Apparently, stress has eaten its
way into the American fabric so intensely that toy makers have found a way to
sell the concept to children.
Introducing the “Orbeez Luxury Spa”, marketed towards girls between the
ages of 5-15 that will “massage their cares away” when they are “feeling
stressed”. I thought that product was
absurd. I couldn’t stop laughing when I
saw the commercial while I was watching Adventure Time with my daughter. (Yes, I watch Adventure Time. I think it’s funny and I’m not sorry about
that.) Here’s the sad thing: she got it.
She understood. She thought it
was “awesome” that she could “relax” after a day at school – not because she actually needs to de-stress
after school. She thought it would be
awesome to relax with me,
because in her words, “Mommy is stressed ALL. THE. TIME.” And I was the one that really needed it. In her 9-year old brain, she theorized that
Mommy doesn’t “get to relax” and maybe that’s why Mommy gets “really bad
headaches all the time.” Children watch;
they observe; they understand and they incorporate what they see. My daughter, for one, is exactly
correct. Stress is the reason why I get
really, really bad headaches. It’s also
the reason why my neck and shoulders ache and why my back hurts on pretty bad
days.
Believe or not, stress does have
its benefits. Moderate amounts of stress
can actually help us learn and remember new information. The moderate amounts of stress produced
during short periods of intense exercise boost the immune system. When we are young, brief periods of stress
can help us deal with anxiety later in life.
As you can see, these benefits are attributed to moderate and brief periods
of stress. The stress response – the
“fight or flight” mechanism is designed for actions related to threats. When our brains sense a threat, signals are
sent to the adrenal glands, which release adrenaline and cortisol and other
hormones that work to prepare the body for action. The muscles tighten, blood vessels constrict,
heart rate increases and the digestive system slows – all in preparation for a
fight or for running your “you-know-what” off.
It’s a fantastically perfect mechanism if you ever find yourself facing
a life or death situation. The problem
is that the biochemical mechanism has not caught up with the evolution of our
daily lives. What if the threat your
brain perceived was an impending layoff?
How long would that stress response last? Days? Weeks? Months?
It isn’t designed for that kind of situation, but that’s where we often
find ourselves. The stress response is
triggered during our daily commutes to the office; in the office; on the way
home; running our children to their extracurricular activities; preparing
dinner; watching the news. It never
stops. Our muscles remain in a state of
tension; they stay contracted. That’s a
great way to bring on a migraine, to create knots and kinks in the shoulders
and neck and sharp pains in the lower back.
These areas of the body are already under enough pressure from sitting
at a desk all day staring at a computer screen or being on our feet all day
doing the same repetitive motions. This
constant state of stress will also disrupt sleeping patterns, which only leads
to a cascade of other issues, one of which can be more pain due to a lack of
sleep; stress can also make a painful situation worse by increasing anxiety and
nervous tension, which are known to intensify pain.
There are many things we can do to alleviate stress. Exercise is one of the best ways to do this. It doesn't need to be crazy intense - just 30 minutes of activity a day can help. There are also herbal medicines that we can use to help the brain and body cope with stress. These herbs are called adaptogens. Adaptogens are an incredible class of herbs that have the unique ability to restore balance to the body and restore balance between the body and the mind. If you want to read more about adaptogens, look to our past blog post from May 2012.
