Stress

Did you know that 13.5 million people in the UK suffer from stress? 1 out of 5 people suffer from stress related illnesses that lead to impaired cognitive performance, lowered immunity, as well as skeletal and muscular problems.  It is therefore no wonder that over 75% of diseases are caused by stress costing 28 Billion per year, the biggest Health cost in the UK.

So what causes stress? What are the symptoms?  How do you know if your stressed? Where on your body does it show physically?  What about mentally or psychologically?

Sadly many people are stressed, and a lot of them are unaware of quite how much with some not realising they are stressed at all.

All sorts of things can cause stress.  Financial worries, relationship problems,  health problems, work pressures, time constraints, juggling busy lives with demanding commitments, feelings of not being good enough. All sorts of things can worry us or can feel demanding, and our ability to manage these things varies from person to person.  Certain issues, people, or situations that arise may induce more stress, panic or fear that others.  This can be due to ones ability in knowing how to manage them.  Feelings of helplessness can be often connected to the root cause of worry.  This kind of stress can feel debilitating and can lead to addictive behaviours.  Lance Dodes M.D., has written an excellent book on this called ‘The heart of addiction’.  Depression, mood swings, and aggressive behaviours can be the result of prolonged emotional stress.  Other symptoms of emotional stress could be insomnia, hyperactivity, lethargy, migraines, digestive or reproductive disorders, heart / circulatory conditions, colds, the list goes on.  Physically, you may notice that you clench or grind your teeth, crave sugar, hunch your shoulders, have tense or aching body muscles, and feel generally tired or run down.  You will also loose more hair when your stressed. When you are psychologically stressed, you may find it difficult to concentrate, think ‘clearly’ and may experience bouts of mental ‘numbness’ and confusion.  Your memory can also be affected.

When a person becomes stressed, they release the hormone cortisol.  This hormone is what  gives us the flight or fight response.  Small doses of cortisol is OK, and can be necessary for your survival.  Imagine being faced by a hungry angry lion (or boss!) it is this hormone that would be released to give you that adrenaline rush necessary to respond and act quickly!  However, prolonged release of cortisol creates an unhealthy balance within our bodies.  This can lead you to feel run down, and in turn develop all sorts of stress related illnesses.  

When we are relaxed however and feeing physical or emotional pleasure, we release happy hormones such as serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin.  These hormones are also known as 'pleasure hormones' or 'endorphins'.  There are all sorts of ways of releasing this hormone to help reduce your stress levels, lift your mood and feel good.  Many reputable studies have run studies to see if massage lowers cortisol levels (stress hormone).  Many studies show that before and after massage, not only have the cortisol levels decreased significantly, that serotonin and dopamine (endorphins) also increase. 

So come and de-stress, relieve your body of aches and pains, lift your mood and restore good health and balance into your life... book an appointment!