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Stress and Acupuncture
Everyone experiences stress. It is something that most people simply accept as a part of life. Yet more and more research comes out each year on the negative effects a stress-filled life can have on our physical, mental and emotional well-being.
The experience of stress can be very different from person to person. It may range from tight, painful shoulders and necks to headaches, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, depression, irritability, and digestive problems. Regardless of how it affects each individual, stress has a continued, negative, cumulative effect on us and our lives.
How stress affects the body: A Chinese medical perspective
Normally, the body's qi, or energetic force, flows smoothly around the body carrying blood and nutrients where they are needed. When stress affects the body, we get tense and tight. Our neck and shoulders may get tight. We may get headaches. We may start to get that nervous, anxious feeling in our stomach affecting our appetite or causing acid regurgitation and so on.
When stress tightens the body, it causes the body's qi to slow or stagnate. This stagnation results in pain and inhibits normal body processes such as appetite and digestion. The longer qi is allowed to stagnate, the less new blood and nutrients circulate around the body. As parts of the body are deprived of energy, blood, and nutrients, the body is left susceptible to disease. A stressed out CEO having a heart attack clearly illustrates how stress can cause sickness or disease; in Chinese medical language, the energy force (qi) that runs the heart literally stagnates or stops from too much stress.How do acupuncture and Chinese medicine help reduce stress?
