Stress Awareness Month

The American Counseling Association (www.counseling.org) has dedicated the month of April as Stress Awareness Month.

Stress is both good and not so good. On the good side, we need stress to motivate us, it keeps us moving forward. On the not so good side, however, too much stress can be detrimental to our health.

When discussing the negative side of it, stress can be classified as acute means lasting hours), Subacute (lasting a couple days,) or chronic (lasting weeks or longer.) In addition, in each classification, stress can also vary by degree, or intensity. While all stress affects our immune system, chronic stress, in particular, regardless of the degree, can lead to long-term health complications. Regarding the sources of stress, depending on which report you cite, people report different things. For example, in 2019, the American Psychological Association reports that mass shootings and healthcare were the two highest stressors in the nation, while in the same year, the American Institute of Stress reported that work was the single largest stressor in the nation. This discrepancy supports the idea that different stressors affect people differently. Americans are often reported as more stressed than the rest of the world. The American Institute of Stress reports that 55% of Americans feel some type of stress at some point during the day which is 20% higher than the rest of the world average. In addition, according to the American Psychological Institute, there are increased reports of stress among younger generations than previous generations were at the same age. For Example, 5.8% of generation Z has reported experiencing stress while older generations have reported experiencing stress at statistically significant lower rates.

Pain related stress, and stress related to pain,make up two factors in the stress-disease connection. Regardless of which came first, pain and stress form a feedback loop. Pain causes one to have unhealthy stress, and unhealthy stress reduces our tolerance to pain. This results in a difficult cycle that can lead to further health complications. Massage therapy, as a treatment for both pain and unhealthy stress, is one modality that supports our well being and so may boost our immune system.

Research done by the American Massage therapy Foundation has shown that massage therapy may be effective for the follow conditions:

• Neck and shoulder pain

• Migraine/Headaches

• Low back pain/Sciatic pain

• General pain/Chronic pain

• Mental health/Anxiety/Depression

• Head/neck/jaw pain (TMJD)

  
  

I will dedicate this year to the above conditions and how the pain and stress they induce can indirectly affect our immunity system.