stress – CuredByNature.net

5 Acupoints to Help You Navigate Your Stress This Winter

Jan 202020

There are several acupressure points that are known to treat stress and stress related symptoms. It’s important to understand that acupressure is not the only form of treatment and having a balanced diet, exercise regime and lifestyle will also decrease the chances of stress being a factor in your life.

ACUPOINTS

The following five acupoints are known to help alleviate stress and other related symptoms.
LU 1—Zhong Fu GV 24.5—Yin Tang KI 1—Yong Quan LI 4—He Gu S 36- Zu San Li

THE BREAKDOWN

Lu 1, Zhong Fu– This point is often used to treat vomiting, stops coughing, disperses fullness in the chest, stops pain and regulates Lung Qi. It’s located in the upper chest in the space below the first rib, six cun from the midline. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Lu 1 regulates Lung Qi and stimulates the Lung Qi to descend. It also disperses fullness in the chest and stops coughing.

KI 1, Yongquan, Bubbling Spring– This acupoint is located on the sole of the foot approximately at the junction of the second and third toes. Indications that this acupoint will aid you are if you’re experiencing headaches, dizziness, loss of voice, blurring of vision and so on. In TCM, this acupoint is known to subdue wind and empty-heat, clear up the brain, and tonifies yin.

LI 4, Hegu, Joining (Union) Valley– The LI 4 is known to treat swelling and pain of the eye, nasal obstruction, toothache, facial swelling, deafness, sore throat and much more. In TCM, it’s said to dispel exterior wind, stimulate the dispersing function of the lungs, removes pain, and harmonizing descending and ascending functions. This point is located on the back of the hand at the apex of the webbed triangle between the thumb and the index finger.

ST 36, Zu San Li– This acupoint is often used to treat vomiting, stress and fatigue and gastrointestinal discomfort. This point is located along the outside of your shin bone about 4 finger lengths from the knee cap. You will know you’re in the right location because a muscle will mom out as you move your foot up and down. In TCM, this point is stimulated frequently to promote health and longevity.

GV 24.5, Yin Tang, Third Eye– This point is located about one finger above the point between the eyebrows and will be almost directly in the middle of the forehead. Working this point is said to calm the mind, clarify ideas and intuition as well as strengthen mental projection. It can be used to alleviate dizziness, stress, vertigo, sinusitis and headaches.

TREATMENT

Each of the above points can be used to aid in relieving stress and/or other symptoms that can cause stress. It’s helpful to bring a list to your Acupuncturist of any symptoms you may have or are looking to treat, any information will be helpful in curating your individualized treatment plan. Please communicate with your Acupuncturist if you are pregnant or looking to become pregnant as some pressure points may affect you.

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Ayurvedic herbs that control stress and keep the mind calm | Ayushakti Ayurved

Ayurvedic

Jan 172020

What is stress?

In the simplest of terms, stress refers to a process of adjustment that your body needs to follow when there is an abrupt change. These changes can be physical, mental, or emotional, and accordingly, your body needs to learn its responses. One of the most common misconceptions is that you will undergo stress only when there is an unpleasant event in your life, such as job loss, the death of a loved one, or an accident. However, real-life events such as a promotion at work, a loan, or childbirth can also lead to stress.

Ayurvedic herbs to control stress and keep the mind calm

How does stress impact your mental and physical well-being?

While a little stress is considered normal in your life, prolonged stress can lead to distress. Some of the most common outcomes of an adverse stress reaction are headaches, irregular bowel movements and lack of urge to eat, high or low blood pressure, loss of interest in sexual activities, and chest pain. Moreover, it also has adverse effects on your sleeping patterns.

Some other outcomes of stress are depression, panic attacks, and periods of anxiety and overthinking. Your bodily organs can never escape the ill-effects of stress, and you can develop cancer, heart disease, or lung ailments, too. Suicide is the last resort.

Herbs that can control stress

While many antibiotics can help you to deal with stress, you are always recommended to ayurvedic stress relief herbs. Thus, it would be best if you learned about some of the best tips for stress relief that can help you to keep a calm mind.

Ginger: Ginger, an aromatic herb, contains an antioxidant known as gingerol. Since important stomach acids can get affected during stress, ginger helps to stimulate the acid production system. There are innumerable ways in which you can eat this Ayurvedic stress medicine.
Tulsi: While Tulsi is used in religious offerings, it can also help to combat the inflammation and free radicals that are caused due to chronic stress. Consuming Tulsi regularly can help you strengthen your immune system.
Brahmi: Brahmi is a natural herb that has anti-anxiety properties. For the uninitiated, it plays a major role in increasing your body’s level of serotonin. Serotonin is a brain chemical for relaxation.

