How rubbing your arms can banish bad memories

'Havening' technique helps you get rid of distressing thoughts

• Research team recruited a group of 27 people with anxiety or depression
• Havening can reduce symptoms by altering the way memories are stored
• It involves rubbing your arms and moving your eyes in a series of motions 
• Process works by boosting levels of the mood-stabilising brain chemical serotonin, which disrupts the link between the memory and the distress

If you're feeling anxious or struggling to deal with difficult memories, the simple act of rubbing your arms may help banish the emotional pain, according to a study.

The simple technique, known as Havening, can help reduce anxiety and depression by altering the way memories are stored or recalled.

The process is thought to work by boosting levels of the mood-stabilising brain chemical serotonin, which can disrupt the link between the memory of an event and the distress it causes.

So, while the memory can still be retrieved, it no longer causes anguish. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3385074/How-rubbing-arms-banish-bad-memories-Havening-technique-helps-permanently-rid-distressing-thoughts.html