Stress

Stress is how you respond to the demands of everyday living. Everyone has stress, how you respond determines the effect.

Stress can be a positive force in your life, encouraging us to work smarter and more efficiently. For example, the stress of a long drive to work might prompt you to take public transportation and you might then find the time to read that book you’ve put off forever.

However, when you can’t find solutions to your stress it becomes internalized. The body doesn’t recognize the difference between stress due to a tiger about to attack and the stress due to a looming deadline. Both set off a cascade of effects internally, and while you might escape the tiger, that deadline can be a more difficult foe.

Some ways stress negatively affects you:

• Aggravate eczema
• Lower immunity and easily catch colds and flu
• Increase Blood Pressure
• Poor digestion and elimination
• More likely to indulge in habits like smoking and over-eating
• Pain -  increased muscle tension, especially neck/shoulders and repetitive strain injuries

Imagine if there was a way to overcome the effects of stress while actually doing something good for your body. Acupuncture can do that for you, by releasing feel-good endorphins, melting tension, soothing irritability and boosting your immune system. It can do all that while you take a relaxing nap.