What is Ayushakti’s stress relief ayurvedic treatment?

Ayushakti’s ayurvedic treatment for stress is a complete package where you get ayurvedic therapies such as Steam, Heart Dhara, Shiro Dhara, Marma, Body Massage, Head Massage, and Foot Massage.

Ayushakti proven ayurvedic therapy for stress helps you to combat stress by:

Facilitating better blood circulation
Improving heart functioning
Relieving pain
Opening the energy channels of the body

Ayurvedic Treatment For Stress | Ayushakti Ayurved

Visit Ayushakti’s website to know more about Ayushakti’s ayurvedic treatments for stress and ayurvedic medicines for stress. Visit the link http://bit.ly/2ymcDwY to know more about the treatment and to book an appointment online. You may contact us on our toll-free numbers 18002663001 (India) & +18002800906 (Global) or email us at info@ayushakti.com for more details.

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How To Stress Less

Naturopathy

Mar 142019

Stress is an unavoidable fact of life, yet the effects of stress can vary dramatically between individuals. One person may experience a large amount of stress and not only cope, but thrive, while others are adversely impacted by just a small amount of stress. Learn how to stress less.

I see many women who feel that they should not complain that they are stressed, as they feel that they have nothing really to stress over, yet they can’t shake this feeling of being stressed. It doesn’t matter what the source or size that the stress is, how you are feeling and coping is what is important.

Over 25% of Australian adults report high levels of anxiety and/or depression. Further more, Australian has the second highest rate of prescriptions for mood conditions per capita in the world. FYI, Iceland comes in first!

When we understand the mechanism of stress, then we can work to improve your resilience to stress. When we are under stress, there are changes to the structure and function of certain brain regions. Depending on the circumstances, the brain can reshape these areas to promote resilience to stress, or it can reinforce negative pathways that worsen your resilience to stress.

There are two factors that determine if you are resilient or vulnerable to stress – neurotrophic factors and neurotoxic factors. A greater exposure to neurotrophic factors promotes a better resilience to stress, whilst exposure to neurotoxic factors can reduce your ability to manage stress.

The primary driver of neurotoxicity is excessive exposure to cortisol caused by chronic physiological stress. Cortisol has a negative impact on the hippocampus of the brain, which is the area responsible for memory and emotional context. It also affects the pre-frontal cortex which is responsible for emotions and executive function. What happens to these areas of the brain when they are exposed to excess cortisol is that the dendrites of the neutrons retract, lose connection and eventually die off and shrink. When this happens your ability to manage stress and other mental functions start to decline.

Cortisol is not the only neurotoxic culprit, inflammation is all an influencer here. Inflammation in the body stems from a poor diet, exposure to environmental toxins, and negative lifestyle choices.

This is where neurotrophic factors are vital for stress management and mental function. Neurotrophic factors support the health, plasticity and function of the brain, allowing you to cope with the stress that you are exposed to in a better way.

A healthy diet is the corner stone for optimal brain health. Eating lots of fresh seasonal vegetables, healthy fats containing essential fatty acids, and adequate protein for amino acid content is vital.

Top brain foods include –

Oily fish such as salmon
Nuts and seeds
Green leafy vegetables
Berries
Protein from well-animals (meat from factory raised animals contain inflammatory fatty acid profiles that will contribute to inflammation in the body)
Organic eggs

You can further support neurotrophic factors with specific nutrients that the brain thrives on. These include B-vitamins, magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids.

Herbal medicine also has a profound affect on brain health. Many herbs can help to boost circulation to the brain, manage cortisol levels, support the adrenal gland that releases cortisol, improve memory and exert anti-oxidant actions to absorb free-radicals that can cause damage to the brain.

Herbs to support stress resilience

Zizyphus
Rehmannia
Withania
Saffron
Magnolia
Passionflower
Rhodiola
Siberian Ginseng
Lavender
Green Tea
Rosemary

So, if you feel that you are struggling to get on top of your stress levels, let’s have a chat about getting to the root cause and develop a treatment plan that will support optimal brain health.

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Acupuncture for Stress Management & Stress Relief

Acupuncture

Oct 152018

by Justine Myers, Lic. Ac.

This is part 2 of a series on acupuncture for stress. Our first article addressed acupuncture for stress-related health conditions. Now we’d like to talk about the use of acupuncture for acute stress relief and chronic stress management/prevention.

Acupuncture is an effective treatment for the relief of acute stress as well as the prevention and management of chronic stress. For acute stress – days when you feel stressed out, overwhelmed, edgy, irritable, annoyed, tense, etc. – popping in for an acupuncture treatment is almost certain to soothe your nerves, leaving you feeling more relaxed and comfortable in the world and in your skin. Acupuncture is very calming for the nervous system – activating the parasympathetic nervous system’s “rest and digest” function and relieving the sympathetic nervous system’s “fight or flight” response. This occurs instantly during your treatment and puts your body into a more relaxed mode, particularly for the first 24 hours following a treatment.

