A new popular TikTok trend dubbed 'ocean therapy' has been explained as people say it can 'fix all your problems'.
Social media is awash with the next best 'hack' that promises to cure our ills, whether that's our skin, sleep or general overall health, though some rituals tiptoe into the extreme to even dangerous.
However, the hottest trend coming out of TikTok actually seems pretty wholesome on the self-care scale, with dozens apparently running to the ocean to soak up its magic.
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If you're lucky enough to live by the sea, you might already know about the water's healing properties.
But if you don't, a cursory glance at the #OceanTherapy hashtag on TikTok will tell you all about it.
TikTokers are digging their toes in the sand and dipping in the crystal blue shallows from the beach, breathing and taking in mother nature's most grand creation, whether morning, noon or night.
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Content creators claim the power of the ocean waves melts away all life's problems with one going so far as to say a cold water dip gives a dopamine boost akin to a hit of cocaine, though clearly only one of these methods is beneficial for physical and mental health.
Others say all they 'need' in life is a regular dunk under the water while others like to lie back on the beach and soak up the calming sounds.
Yet the theory around ocean therapy, also known as thalassotherapy from the Greek word 'thalassa', meaning sea, is not a new phenomenon and has actually been around for centuries.
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One particularly prominent practitioner, Doctor Richard Russell, an English physician from the 18th century, encouraged his patients to use water therapy like submerging, bathing and even drinking seawater.
He also believed seawater had healing properties to help glandular diseases and wrote the first book of its kind to make a connection between health and the properties of ocean water.
The doc wasn't the only one to examine the practice, as reportedly Benedictine monks and farmers also took interest in seawater - and in the 19th century, heated saltwater public baths opened to the public.
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However, its origins could be traced even further back to the Romans, who are considered the OGs of thermal baths and virtues in spa-like treatments.
Anyway, advocates for ocean self-care say the knack is to truly immerse in the full sensory experience in a trip to the beach, whether swimming in the saltwater, strolling barefoot along the sand, meditating and breathing in the sea air or laying back and listening to the rhythm of the waves - though perhaps don't drink it like Dr Russell had suggested.
Advocates of the movement claim it can alleviate anxiety, improve sleep and give our immune system a well-needed boost as well as our mental health and overall mood.
Topics: TikTok, Mental Health, Social Media, Health, Nature
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