"What is stress?"
By Ellika Shilling, L.Ac.
Brewster, NY

Most of us experience stress daily, with symptoms ranging from sweaty palms or irritability to infertility or dangerously high blood pressure. Whether it is a telephone call, a public speaking assignment, or being injured in an automobile accident, the event initiates your body’s stress response and your body reacts accordingly. The strength of the response depends on your constitution or simply on your mood at that moment. A stress response can be caused by almost any disturbance: heat or cold, environmental poisons, toxins given off by bacteria during an infection, heavy bleeding, or a strong emotional reaction.

The stress response is a complicated set of bodily changes, which purpose is to prepare the body to meet an emergency.  When the stimulus which brought on the stress response is gone, the body then returns to normal; however, if the stress becomes chronic, then the body will be depleted and exhaustion occurs. Stress related disorders may appear at this point.

• High blood pressure: due to water retention which protects the body from bleeding out
• Slower wound healing: the hormone cortisol discourages the formation of connective tissue
• Digestive problems: digestive activities decrease during fight-or-flight response which may lead to gastritis, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome
• Infertility: reproductive activities decrease during fight-or-flight response
• Rheumatoid arthritis, migraine, headaches, anxiety, depression: certain components of immune system may become inhibited during a stress response

How can you counteract the stress in your life?

Taking care of yourself in different ways; spiritually, physically and emotionally is really important.  This care cannot be over emphasized. The stronger we are, the less we are affected by the physical manifestation of the stress response, and the body is more capable to resist going into alarm mode until it is really necessary.

One way to strengthen the body is to receive acupuncture treatments. Acupuncture has the fantastic ability to relax the whole body, and move the life force within you in order to balance the functions of the different organ systems.  

Healthy eating, sleeping and exercising habits are vital to your health. 

• Avoid sugar, coffee, alcohol and smoking as these stimuli are addicting as well as detrimental to your health. Drink plenty of water, eat fresh (preferable organic) vegetables and fruits, whole grains, lean protein.
• It is when you sleep that the body has a chance to recuperate and rebuild.
• We all know how important it is to exercise. It will prevent weight gain and is an important element in assisting weight loss. It also increases circulation in your body and moves out toxic by-products from the stress response. Exercise such as yoga and tai chi have great benefits as they strengthen muscles and they quiet the mind at the same time.

Another important tool is meditation. In meditation you let your mind rest from the constant chatter of your thoughts. Incorporate meditation in your daily routine and you will feel more grounded and relaxed throughout the day. There are many great guided meditations to download from the internet or buy as a CD. Or just set aside 30 minutes and sit quietly, without paying attention to your thoughts and let the mind be still.

In conclusion, we may not be able to control our environment to avoid all stressful situations; however, we can take measures to counteract the harmful effects from the stress response and by staying grounded and calm aid in resisting against a stress response.