April - Stress Awareness Month
By the Acuworx Team
If you pay attention closely you may notice that there is an alarm going off. It’s not your phone. It’s not coming from the firehouse either. It’s coming from inside your body, specifically your brain. Your brain is trying to get your attention because it thinks something really bad is about to happen. Is something really bad truly imminent? Probably not. But your brain doesn’t realize that, so it keeps trying nudge you in various ways. For some people that signal may be communicated in the form of pain. For some it’s upset stomach. For others it’s anxiety. For some it’s all of these. Regardless of what symptom(s) a person experiences, the main cause is likely an acute stress response. The best thing to do in this circumstance is shut off the alarm. It’s easier said than done. But since April is stress awareness month, it is important to understand what is happening, why it happens, and most importantly, what can be done to shut the alarm off.
What is happening?
All stress causes a spike in hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. It prepares us for action and creates the “fight or flight” response. Once the brain determines that no further action is needed and we are safe, we should naturally slip back into “rest & digest” mode. But what if the brain constantly thinks that action is needed, and we are not safe because of persistent stress? It will sound a much louder and more persistent alarm. Over time that can easily become pain, anxiety, muscle tightness, irritable bowels, insomnia, etc. Now think about how difficult it is to focus or accomplish tasks when your phone alarm is ringing constantly at the highest volume. Or imagine the fire alarm in your building going off every day. That is exactly what is happening in the body with chronic stress.
Why is it happening?
It’s important to remember that stress is not a bad thing by itself. Without stress we would not be able to walk upright. We wouldn’t be able to challenge ourselves and grow or learn. And we wouldn’t overcome adversity or develop discipline or strength. Stress becomes bad when it is pervasive and continuous. Stress is bad when our bodies do not have sufficient time to recover from earlier stress before it must deal with more stress piled on top. The brain will sound the alarm and continue to increase the urgency. The simple answer to why it is happening is that there is too much overloading the system combined with insufficient recovery time.
What can be done to shut off the alarm?
There are a few simple steps you can take to shut off the alarm, or at least minimize its intensity.
Do Acupuncture – Acupuncture is by far the best way to nudge the body into “rest & digest” mode. It can have significant long-term benefit for reducing pain, reducing inflammation, improving sleep, calming overactive nerves, & reducing anxiety. But it also has an immediate effect on the way the brain processes information and communicates with the body allowing it to get out of “fight or flight”. The environment it is done in also helps greatly, with relaxing music, heated tables, and calm atmosphere.
Watch what you eat – It may seem obvious that eating healthier will make you feel better. But there is more to it. Food that is cleaner and less processed is digested easier and puts less strain on your system. But how you eat makes a difference too. Eating too fast, stress eating, eating while working, and eating too late at night all cause more stress on the digestive system as well.
Get Outside – A 2021 study done by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science(PNAS) shows that listening to nature sounds including bird songs, a flowing stream, or wind rustling leaves can have significant health benefits. They showed “evidence for decreased stress and annoyance…improved health and positive affective outcomes… Examples of beneficial outcomes include decreased pain, lower stress, improved mood, and enhanced cognitive performance.” Learn more here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2013097118
Embrace silence – This may be the hardest of all. The more you stimulate the brain, the more you ask the brain to accomplish. This is a problem if the alarm is already blaring. Edit out some of the things that may not be necessary. Read the news less. Scroll social media a little less. And hardest of all…sit quietly and focus on your breath. Even 5 minutes can make a big difference. As Blaise Pascal (1623- 1662) French philosopher, mathematician, inventor so aptly put it… “All of humanity's problems stem from our inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”