October 18, 2010
How Emotional Stress Affects Your Body
Did you know that stress can actually harm your body? I knew stress can be harmful to your body to a certain degree, but didn’t realize how damaging it can be if not controlled. Statistics show that Americans consume five billion tranquilizers, three billion amphetamines, and sixteen thousand tons of aspirin every year,¹ just to temporarily alleviate pain. The most damaging emotions, also known as toxic emotions are rage, unforgiveness, depression, anger, worry, frustration, fear, grief, and guilt. Toxic emotions can sap a person physically and psychologically, often leaving both mind and body depleted of energy and strength.
Stress is stress. The body cannot differentiate between physical and emotional stress; it just knows it’s experiencing stress. When the body experiences stress, it responds by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system to release stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol. Sympathetic nerves are located throughout the body including our organs and tissues, so when they are stimulated by stress, our heart rate increases, we perspire and breathe heavier. Producing too much or too little of certain hormones can generate negative results. Adrenaline is a powerful hormone because it focuses on the brain, sharpens eyesight, and contracts muscles in preparation of fight or flight response. Depending on the type of stress or emotion we are in, our body’s natural response is to tighten our body – contract all of our muscles in preparation to flee or fight back. Then we wonder why our neck and shoulders are always so tight, or why we have constant headaches.
If your brain interprets physical perceptions as anger, fear, or depression, every immune cell of your body knows that interpretation very quickly. The brain and the cells of body communicate constantly, but the cells of the body also have a degree of memory. This is why I always say muscle has memory. When you’re stressed out about something, your body already recognizes this state and automatically triggers the stress response to contract certain muscles, and stores that stress or energy. The constant stress produces chronic ongoing constriction of blood vessels which prevents fresh blood and oxygen to travel to all the tissues in the body, thus, creating another negative consequence: an accumulation of metabolic waste in the muscles. Our circulatory system carries oxygen-rich blood (fresh blood) to the muscles (and other tissues), and picks up oxygen-poor blood (all the waste products) from our muscles and tissues to the excretory organs. When the blood vessels are constricted, waste products back up, filling muscle tissue with metabolic waste — giving you that nasty knot in your shoulders or that horrible headache! (This is your “ah-ha!” moment).
Massage can help trigger the relaxation response by providing a caring touch in a safe environment. It helps bring the heart and breathing rate down, decrease blood pressure, slows down the production of stress hormones, and eventually helps your muscles relax. During the relaxation response, the level of serotonin increases, a chemical in the body that positively affects emotions and thoughts. I like to call it the happy hormone. Massage therapy also increases blood and lymph flow, so improved circulation enhances the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the muscle cells. As cellular health improves, tissue function becomes more efficient and leads to removal of waste products. There are many benefits to massage, but some include stress reduction, lowers blood pressure, aids in anxiety, depression, and fatigue, and reduces muscle pain, spasms, and contractions. Regular massages helps keep your body in balance by triggering the relaxation response, and the more massages received, your muscles will remember to ease up and release that stored energy.
Stress is inevitable. We cannot escape it. But, we can learn how to adjust our reactions and recognize when we are under extreme stress. So what do you do? Learn how to or figure out what makes you relax. Take deep breaths. Get to the root of your stressors. Talk to someone. Take a walk or vacation. Exercise daily. Hydrate your body. Get a massage. Most importantly, take care of yourself. You are worth it.
October 24 – 30, 2010 is National Massage Therapy Awareness Week. In an effort to increase its awareness to the public, please forward this newsletter to your friends and family. In return, you and your friend can receive $10 off your next massage, any massage during that week. Schedule your appointment online at www.thehealing-sanctuary.com, and notate when booking that you received this newsletter.
References:
¹ D. Wayne, “Reactions to Stress,” found in Identifying Stress, a series offered by the Health-Net & Stress Management Web site, February 1998.
Colbert, Don. (2003). Deadly Emotions: Understand the Mind-Body-Spirit Connection That Can Heal or Destroy You. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