Acupuncture is also a helpful tool for stress management when received on a regular basis. Regularly scheduled acupuncture could be once a week, twice a week or once every other week, depending on your needs and response to acupuncture. With regular acupuncture it is likely that you will find that the things that used to make you feel stressed, tense or angry will not affect you so strongly. When you’re feeling more relaxed in general it’s easier to handle difficult situations without strong emotional responses or bodily symptoms associated with stress. Others around you may also notice something different about you, too – in a good way!

If chronic stress is a problem for you, why not experiment with some regular acupuncture to see if you notice an improvement?

Or, if you don’t necessarily suffer from chronic stress, but you do (as everyone does) experience the occasional bout of stress, remember that acupuncture is a great way to relieve stress. We usually have same day appointments available on short notice, so if you’re feeling stressed and want to get some acupuncture for quick relief, just make an appointment and we’ll be happy to treat you and help you to feel better as soon as we’re able.

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Acupuncture for Stress and Stress-Related Health Conditions

Acupuncture

Sep 282017

Many health conditions can crop up as a result of chronic stress and/or worsen due to stress. Some examples are indigestion and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); weakened immune function (i.e. frequent colds); hypertension (high blood pressure); headaches and migraines; menstrual irregularities, menstrual cramps, PMS and PMDD; anxiety, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression; insomnia; fatigue; low libido; and muscle tension and pain. Stress is often a factor in these conditions and others because it affects the nervous system and various hormones that are released in times of stress, affecting various systems of the body.

Acupuncture is helpful for stress and stress-related ailments because it helps to regulate the nervous system and hormones. There are also acupuncture points used for particular health conditions and symptoms, whether those symptoms are related to stress or not. The holistic approach of acupuncture takes into account both the “root,” meaning issues underlying one’s health condition(s), and the “branch,” or symptoms one experiences stemming from the root. With each treatment points are selected to treat both the roots and branches.

What can you do about ongoing stress, particularly when it’s situational (work-related, family-related, caretaking, etc.)? Take care of yourself as best as possible and find outlets for stress relief when you can. Exercise, deep breathing, time outside and talking with loved ones are all healthy ways to manage stress on a day to day basis. Acupuncture once every week or two is a great way to de-stress and stay healthy. If you have a health condition that is linked to stress, it’s helpful to obtain acupuncture regularly depending on the severity: once a week when mild, twice a week when moderate, and 3 or more times if severe. You can always ask an acupuncturist for a recommended course of treatment, and feel free to experiment with frequency for yourself to obtain an outcome that feels helpful for you.

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Teenager Stress, Anxiety and Depression

Homeopathic

Aug 042016

Anxiety, Stress and Depression can be Experienced by Our Teenagers.

It’s true to say that many of us experience life as busy and sometimes stressful. Teenagers are no exception. They have their own stressors whether from family, or school. To add to their load, they also have significant peer group stressors and this can sometimes be experienced as overwhelming. How I treat Teenager Stress, Anxiety and Depression is detailed in this Blog.

Problems Manifest Differently in Teenage Girls and Boys

In my counselling clinic I see children as young as 9 or 10 developing emotional or psychological difficulties that I used to see more often in teenagers. With these children it’s very important that they gain some insight into their struggle. So I work with them to give them tools and strategies to assist them as they enter their teenage years. Social pressures amongst girls can escalate as hormones kick in during puberty, so the children who already have a toolkit of strategies to draw on can often cope very well.

With boys I tend to see those who are well into puberty and are not coping at all well with those disruptive hormones; and who become sullen and withdrawn as well as sometimes angry. Often this is mostly contained at home which means the parents take the brunt of it all; but sometimes it spills over into school life and you can find your son getting into trouble and under performing in class.

Pressure Can Translate Into Anxiety

When teenagers find there is too much pressure they can sometimes become either depressed or anxious. I treated a teenage boy a few years back who was suffering from anxiety and finding simple things like getting public transport to school difficult, or attending assembly due to the crowd. I treated this client with a combination of Counselling and Homeopathy and after a few sessions he was back on track. He went on to have a happy, successful school life and achieve his goals.

Counselling is a Tune-Up For our Emotional Selves

Counselling no longer has the stigma it did. Many of us need it, and I like to think of it as a tune up for our emotional selves. After all we take care of our physical body but tend to leave out mind and emotions to just sort themselves out. During puberty we know the brain gets almost completely re-wired. This is why we as parents, often feel like we no longer know our distant teenager. Well I can tell you a secret…they often feel they no longer know themselves!

