It is a well-known fact that too much stress can be detrimental to our health. However, not all stress is bad and it should not be seen simply as the enemy. Being exposed to stress is part of daily life and our body is able to cope well with stress as we need a certain amount to enable us to perform, achieve and function at an optimal level.
It is only when the balance tips and we are exposed to extreme or long term stress that it can become problematic. Elevated levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, impact adversely on our health and wellbeing. Many illnesses and diseases are exacerbated or linked in some way to excessive stress. It can have can have a significant impact on our wellbeing and can lower our immunity, suppress our digestive and reproductive systems, decrease bone density levels, affect our weight, increase blood pressure and cholesterol, increase our risk of heart disease and stroke and can interfere with our cognitive processes, such as learning and memory function.
We cannot control every aspect of our lives. However, we can put things in place to help us manage and cope with life’s ups and downs and become empowered and much more solution focused. Reflexology is one of the many ways we can reduce the impact of excessive or long term stress. A trained therapist will activate the para-sympathetic nervous system and encourage a very deep sense of relaxation, whilst facilitating the body’s own healing processes to combat the negative impact of stress. The body is an incredible entity but sometimes it needs helping hands!
Being kinder to ourselves, and not beating ourselves up about doing everything perfectly all the time is a good place to start in reducing our stress level. If we look after ourselves first we will have so much more to give and everyone around us will benefit.