An Ode to Stress
We must understand that stress is a necessary part of human functioning. Without it, we wouldn't be clued in to when we, as individuals, need to make a change. For example, stress alerts us to needed physiological changes, like when we need to shift our physical activity, refuel, rest, and use the toilet. It alerts us to needed psychosocial changes, such as addressing family or peer disharmony, or making a career change. In these ways and innumerous others, stress can be a gift.
However, too much stress - or too many needs for change in a short period of time - can potentially overload one's personal resources and ability to cope. This overload can be described as distress, or, in a term that is often used today, anxiety.
Especially since the pandemic - (yes...I know...it's exhausting to hear..."since the pandemic"...again...I know...but still...) - anxiety, which has been left unchecked/untreated, has fallen into the spotlight as one of the leading culprits that is negatively affecting our overall health, along with its frequent friend depression, and rightly so (WHO, 2023). There is not one part of the human being that escapes the effects of prolonged anxiety; prolonged anxiety is an equal-opportunity menacer.
Acknowledging one's experiences with anxiety, and then implementing strategies to combat the culprit, is the only effective way to be sure to put stress back in its rightful, functional place. Depending on one's situation, that will mean downsizing one's commitments to others, implementing effective stress-relieving activities, surrounding one's self with a better support system, trying new coping skills, or all or some of the above.
Since the dawn of man, massage therapy and bodywork techniques have been profoundly effective in alleviating the daily stressors we humans encounter. Generally speaking, massage and bodywork improve the body's (and, thereby, the psyche's) ability to manage stress/distress by improving immune system functioning, reducing the flow of stress hormones, improving sleep, reducing fatigue, improving cardiovascular functioning, reducing headaches, improving concentration, and releasing endorphins, amongst other benefits (ABMP, 2017). Massage and bodywork may be the tool you need to help make your stress-reducing toolbox more complete.
Resources
Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals [ABMP] (2017). Brochure: Invest in Your Health.
World Health Organization [WHO] (2023, January 18). Who Director-General's Opening Remarks at the Mental Health at Work Panel, World Economic Forum. https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-mental-health-at-work-panel--world-economic-forum---18-january-2023