What is a PTSD massage?

Author: Gideon Roob  |  Last update: Saturday, July 5, 2025

How does PTSD massage help? During a trauma massage session, the massage therapist addresses muscles, muscle groups, tendons, and soft tissues to loosen up tightness, work out knots and trigger points, and create more flexibility and movement for the client.

What is the massage technique for PTSD?

Deep Tissue Massage

This technique applies firm pressure and slow strokes to manipulate deep layers of muscle, making it a type of massage PTSD patients may find loosens their muscles and provides physical relief from pain and stiffness that can manifest as PTSD symptoms.

What are the 5 signs of PTSD?

Reliving aspects of what happened
  • vivid flashbacks (feeling like the trauma is happening right now)
  • intrusive thoughts or images.
  • nightmares.
  • intense distress at real or symbolic reminders of the trauma.
  • physical sensations such as pain, sweating, nausea or trembling.

What happens in PTSD therapy?

In these talk therapies, you'll learn ways to work through your trauma, by visualizing, talking or thinking about the traumatic event until it becomes less upsetting. Or you will focus on changing unhelpful beliefs about the trauma or since the trauma happened. These talk therapies usually last about 8-16 sessions.

What happens when you yell at someone with PTSD?

Yelling can serve as a powerful trigger for individuals with PTSD, reigniting their traumatic memories and plunging them into a state of overwhelming distress. The aggressive and forceful nature of yelling can mimic the threatening and dangerous situations that caused their PTSD in the first place.

How Massage Helps PTSD - Warwick Massage Lacey

What should you never say to someone with PTSD?

WHAT NOT TO SAY TO PEOPLE WITH PTSD
  • “Why can't you just get over it?” Invalidating and dismissing someone's PTSD cause and/or symptoms can end up causing more harm than intended. ...
  • “It could have been worse.” ...
  • “I know how you feel.” ...
  • “Stop overreacting.” ...
  • “You're being dramatic.” ...
  • “That happened so long ago.”

What are the 7 F trauma responses?

Everyone responds to trauma in a different way, and different kinds of trauma can have different responses in the same people. The six main types of trauma responses are fight, flight, freeze, fawn, fine, and faint. All reactions to trauma are valid, but trauma should always be addressed in therapy.

What are the 5 stages of PTSD?

What are the five stages of PTSD?
  • Impact or Emergency Stage. ...
  • Denial/ Numbing Stage. ...
  • Rescue Stage (including Intrusive or Repetitive stage) ...
  • Short-term Recovery or Intermediate Stage. ...
  • Long-term reconstruction or recovery stage.

What is the best medication for PTSD?

The 2 medicines recommended to treat PTSD in adults are paroxetine and sertraline. Paroxetine and sertraline are both a type of antidepressant known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These medicines will only be used if: you choose not to have trauma-focused psychological treatment.

What are the 17 symptoms of PTSD?

The 17 symptoms of PTSD are:
  • Agitation.
  • Nervousness & Anxiety.
  • Problems with Concentration or Thinking.
  • Problems with Memory.
  • Headaches.
  • Depression & Crying Spells.
  • Suicidal Thoughts or Attempts.
  • Mood Swings.

What is the biggest symptom of PTSD?

What Are the Symptoms of PTSD?
  • Reliving the event (also called re-experiencing symptoms). Memories of the traumatic event can come back at any time. ...
  • Avoiding things that remind you of the event. ...
  • Having more negative thoughts and feelings than before the event. ...
  • Feeling on edge or keyed up (also called hyperarousal).

What is the fastest way to calm PTSD?

You could:
  • Focus on your breathing. When you are frightened, you might stop breathing normally. ...
  • Carry an object that reminds you of the present. ...
  • Tell yourself that you are safe. ...
  • Comfort yourself. ...
  • Keep a diary. ...
  • Try grounding techniques.

Who is a famous person with PTSD?

Streisand developed an intense fear of performance and only overcame it after receiving both therapy and medication for her condition. Other famous people with PTSD include Lady Gaga, Shia LaBeouf, Ariana Grande, and Charlize Theron.

Do massages release trauma?

Holistic Healing Trauma massage therapy addresses both physical and emotional aspects of trauma. By working through physical tension, it often leads to emotional release, promoting comprehensive healing. Reduces Physical Pain Many trauma survivors experience chronic pain.

What is the most powerful treatment for PTSD?

The main treatment is talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy. But treatment also can include medicine. Combining these treatments can make your symptoms better by: Teaching you skills to manage your symptoms.

What is tapping points for PTSD?

For the remainder of the process, they gently tap with two fingers on the eight or more acupoints listed in the manual [34] which include: start of the eyebrow, side of the eye, under the eye, under the nose, under the lips (chin crease), an inch under the collarbone, under the arm, and top of the head.

What happens if PTSD is left untreated?

Unfortunately, if PTSD is left untreated, it can lead to self-destructive behavior, including an increased risk of suicide. Feelings of hopelessness, emotional numbness, and an inability to connect with others can become overwhelming, leading some individuals to contemplate or attempt suicide.

Why is EMDR so controversial?

So just why can EMDR be controversial? Tuono-Shell said there are various reasons, including questions around if EMDR is evidence based, if it will make mental health issues worse, if it's a form of hypnosis, and if it's only for treating PTSD. For example, some may think it's a hoax.

How to calm down from PTSD trigger?

Try some different ways to relax, including:
  1. Muscle relaxation exercises.
  2. Breathing exercises.
  3. Meditation.
  4. Swimming, stretching, yoga.
  5. Prayer.
  6. Listening to quiet music.
  7. Spending time in nature.

Does PTSD ever go away?

PTSD symptoms usually appear soon after trauma. For most people, these symptoms go away on their own within the first few weeks and months after the trauma. For some, the symptoms can last for many years, especially if they go untreated. PTSD symptoms can stay at a fairly constant level of severity.

What not to do to someone with PTSD?

Don't:
  1. Give easy answers or blithely tell your loved one everything is going to be okay.
  2. Stop your loved one from talking about their feelings or fears.
  3. Offer unsolicited advice or tell your loved one what they “should” do.
  4. Blame all of your relationship or family problems on your loved one's PTSD.

How to tell if someone has PTSD?

How Can You Tell if Someone You Know May Have PTSD?
  1. Intrusions – reliving the event with upsetting memories, nightmares, or flashbacks where it truly feels as if the event is happening all over again.
  2. Avoidance – trying very hard to avoid any reminders of the trauma, including talking about what happened.

What is trauma dumping?

Trauma dumping: With trauma dumping, you overshare difficult or intimate personal information without the other person's consent or during inappropriate times. You don't consider how your words impact the listener, and you're not open to advice or solutions.

What mental illness can trauma cause?

Trauma and stressor-related disorders include:
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ...
  • Acute stress disorder (ASD). ...
  • Adjustment disorders. ...
  • Reactive attachment disorder (RAD). ...
  • Disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED). ...
  • Unclassified and unspecified trauma disorders.

How to release trauma from the body?

Body-based methods like yoga and massage help release muscle tension stored from trauma. Yoga incorporates mindful movement and breathing, which calms the nervous system, while massage therapy targets deeper muscle layers, alleviating physical stress and promoting relaxation.

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