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At Master Lu’s Health Center in Salt Lake City, we help people everyday with stress and anxiety utilizing Chinese medicine including acupuncture and herbs. Acupuncture has been shown to help reduce stress. We have helped hundreds of people with stress related health conditions.
Stress is part of everyday life. The ancient Chinese physicians realized that stress affects the body physically. In the Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic, one of the oldest medical textbooks in the world, there are discussions how emotions are connected to our body and if there is an imbalance of emotions then disease will arise. Stress can be an emotion or feeling that will cause physical disease to the body. One definition of stress is “a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension an may be a factor in disease causation.”
Stress can be our body’s way of telling us that we need a break and time to relax from our daily routine. When we don’t listen to our body when we have a lot of stress disease and health problems will arise.
Cortisol is the hormone that is released into our body when there is stress. It has a relation with the fight or flight response. When we have chronic stress and don’t mange it well, the cortisol levels will become elevated and out of balance. When we have high cortisol levels in our body, we will have problems such as insomnia, weight gain, depression, anxiety, digestive issues and mental illness.
What can we do help manage stress? Acupuncture has been shown to help with stress. When you get an acupuncture treatment you will feel a relaxed feeling come over your body. Acupuncture will allow the blood to flow better throughout your body and cause you to feel more calm and relaxed. Many times our patients will even fall asleep on the table during an acupuncture treatment.
There have been studies done that acupuncture will act on the brain and release chemicals, hormones, and neurotransmitters to help heal the body. One of the hormones that acupunture will release is cortisol. Acupuncture will allow the cortisol to be at balanced levels to help manage stress. Acupuncture will also release seratonin and dopamine to help with sleep and insomnia.
Another way acupuncture helps with stress is to maintain the heart rate. Acupuncture will help regulate the heart rate. Many times when people are stressed their heart rate gets fast. Acupuncture will help slow down the heart rate and keep it at a rate that will help combat stress.
When you have high stress for very long time, you will begin to feel effects from stress physically. You will have digestive problems, insomnia, heart palpitations, and feel irritable. Acupuncture will help with the physical effects of stress. If you are on medications because of stress, regular acupuncture treatments will help you to reduce your medications and cut them out.
Stress will also cause digestive problems either constipation or diarrhea. Acupuncture will help with stress related digestive problems. Many people will have irritable bowel syndrome which gets worse with stress. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine will help harmonize and manage the stress that will help alleviate the IBS.
Besides acupuncture, exercise is very important to manage and help with stress. Tai Chi is one form of exercise that will reduce stress. Tai Chi will help with calming the mind, stress reduction, flexibility, coordination, and strength. Acupuncture, Tai Chi, and Chinese herbs together will help you manage stress and prevent you from having stress related illnesses.
If you have questions or would like to come in to discuss your health problem and reduce stress please call us at 801-463-1101 to schedule an appointment.
