Chapter 7
STRESS ...Turning Stress Into
Strengths
Chronic negative stress, if left unchecked or unresolved, not only can
cause disease, but can also manifest in the body as a myriad of physical
and emotional problems aggravating many conditions including PMS,
menopausal symptoms, allergies, hypoglycemia and candida infections.
Stress can be a cause of many of these conditions; it can cause the
conditions or may just aggravate and accentuate them!
Often a major life stress, trauma or crisis such as the loss of a loved
one, or a relationship change can weaken the body. This, in turn can
aggravate PMS' allergies, a impaired immune system or other disease
processes which can occur at any point in a person's life. Sometimes
critical events, even when occurring years before, can lead to the
manifestation of a condition or disease. Many women state that they don't
feel the same even years after the birth of a child. Complaints of fatigue
and "hormonal imbalances" are not uncommon.
Stressful situations can cause hormonal and biochemical imbalances
often affecting the nervous system, immune systems and health in general.
Fortunately, much can be done through Naturopathic Medicine to help
correct these situations.
Therefore, by understanding what physical and emotional stresses you
may have undergone in the past, we can often discover much about your present
health.
What can be done about stress?
A lot can be done. For example, it is very important that you are
comfortable in the doctor's office. It is not uncommon for blood pressure
tests to be inaccurate at a doctor's office because the person was nervous
when the test was given. Try to relax and think pleasant thoughts when
taking tests.
By learning about what stress does to our health, people can often
reduce negative stress and turn it into positive strengths.
* Counseling and Effective Communication
In our clinic, we encourage you to ask questions about every aspect of
your health. After discussing your health concerns and relating your
specific circumstances, the physician should review your test results with
you, then formulate a treatment program that you can understand.
* Physical and Physiotherapies Help Reduce Stress
You can have fun at the doctor's office! Because stress reduction is so
important in rebuilding and restoring health, the physician and his clinic
should utilize many gentle, soothing approaches, and help dissolve stress
and tension. You should then be able to extend these beneficial effects to
your home and family.
* Light Therapy (Phototherapy)
Scientific research shows that the pituitary gland lacks stimulation in
climates such as found in the Pacific Northwest which do not get much
winter sunshine. This lack of pituitary stimulation increases depression
and worsens many other conditions. The physician (and your own home)
should have special types of full spectrum lights to help these
conditions. It really makes a difference!
* Serotonin
Neurotransmitters (brain hormones such as serotonin, norepinephrine and
acetylcholine) are natural phenolic compounds involved in many important
regulatory processes in the body.
Studies have shown that low serotonin levels are implicated in
bedwetting, severe headaches, depression, insomnia and even criminal
behavior. PMS symptoms such as sobbing uncontrollably, heightened fears,
hostility and extreme irritability have been linked to low or fluctuating
levels of serotonin. These symptoms often overlap with those seen in sleep
deprivation. In fact, women with PMS often report a feeling of deep
exhaustion upon awakening as if they had not slept at all, even after
sleeping for as much as 10-12 hours. If the body produces an inadequate
amount of serotonin, a person may not enjoy "full" sleep usually
indicated by a lack of "R.E.M." (Rapid Eye Movement). The "R.E.M.
sleep state" is a healthy condition experienced during the
dream-cycle portion of sleep. A lack of R.E.M. sleep has been shown to
affect mood and is linked to depression. Although R.E.M. sleep may cause a
person to sleep very heavily, women with PMS (i.e. low seratonin levels)
often wake feeling tired. [32]
By balancing the body's level of serotonin and other neurotransmitters
(using the same principles as in the treatment of allergies), many
seemingly unrelated conditions such as PMS, hot flashes, night sweats,
depression, and childhood conditions such as bedwetting, learning
disabilities, and overactive behavioral problems may be helped.
How does stress affect the digestive process, organ and hormone
function, and proper nutrition?
Chronic negative stress can impair stomach and intestinal functions
causing poor absorption and the improper digestion of food. In turn, the
body may not receive the optimum amount of amino acids, vitamins, minerals
and nutrients needed for good health.
For example, in a normally functioning body, protein is broken down
into amino acids which are then reconverted by the liver into another type
of protein called "enzymes" essential to vital life processes
including helping the body break down foods (digestive enzymes). Stress
and improper nutrition can disrupt enzyme and pancreatic bicarbonate
production thus decreasing the body's efficiency. This decreased vitality
can promote fatigue and other diseases.
Your specific nutritional and enzyme imbalances can be diagnosed and
then corrected through the use of special diets, therapeutic nutritional
programs and the proper balance of enzymes. A thorough evaluation can
significantly reduce the anxiety caused by worrying about a seemingly
unending or un-treatable problem.
It is important to remember that the liver is the chief organ of
detoxification. Like other organs, it is composed of cells which require
Vitamin C, enzymes and other nutrients for proper functioning. If the
amount of these elements are reduced due to stress-related other factors,
liver function can become less efficient permitting toxins, drugs,
estrogen and other waste products to accumulate. This can then cause a
rise in the ratio of estrogen to progesterone. Furthermore, if a woman is
constipated, the level of estrogen can rise even higher because of the
recirculation of unmetabolized estrogen. Chronic negative stress can, in
itself, lead to poor bowel function and increased levels of cholesterol
and estrogen along with decreasing the levels of progesterone, thyroid,
blood sugar and adrenal hormones. This imbalance can result in weakness,
fatigue, and a weakened immune system.
A knowledgeable physician should help people rebuild and restore health
by strengthening the liver, thyroid and other organs. In addition, the
doctor should improve absorption, digestion and elimination through the
use of specially formulated diets, natural medicines and supplements.
Next Chapter 8 : PAIN . . Treating
Causes Not Symptoms
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