Stress

Stress is notoriously a double-edged sword. We need a certain amount of stress to keep us on our toes, healthy and motivated.

But too much of it and we can crash into nervous breakdown; too little and we feel bored and apathetic. Stress is so much a buzz word of the 90’s that you might think we knew all about how to manage our lives to avoid its extremes. Yet on the contrary, stress thrives untrammelled in the lives of many of us, whether it is caused by pressures of work, tension in relationships, the difficulties of raising a family; all of these combined, or a range of other factors.

The consequences for our health can be overwhelming. An estimated three-quarters of all medical complaints are stress-related, which means that 75 percent f the people in physicians’ waiting rooms could benefit from some sort of advice on how to reduce stress in their lives. The effects of stress can be both obvious and subtle. Some people show up with noticeable symptoms such as rashes or headaches. Often, however, the physical effects are less evident and so more potentially dangerous in the long term; they could include high blood pressure, ulcers and stomach disorders, panic attacks or rapid or irregular heartbeat.

Stress may be at the root of a host of disorders, from migraine to strokes, from constipation, colds and eczema to impotence and insomnia. Indeed, many complementary practitioners argue that stress – by undermining our immune systems – is a factor in almost all cases of illness. Harder still to measure are the effects of stress on the quality of our lives and the lives of those around us. Stress may be at the root of phobias, compulsions, anxieties, and nervous habits which can make the simplest of our daily routines intolerable. Stress can steadily wear away at confidence – until we wake up one morning wondering what happened to the person we once were.

Stress can also lead us into unhealthy habits of smoking and/or drinking, because it seems at first that a few glasses of wine or a cigarette will calm us down and help us cope. The reality is the opposite: alcohol is a depressant, tobacco a toxin, both can be addictive – and by depleting our energies they make it harder to manage stressful situations in the long run.

The Orthodox Approach

Conventional medicine will often treat the physical symptoms of a stress-related disorder, such as ulcers, with drugs. Emotional and psychological symptoms, such as anxiety, may be treated by a combination of drugs and counselling. While these techniques can bring rapid relief of symptoms, unless the root causes of stress are tackled, the symptoms are likely to recur.

The Hale Approach

Drug treatment for stress should be used only as a last resort; the complementary therapies listed here are the first step. If physical symptoms are showing, your physician should be kept informed and allowed to monitor your progress.

Although stress, in certain conditions, can stimulate us to great achievement, we cannot remain in a permanent state of stress without doing long-term damage to our physical and mental well-being, as well as hurting our relationships with people in our close proximity – our family, friends and colleagues. We cannot avoid all stress and be forever floating through life on a “cosmic cloud”, but we need to find special times to experience tranquillity.

Nearly every complementary treatment practiced at the Hale Clinic will help you towards some sort of peacefulness, and it is impossible to give a description of every treatment in this section. However, the following descriptions should enable you to select either a single therapy or a combination from the various categories.

Many of these treatments will help bring calmness in the short term; however, stress is a permanent feature of many people’s lives today and choosing a permanent stress- reducing program is often a necessary survival mechanism in the frantic world in which we live.

Acupuncture, homeopathy and Ayurveda are very good at strengthening a patient’s constitution, mentally and physically, so that they are in a stronger position to withstand stress. These treatments are also effective in treating severe cases, when a patient needs to be calmed down very quickly.

You should avoid eating foods which aggravate stress, such as sugar, coffee, tea, and chocolate. Stress often weakens the digestion, so it is important to eat foods that are easy to digest. Improved digestion will have a positive effect on our ability to handle physical and mental stress and prevent illness associated with a poor diet and weak digestion.

Likewise, the combination of poor diet and stress can seriously affect our elimination system, which again compounds stress levels. Colonic hydrotherapy, lymphatic drainage t will help the elimination system to work better, making you feel healthier and better able to cope with stress; it will also prevent the development of such stress-related illnesses as irritable bowel syndrome.

When we become stressed, our musculo-skeletal system may be affected. Osteopathy and chiropractic are not generally associated with the relief of stress, but manipulation of the vertebrae, soft tissue work and cranial osteopathy can make us feel much calmer. Likewise, special massage treatment such as marma, tuina (Chinese massage), Indonesian and Thai massage can gently relieve the build-up of stress in the muscles, as well as calming the mind.

