Acupuncture and Stress - When the fast lane overtakes you!

Stress! It’s what you feel when your peaceful country road of life turns into a raging highway. You get cross, irritable and snap at people when you don’t really mean to. You feel worried that you can’t cope with modern demands. You experience periods of depression for no apparent reason. You even question your own sanity. And feel your life is out of control. Frustration sets in. If you push yourself too hard or are pushed beyond your tolerance level, you’re suffering stress.

Your body rebels, its internal harmony right out of tune with reality. Organs may begin to malfunction; your memory may fail; you make poor judgments and get short-tempered quickly and easily.  You feel awful, even ‘liverish’ and ‘out of sorts’ and you can’t put your finger on any one thing. Little wonder. There are many types and causes of stress and many possible reasons why you personally may be feeling ‘stressed-out’.

Emotional: The breakdown of a relationship; the loss of a loved one or a pet; shouldering a heavy workload; striving for the expectations others set for you; constantly having to perform in your job, profession or sport. Simply having to pay the bills...

Physical: Taking on extra work. Heavy training sessions.

Hormonal imbalances: Such as ‘PMS’ syndrome.

Low blood sugar: As a result of poor diet or inadequate exercise. Possible stress-related digestive disorders.

Poor immune function: Caused by poor diet and lifestyle. Recurring allergies such as hay fever and food sensitivities. Possibly the result of chronic infection.

The stress response: Our body responds to stress with a set of biochemical reactions called the stress response. At stressful times, the body quickly releases chemicals into the blood. This sets in motion a series of physical changes. These include a faster heartbeat and breathing, higher blood pressure and increased muscle tension. These physical changes give the body added strength, energy and alertness. They prepare the body for dealing with stressful events such as giving a speech, aiding an accident victim, or fighting or fleeing from an attack. For short periods there is no damage, the situation gets back under control and we can relax. However, if the stress becomes chronic or out of proportion, this healthy response can become pathological.

Some of us commonly live in a constant state of stress, continually triggering the stress response and depleting valuable energy. As a result, we start to see some common stress symptoms like headache, back and shoulder ache, skin disorders, gastric problems and sleeping disorders. Psychological symptoms may include depression, anxiety, poor concentration, poor memory and loss of self confidence. There is mounting evidence that chronic stress can lead to long term health problems such as high blood pressure; heart disease; stroke; asthma; skin conditions and even hair loss.

Stress relief: There is no standard formula for stress. To cope with stress and tension in our lives, we often try quick fixes like alcohol, cigarettes, sugar and all sorts of over the counter and prescription drugs. Food is also used to try and cope with stress. Many people eat when they feel anxious, depressed and stressed. There is no magic stress reduction pill, neither do alcohol, sleeping tablets nor anti depressants offer any real solution to reducing stress. Taking anti depressants, although often prescribed to reduce stress, offer at best only limited short-term relief and at worst physiological dependence on a particular drug.

How does Acupuncture help?

For stress related problems, acupuncture works by stimulating the body to heal itself. It has a relaxation response with decreased heart rate, lowered blood pressure, stress reduction and increased energy and tissue regeneration. Acupuncture treatment will balance the harmony in your body, putting everything back in tune and restoring the natural balance of your mental, physical and emotional functions. We will work out your individual treatment depending on the kind of stress you are experiencing, and its effects.

Generally, after a treatment you’ll feel much calmer, more relaxed and aware of the improvement in your sense of well-being. The reason? Your acupuncture treatment will release the ‘happy hormones’, body chemicals known as ‘endorphins’, which give you that ‘great to be back on the road again’ feeling. Acupuncture provides a drug-free alternative to help you manage the stress of modern society. It’s so simple and so effective, and it’s been proven over thousands of years.

Try it now!