Health Tools

Stress – TCM & Acupuncture can help.

Stress may be inevitable. But can we help combat the effects?

Very few of us can say we have never suffered some form of stress. Our bodies are in fact designed to cope with stress, and a certain amount of stress is healthy – it stimulates our body and mind and makes us more focused and alert. But ongoing stress is unhealthy for the body, and can have long-term effects.

How does stress affect our bodies?

Stress causes the body to release hormones and chemicals, such as cortisol and adrenalin, which activate the body into ‘fight or flight’ mode. These hormones motivate the body to pump blood (and therefore oxygen) into our musculo-skeletal system. This mechanism was once designed to ensure a better chance of survival. However, it is not designed for ‘over-use’. Prolonged periods of stress reduce the body’s capability for stress management, exhausting our adrenal glands and resulting in a myriad of health problems. Symptoms of prolonged stress include anxiety, insomnia, depression, headaches, weight gain, binge eating/drinking, digestive disorders, muscle tension and pain, mood swings and irritability, cardio-vascular problems, recurrent colds and flu and a compromised immune system. Alternative systems of medicine may take a slightly different view, but the effects are still the same. Traditional Chinese Medicine (or TCM), for example, perceives the human being as a holistic and integrated system of mind and body energy working with (or against) its environment and nature. Prolonged stress tends to constrict or stagnate the flow of Qi (vital energy) between our organs and within the body, resulting in ill health. Treatments such as Acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine or Tai Chi/Qi Gong are aimed at releasing this stagnation, therefore restoring homeostasis or balance to the body.

How can we help to reduce the harmful effects of stress?

There are various steps one can follow, especially during prolonged periods of stress:

-          Ensure that you offer your body a wholesome diet. Avoid foods that stress the body further, such as processed foods, sugar, wheat, dairy and greasy or fried foods

-          Don’t skip meals. This reduces energy and puts further strain on your immune system

-          Build gentle exercise into your daily routine. Yoga, tai chi, running, walking, swimming - whatever helps you to ‘get out of your mind’ and ‘in touch with your body’

-          Practice meditation, even if only for 10 minutes a day. It calms the heart rate and respiration, and subdues the activities of stress-related hormones

-          Build relaxation or gentle movement into your bedtime routine and ensure that you have a peaceful environment to sleep in. This helps to quieten the mind and induce a state of calm, resulting in deeper and more restful sleep

-          Drink plenty of water. This helps to eliminate any toxic build-up in the body as a result of stress

-          And last of all, listen to your body. Be aware of what it is telling you about how stress is affecting your health, and act upon it. Your body possesses a wisdom that we who inhabit the body, don’t

For more information or to make an online enquiry to see our Acupuncturist go to:

http://www.elevateperformance.com.au/services/acupuncture