12 Best Types Of Therapies For A Happier Life
Looking for ways to manage your stress levels or enhance your life? Both ancient and modern therapies can offer solutions
Going for therapy as a form of self-care is no longer something taboo in today's society. But with the rise of so many different types of therapy, it's important to know how different types of therapy can help with different needs and circumstances.
For instance, meditation or crystal healing are some of the best ways to help you find inner peace (you don't need to embark on a mountain-top retreat). Having trouble finding or keeping romantic relationships? Don't despair – there are therapies that can help you attract love.
If you're going through the loss of a loved one, certain therapies can help you cope with all the difficult and complicated emotions of grief. And if you're overwhelmed with life and need to soothe an over-stimulated nervous system, there therapies that will help reduce stress and the impact it has on your body.
Keep scrolling to find out the 12 best types of therapies to help your have a happier, healthier life.
Although not strictly a therapy, dance increases self-esteem and confidence and makes you feel more attractive. “Dance makes you feel more connected to yourself and others,” says Gene Moyle, associate professor of dance at Queensland University of Technology.
“You become more aware of your body and you get fitter and release endorphins, so you feel better. You’re also boosted by the sense of mastering something new, even if you’re not the best dancer,” she says.
Moyle’s top styles for bringing out your sexy side are Latin, ballroom and flamenco.
Trauma such as bullying, abuse or a relationship break-up can cause your ‘heart energy’ to close, making it difficult to be in a relationship, says Rochelle Taylor, AcuEnergetics practitioner.
“You need to look inside and find what’s preventing you from opening your heart and loving yourself and other people,” says Taylor.
AcuEnergetics – an energetic healing modality – is said to help you release the energy that makes you feel scared, unhappy and alone. Practitioners use energetic techniques to open your heart and help you trust and feel joy so you are receptive to love.
The reasons why you may have difficulty finding or maintaining a relationship can sometimes become clear when you look at your family tree.
Practitioners of Bowen Family Systems Theory or transgenerational therapy study your family tree, which therapists call a genogram. This can help you discover how events and behaviours inherited from the past might be affecting your life now.
It can be a fascinating and enlightening way to see where your expectations and sensitivities in relationships come from. You’ll also be counselled in strategies to help you become more receptive to and positive about love.
Meditation does much more than make you feel calm; an analysis of meditation research conducted in 2014 at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the US showed it can also improve anxiety and depression.
Mindfulness meditation – which focuses on non-judgmental acceptance of ‘what is’, and relaxation of the body and mind – is a practical meditation style that teaches simple yet powerful practices you can incorporate into your daily life.
An ancient practice with increasing relevance in our frenetic lives, one of tai chi’s primary aims is to help you find your inner peace. It’s the perfect stress antidote and ideal if you’re sick of being ‘crazy-busy’. The focused and coordinated movement of the body in a taichi class enables your mind and spirit to become settled.
Grandmaster Gary Khor from the Australian Academy of Tai Chi and Qigong says tai chi teaches you to go through life in a more relaxed and peaceful state, and helps you “feel stable in an unstable world”.
This therapy uses semi-precious and precious stones to promote health and wellbeing by placing stones on the chakras, or energy centres, on your body.
“Each crystal has different properties,” says Madeleine Marie, owner of The Crown Chakra in Sydney, Australia. During a treatment, stones are chosen that work with the chakras to balance and restore energy.
“For someone wanting to feel more peaceful I’d use amethyst to clear the mind, rose quartz to enhance self-love and soften the energy, and black tourmaline to ground them,” says Marie.
Experiencing grief and loss can be a complete shock to the system: you may think you’re never going to feel better, or that you’re going mad.
If it’s hard to manage from one day to the next, seeing a counsellor or psychologist for grief or bereavement counselling can be very helpful. A counsellor will encourage you to share your thoughts and feelings and will support you to engage with life in a way that will help you recover.
This is a style of abdominal massage designed to help you process emotions. It’s perfect for helping with the myriad feelings you have when you lose someone, such as despair, anger, fear and guilt.
According to chi nei tsang theory, which is based on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, unexpressed emotions are held as ‘tightness’ in the organs.
During a session, the therapist works gently on your stomach to find where you are holding these emotions so they can be released and processed. You’ll leave feeling more grounded emotionally.
Using flower essences (or elixirs) is a discreet way of helping yourself – just pop a few drops under the tongue when you’re feeling low. The essences harness the inherent healing power of plants and provide gentle support. They draw out the inner strength which you may not feel you possess at the moment.
Australian Bush Flower Essences (available for shipping worldwide) has several appropriate blends: Emergency Essence has a calming effect during a crisis; Purifying Essence helps you let go of pent-up emotions, while Transition Essence will help you move through major life changes more smoothly.
Stress triggers the release of hormones, such as adrenaline, which increases the heart rate and prepares the body for action – known as the ‘fight or flight’ response. Long-term, repeated activation of stress hormones can take a toll mentally, physically and emotionally.
The deep breathing taught in a yoga class induces the relaxation responses. This slows the heart rate and puts the body into a deep state of relaxation. Yoga also gives your body an outlet for the pent-up energy associated with stress.
Massage helps to release the tension that builds up in the muscles as a result of stress. The therapist’s touch also soothes the nervous system by stimulating the body’s relaxation response.
While strong massage styles such as deep tissue, trigger-point therapy and sports massage can help if you’re stressed, Swedish massage is gentle and soothing if you are highly sensitive and irritable.
Stress disturbs the flow of ‘chi’, or life energy, in the body, creating symptoms such as insomnia and anxiety. Acupuncture clears blockages so the energy can flow freely and the body can return to a state of balance.
Studies suggest this subtle yet powerful therapy helps combat stress by deactivating the analytical part of the brain responsible for anxiety and worry, and by activating the body’s relaxation response and reversing changes in the body that occur due to stress.
Text: bauersyndication.com.au, Additional reporting: Elizabeth Liew