherapy (or color therapy) may help.  The idea is that different colored lights emulate energy sources of the body (or chakras), creating a positive psychological effect. "Even if clients

aren't knowledgeable about their chakras, they do know what makes them relax and feel good," says Jean Kolb, spa director of Kohler Waters Spa in Wisconsin Dells, WI.

Western medicine traditionally approaches depression with a two-pronged method, involving physician-prescribed medication and psychotherapy.

1. Medications used for depression usually fall into one of three categories of antidepressants: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), or tricyclics. 2. To help patients improve coping skills and reduce the effects and recurrence of depressive episodes, psychologists and psychiatrists administer psychotherapy.

Massage Therapy

Aside from a general understanding that massage feels good, bodywork can have significant, therapeutic value in battling depression. Three physiological explanations for massage therapy’s tremendous positive impact on depressed people include:

1. Touch improves the efficiency of the pituitary-adrenal axis. Ironically, depression tends to cause people to isolate themselves even further from tactile stimulation, potentially worsening their depression.

2. Right and left lobe brain symmetry minimizes depression susceptibility. Research about how massage affects mood indicates a shift in electroencephalogram (EEG) activation from the right frontal lobe (usually associated with sad affect) to the left frontal lobe (usually associated with happy affect), or at least towards symmetry between lobes.

3. The balancing of hormones and neurotransmitters can be encouraged naturally with massage. In general, serotonin and endorphins function to make people feel good, while cortisol functions to transmit feelings of pain and stress. Nearly every clinical trial evaluating massage therapy reports that bodywork enhances serotonin and endorphin levels, and reduces circulating levels of cortisol.

Massage therapists must be cautious when working with depressed patients. Some clients receiving and enjoying massage may wish to stop taking their medication on their own accord. When working with depressed clients, you must remember that safety is paramount. If a client ever mentions thoughts about suicide, a therapist is obligated to note it in his/her chart and report the situation to the client’s therapist.

Depression often accompanies complex emotional issues that a client may bring into your session. Although considered an adjunct therapy for depression, massage is known to improve its symptoms. Research demonstrates ample physiological reasons for the mechanisms behind massage’s therapeutic value in treating depression. While practitioners should keep in mind the warnings of working with this population, the rewards that come from helping clients ease their depression are well worthwhile.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that tends to occur (and recur) as the days grow shorter in the fall and winter. It is believed that affected persons react adversely to the decreasing amounts of light and the colder temperatures as the fall and winter progress. It is important to note that although seasonal affective disorder usually presents in the fall and winter, there are those who suffer from this condition during the summer instead of, or in addition to, during the fall or winter.

Phototherapy can be used to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) caused by sunlight deprivation during the dark winter months and the infra-red and UV radiation treatment is used for muscular stimulation and relaxation.  Light therapy can be used to target pain and applied to cases of neuralgia and inflammations of the ears and nose. 

Phototherapy is also known as light therapy and involves exposure to light from a box of white fluorescent light tubes covered with a plastic screen to block ultraviolet rays. 

Light has an extremely positive effect on the skin and body and light therapy uses light either from natural (heliotherapy) or artificial sources (actinotherapy) to treat various ailments, as well as depressive and sleep disorders. The light travelling through the epidermis can affect cell bio-chemistry in the skin which in turn can affect the enzyme reaction rate, tissue repair, cell regeneration, the speeding up of blood flow and the increase of oxygen supply.   

You should discuss your health needs with your physicians before considering any spa treatments. Spa Treatments are complimentary treatments to medication, exercise and dietary changes that your physician prescribes.