2. These days, you won‟t find anyone in the
medical community or anywhere else that
thinks of stress as a benign by-product of life.
Stress shows up in all different shapes and sizes
from many different directions and it affects
everyone differently.
Basically, stress refers to the way your body
responds to an emotional or physical
demand. In modern society, people look for
any way to help reduce the effects of stress
without affecting performance or lifestyle too
much. One way that helps put a dent in the
negative effects of stress is massage therapy.
3. Common Causes of Stress
Even though stress and its effects differ for
everyone, there are some common causes that are
the origin for many people. These include:
Health – health issues can add a boatload of stress to
your daily life, especially if you suffer from a chronic or
potentially fatal illness like cancer, heart disease or
diabetes.
Relationships – marital problems, issues with friends or
issues with your kids can place a lot of stress on your
shoulders. And if the issues were with someone you‟d
normally turn to for unloading stress, it may be even
worse.
4. Common Causes of Stress
(con‟t)
Life Changes – Losing a
parent, spouse, child or anyone else
close to you can cause lasting stress.
Even changes that are perceived as
positive such as moving to a new
city, starting a new job or moving in
with someone can bring stress.
Unexpressed Emotions – If you regularly
hold in emotions or just can‟t seem to
express them, stress levels can
escalate.
Job Issues – Being in an unhappy work
environment is a definite cause of
stress, especially when you consider
how much time you spend there.
5. Common Causes of Stress
(con‟t)
Financial Problems – Money has a way of causing stress like
nothing else. Heavy debt or the inability to make ends meet
can cause a major backload in the stress department.
Unemployment – Not having a job can cause stress for financial
reasons, and for self-esteem and self-confidence reasons.
Social Status – If you feel lonely or discriminated against
because of your age, race or gender, you may also feel high
levels of stress.
Post-Traumatic Stress – Virtually any traumatic event can lead to
a lifetime of stress if it isn‟t dealt with. These may include sexual
assault, car accident, natural disaster or living through a war.
6. Significance of Stress
The reason that stress is so significant is because it
has a negative effect on your brain. Your brain
releases chemical messengers called
neurotransmitters when it feels the effects of stress.
One of the neurotransmitters that is released is
called cortisol, which is commonly referred to as
the „stress hormone.‟
When cortisol is released, it can affect several
different systems within your body. Your heart rate
may increase, immune system may weaken and
you might gain weight.
7. The Role of Massage
While there are many different lifestyle changes you can
make to help relieve stress levels, massage therapy is one
that most people wouldn‟t consider. The “International
Journal of Neuroscience” published an article in 2005 that
reported massage has the ability to reduce cortisol levels
by up to 30 percent.
Massage also increases levels of neurotransmitters
dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. All three of these
hormones help produce a sense of calm and a general
sense of well being. With the decrease of the negative
hormone cortisol and increases in the „feel good‟
hormones, it‟s no wonder that massage has been shown to
take stress levels down a few notches.
8. The Role of Massage (con‟t)
And so, massage therapy doesn‟t just relax your muscles to relieve
stress. There is actually science going on inside your body as your
muscles and rubbed and kneaded. Of course, massage will
decrease the muscle tension associated with high levels of stress
and improve oxygen flow, but there is much more going on than
meets the eye.
Some of the other ways that massage therapy helps with stress relief
include:
Reducing your blood pressure and heart rate. These two elements
are more a by-product or symptom of stress, but by lowering them
anxiety levels will naturally be lowered, too.
The human touch element. Sometimes, just the feeling of human
touch on your body is enough to take a bite out of stress. When
someone, even a massage therapist, takes the time to work on your
muscles, it creates a sense of acceptance and connection that may
have contributed to your stress in the first place.
