Stress

Many health professionals believe that most if not all disease is exacerbated if not caused by stress. Most of us consider stress to be a strictly negative experience, but in reality it is any change, good or bad, e.g. getting fired or getting a raise, that can cause stress.

Stress can manifest in many different ways. Many of my patients come in and tell me they know they are stressed because their neck or low back is sore. Some have headaches or sleep problems. The reality is that stress has been shown to affect chemicals in our brains and those chemicals then effect changes throughout the body.

Stress can be defined as a change in your life. As a matter of fact stress even happens when you worry about a change that might happen! Both emotional and physical changes are stressful. Doing a marathon, getting a cold and arguing with your spouse are all stressful.

Physiology of Stress

With stress, chemical changes occur in our bodies. Some are almost instantaneous and usually short lived

In my practice I treat a lot of the side effects of excess stress: muscle pain, headaches, depression, anxiety and poor sleep. Acupuncture has been shown to have an effect on endorphins which are involved in helping the body deal with stress. I recommend acupuncture for stress, but unless you want to come daily or walk around with needles you need to have other ways to help with stress.

Don¹t Worry, Be Happy!

Since worry can trigger the stress response, the first thing one can do is not to worry about the past and since you don¹t know the future you might as well not worry about that either. But how do you suddenly stop worrying? One of the easiest ways is to focus on the present by focusing on breathing. Deep diaphragmatic breathing will help calm your nerves and get more oxygen to your brain, increasing your alertness and concentration. Try starting with 10 deep breaths every hour or two. Give it a try you¹ll be pleasantly surprised.

Stretching is also a great stress reliever. I find yoga to be of great benefit. I can¹t think of anything else while in those challenging poses. But even little 30-second stretches at your desk can do wonders. Try pushing your chair back, folding in the middle and placing your hands palm down on your desk. Keep your elbows straight and stretch through your arms and back while trying to turn the inside of your arms toward the ceiling. You can do this while in the kitchen with your hands placed on the counter or use a wall and reach up as high as you can. I stretch while waiting for my tea water to boil.

How Diet Affects Stress

Sugar, caffeine, alcohol and nicotine are often used to help us deal with stress because they do have an effect on brain chemicals. The problem is that it is next to impossible to get the exact right amount of the exact right chemical we need to get our body out of stress. With nicotine we can become calmer, but the trouble is that nicotine triggers a biofeedback loop that makes us keep craving it. The more nicotine we use the more we crave and with higher use the positive calming effect is negated. Caffeine and sugar intensify the stress response. If you are prone to stress, eliminating or cutting back on caffeine and sugar would be very beneficial. Alcohol is a nervous system depressant and can help take the edge off stress. Small amounts have in some studies been shown to be beneficial to overall health, but anything above moderate use has been shown to be detrimental to good health.

There is no magic pill for stress relief, but being able to cope with stress can make life much more enjoyable. The key is to find and use coping skills that work for you. If you think acupuncture might work to take the edge off or to treat some of the side effects of too much stress give me call.

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