Teenagers are sometimes resistant to visiting a counsellor. When you talk to them about it, it helps to find out their reasons why and then address them one by one. Sometimes teenagers find it embarrassing to talk to another adult about their difficulties. Sometimes they do not understand the process of counselling and think they will have to divulge their inner most secrets. I would like to dispel that myth right away and describe how counselling can help your teenager when they are in need.

Teenagers Respond Well When They are Really Listened to.

I work with teenagers by normalising their problems. This does not mean I dismiss them, far from it. I hear and acknowledge their difficulties, within the context of them not being alone in experiencing their issue. We discuss the whole issue from many angles and my aim is to help your teenager develop their own internal guidance system of how to act and react in certain situations. Importantly, I also expand their awareness around why they think, feel, and experience things the way they do; as well as bring their awareness to the impact of their actions on others. If they need to be more assertive and powerful we will work on that (and vice versa,) but never at the expense of helping to develop and whole, balanced individual who can meet the challenges of their teenage years with empowered self-understanding.

How to get Counselling Help for Your Teenager

If you want to come and see me with, or about, your teenager I work face to face in my Sydney clinic in Rose Bay, or via Skype. Teenagers are usually great with technology and find the Skype process works well for them. Feel free to make contact and have a chat to hear more about how I work.

My name is Sam Adkins, known also as The Homeopathic Coach. I have been working as a Homeopath since 2003 in both Australia, the UK and internationally via skype. I am also a qualified and experienced holistic counsellor using a Process Oriented Psychology approach. I like to combine both these skill sets to facilitate greater balance, wellness and happiness for my clients.

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How to De-Stress Yourself

Homeopathic

Nov 042015

Sometimes I sit down to write a blog post and wonder what it is I am going to write? It’s not that I don’t have loads of ideas in my head buzzing around, but the block is around selection. I want to write something useful to my readers and this very conundrum started me thinking about busy minds and the topic of stress. Everyone feels stressed sometimes in their lives and some of us feel it often as we are constantly doing too much and juggling too many things. When I start having daydreams of taking time out to go and sit on a empty beach with my nearest and dearest, I know it’s time to step up the things that help me de-stress. Here are the things that help me most when my head and/or life feels over loaded.

Increase Your Protein Intake:
Stress makes me want to stop my usual healthy eating habits and reach for the sugar. This would be so easy for me as my adrenals are a little on the low side in terms of function and the cravings for sugar can sometimes be very strong. However, if I resist it and eat exceptionally healthily instead, which means frequent protein snacks and meals and drinking lots and lots of filtered or alkaline water, I feel so much better!

Move Your Body More:
Exercise is my friend and yours too! Although when beginning an exercise regime it can cause cortisol levels to rise; once the regime is regular and established, it diminishes the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators. It’s the endorphins that give that runner’s high that you might have heard of.

Breathe Properly:
This one is very important. We all know that breathing is essential but did you know that when you are stressed you tend to breathe in a shallow way? This helps ramp up the activity of the Sympathetic Nervous system (SNS) which manages the release of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. So what we want is to turn this dial down and turn on the Parasympathetic Nervous system (PNS). Well, it is actually very easy to do this with your breath. To do it you have to initiate and practice diaphragmatic breathing. I teach this to my anxiety or adrenally fatigued clients all the time. This is how you do it simply and easily:

Breathing for Stress Relief Exercise

You can do this standing, sitting, in a queue, car anywhere but when you are trying it out I suggest sitting or lying in a place you can concentrate.

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Use your hands to help you feel your belly expanding as you inhale

Place your hand on your belly and one on your upper chest. Take a normal deepish breath sufficient to allow you to feel your belly pushing out as your breath fills your lungs. Allow yourself to completely exhale. Then WAIT until your body wants you to take another breath. Repeat. Start counting the counts of the exhalation. If you exhale for 8 counts, wait at least 4 to take your following breath. If you exhale for 6 counts, wait 3 and so on. The secret is to not HOLD your breath but make this light, easy and relaxed.

Repeat for 10 breaths.

If you are stressed, I promise you that doing this at least 3 times a day will make a huge physiological difference as your PNS takes over from your ANS and those stress hormones subside. This has far reaching health effects.

Walk in Nature
It is known that being outside in nature rather than in a city or inside buildings facilitates great relaxation. If you are working in a city try and find a green space that you can sit in or walk in for 10 minutes during your lunch break. If you are lucky enough to live in a beautiful city like Sydney, get to the water and feast your eyes on the blue water. If you can take your shoes off for a moment and stand on the green grass.

There are many things you ca do to release stress and manage your busy mind. What kind of things do you like to do?

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