The essential oils of aromatherapy induce a feeling of calmness. Reflexology, by massaging special points in the foot, can also have a great calming effect. I often advise a massage once a week, possibly on a Friday if you work a conventional five-day week, so that you can enjoy the weekend fully. Many people go out for dinner or to the movies to relax, but often the rebalancing effect of the correct massage can be more beneficial (although laughter and having fun are among the best antidotes for stress).

The fact that many illnesses are related to stress shows the power the mind has over our physical well-being. But the mind can also be trained to redirect our thoughts and behaviour into a more positive modus operandi. Research into hypnosis has shown how it can remove the physical and mental symptoms of stress. Moreover, patients can be taught self-hypnosis techniques which they can use to reduce stress levels.

Osteopathy

Chiropractor

Ergonomic Assessment

Optimal working postures can prevent or help to eliminate work-related neck, back, arm, hand and leg pain. Incorrect working postures, positions or using equipment that doesn't fit you well can cause these conditions, which may also be associated with stress. If you associate your work with musculoskeletal pain, you may well benefit from an Ergonomic Assessment at work.
Please see the Physiotherapy section of the website for details.

Hypnotherapy

Reflexology

Aromatherapy

Colonic Hydrotherapy

The colonics therapist tackles stress on two fronts. Firstly, you will be advised on how to change your diet in order to eliminate nutritional stressors. When you take away stimulants like tea and coffee which increase the body’s toxic load, you are likely to find that – quite suddenly – your body is able to relax.

Secondly, colonic irrigation reduces your body’s toxic burden, clearing quantities of toxic material. Therapists explain that the rest of your body will respond, so that you feel less overloaded – and less stressed.

Counselling and Psychotherapy

Many counsellors regard stress as a state in which the demands being made of us exceed our abilities to cope with them – and because we all respond differently to stress, counselling and psychotherapy treat stress in a range of different ways.

For instance, if we can identify those aspects of our own behaviour which contribute to stress – and those which diminish it – we can learn to improve things in our lives. On the emotional front, too, we need to develop an understanding of those feelings which cause us stress if we are to find positive and effective ways of dealing with them. The nature and quality of our relationships with work colleagues, friends and family are a vital part of this larger picture.

Sometimes we have negative thoughts and mental images of ourselves as unable to cope, which add to stress. Counselling can help to challenge these and substitute more positive patterns of thinking, so that we can feel better about ourselves and cope more easily with the ups and downs of life.

Counselling can also help us to identify the physical signals of stress so that we can nip the problem in the bud. Maintaining healthy diet, sleep and exercise patterns will support the range of effective coping skills which counselling can help to develop.

Supportive Treatments

Nutrition

Nutritional consultants aim to remove toxins (which are chemical stressors) and stimulants (certain foods, drinks and allergens) from your body. Extra nutrients are also recommended in order to counteract stress.

You may need between three and six treatment sessions, which would involve detoxification, identifying food allergens and other underlying causes of stress, as well as establishing a diet and exercise regime designed to suit your individual needs.

Healing

Metamorphic technique - depending on a patient’s condition and unique Life Force, ‘The Metamorphic Technique’ may be used to shift any blocks and regulate the energy balance of the body.
Debilitating patterns and other blocks are gently loosened up through a light touch on spinal reflex points.

Marma Massage

If stress has the effect of overloading the brain, Marma massage works by “creating a space” in the brain cells.  This space acts as an extra shock absorber, giving your brain the capacity to do the job of dealing with stress.

Remedial Yoga

Yoga is a therapy which relieves stress by calming both mind and body, giving us focus and stability while improving the quality of sleep. Physically, yoga stimulates blood and lymph circulation and helps balance the endocrine system, allowing your body to relax. Its breathing techniques can also help with relaxation and give you control over the rate and rhythm of your breathing.

Chi Kung and T’ai Chi

These exercises are all about restoring the balance of yin and yang throughout the body, warding off disease which – according to traditional Chinese medicine – can follow from an imbalance of energy. For stress and stress-related symptoms the exercises known as “Second Chi Kung” and “Triple Heater” are especially helpful as supportive treatment.

Shiatsu

All sorts of stress-related illnesses respond to this gentle form of Japanese massage. The therapist will aim to locate the source of the trouble and work on the relevant meridians to improve the flow of energy through the body.