The Science Behind Havening – How Tactile Stimulation Resets the Brain’s Fear Response
Havening is a technique developed by Dr. Ronald Ruden that uses gentle tactile stimulation to help reduce stress and anxiety by resetting the brain’s fear response. Let’s take a deeper look at the science behind how and why havening works.
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How the Brain Processes Fear and Stress
When we experience fear or stress, our brain’s amygdala triggers the body’s fight or flight response. This causes a surge of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline that prepare us to either fight or flee from the perceived threat. While this response was crucial for survival in ancient times, in modern life it often gets triggered by non-life-threatening stressors like work deadlines, arguments, or worries about the future. If the fear response isn’t turned off properly, it can lead to increased anxiety and stress over time.
How Havening Resets the Fear Response
The science behind havening is that gentle tactile stimulation, like stroking or tapping specific areas of the body, triggers the brain and body’s natural relaxation response. This helps override the fear response activated by the amygdala.
By stimulating areas like the forehead, temples, cheekbones and collarbone, havening practitioners are able to activate the brain’s parasympathetic nervous system which promotes relaxation. This helps calm the stress response and return physiological functions like heart rate and breathing to normal levels.
If you’re interested in trying Havening, you can search for “havening practitioners near me” to find trained professionals in your area who can guide you through the process.
The Role of Oxytocin in Relaxation
Research has shown that tactile stimulation increases levels of the “love hormone” oxytocin in the brain. Oxytocin promotes feelings of safety, trust and social bonding. It works directly on the amygdala to help dampen fear responses. Havening takes advantage of this by using specific patterns of touch to boost oxytocin release and short-circuit the fear cycle. Within minutes, most clients report feeling significantly calmer and more relaxed after a havening session.
Long Term Benefits of Regular Havening
While a single havening session can provide quick stress relief, regular practice is thought to help rewire pathways in the brain over time. By repeatedly activating the relaxation response and increasing oxytocin, havening may help retrain the brain so the fear response isn’t triggered as easily. This could help manage ongoing anxiety or stress and make clients more resilient when facing future challenges. Many havening practitioners near me offer ongoing therapy packages to experience these long term benefits.
FAQs
Is havening only for anxiety/stress? What other issues can it help?
While havening is commonly used to help manage anxiety, stress and trauma, some practitioners also report it helping other issues like depression, insomnia, pain management, focus/concentration and more. The relaxation response it triggers seems to provide benefits across multiple mental and physical health areas.
How long do havening sessions typically last?
While havening is commonly used to help manage anxiety, stress and trauma, some practitioners also report it helping other issues like depression, insomnia, pain management, focus/concentration and more. The relaxation response it triggers seems to provide benefits across multiple mental and physical health areas.
Melba Robinson is a health blog author who has been writing about healthy living since 2013. She started her journey by adopting a vegan diet and eating only organic foods, but the more she learned, the more she realized that we should all be eating plant-based diets exclusively. As an expert in nutrition and wellness, Melba blogs to educate readers on how they can live happier and healthier lives through food choices!
