Laser Therapy & Acupuncture for Stress
With schedules that keep us constantly on the go, stress is an inevitable part of many people’s lives and a natural response to the various demands we place on our body. A certain amount of positive stress keeps the body strong, alert, healthy, energetic and youthful. Unhealthy stressors include unbalanced emotions, negative thinking, overwork, poor eating, lack of proper rest and polluted and toxic living or working environments. All of these unhealthy stressors challenge our physical body and over time trigger physical and mental problems.
Stress triggers our body’s ‘fight or flight’ response, releasing stress chemicals that cause the heart rate to speed up and blood to rush to our muscles. When the perceived threat is gone, the body goes through a relaxation response, returning our systems to normal function by releasing endorphins, our body’s natural stress-fighting, feel-good chemicals. This balance between stress chemicals and endorphins is one of the ways that the body naturally maintains a healthy state.
However, with the hectic pace of today’s lifestyle, the fight or flight response is often over-activated inappropriately. Chronic stress leads to an imbalance of chemicals, with the body experiencing constant excess levels of stress chemicals and a diminished level of endorphins, over time causing negative symptoms to develop. In fact, there are a variety of conditions that may arise as a result of chronic stress such as weight gain, depression, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, hypertension, stroke, and irritable bowel syndrome, among others.
How can chronic stress be treated and what are the benefits of resolving stress?
Acupuncture and laser therapy are effective treatment forms for stress and its related illnesses because treatment goes beyond the symptoms and signs to treat the whole body. Stress often affects us both physically and emotionally and by addressing both the functional and the emotional aspects of stress in treatment we treat the underlying cause of the condition to effectively resolve symptoms. Acupuncture and laser therapy have a number of physiological effects on the body, many of which are related to our body’s natural relaxation response, including the release of endorphins which reduce stress levels, normalize the autonomic nervous system, and assist the body in regaining a balanced state. By rebalancing and normalizing the body’s stress-relaxation responses, the body is better able to cope with future stressful events.
Treatment may include acupuncture or laser therapy, herbal formulas, as well as recommendations for diet changes and healthy eating, exercise, stretching, and movement and meditation exercises to help promote a more balanced healthy body, mind and spirit, as well as longer, healthier life. Important lifestyle changes that can fortify the body against stress include eating a healthy, balanced diet rich with antioxidants, taking a good-quality supplement to ensure against nutrient deficiencies, exercising regularly, taking time for meditative or reflective activities such as yoga, tai chi, qi gong, walking or hiking, and balancing the hectic work week with time for relaxation and socializing.
