Stress is a complex response of the organism, which involves physical, psychological, mental and hormonal reactions to events that are interpreted by the person as challenging and generate physiological changes.

 

When we remain in this state for a long period of time or when stressful events occur frequently, these can break the homeostasis of the inner workings, which, in turn, creates a need for adaptation to preserve well-being and life . It can be understood, therefore, with something like a reaction to situations that bother us frequently or persistently and causes a physiological change in the face of stimuli.

 

In this way, stress is understood as an attack by the Central Nervous System that maintains natural “fight or flight” programs , releasing , without there being a real need, hormones with cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine that serve to prepare our body for a physical response action that may not be occurring at the moment.

 

A stress reaction is followed by emotional reactions, which overlap with it and start to coexist with it.

For example, let's look at a common situation, where a person spends hours of his day stuck in the traffic of big cities, and for this reason he gets upset. The accumulation of feelings such as impotence and tension can trigger stress, where the organism goes through an altered state (imbalance). In this situation, the person may become tense, have pain in the body and be constantly irritated.

 

The already established picture of stress can be associated with anxiety and cause more discomfort, but now as a result of a feeling, that is, just because you know that you will have to face congestion in an instant.

 

In this way, we can summarize that the original stress generated an imbalance, which was summed up as an anxiety crisis, which further increased the picture of stress. Situations similar to this are frequent and can evolve into a panic crisis, where this same person will have difficulty leaving the house in fear and will feel enormous physical discomfort and great anguish for knowing that they will have to face their daily journey, and may have a lack of air, arrhythmia, sweating, loose bowel, muscle weakness, etc. From this stage onwards, the person may enter into a condition of impotence and fall into a severe depression.

 

Individuals with more reactive, competitive, determined, impatient, concerned or more aggressive personalities are more susceptible to the effects of stressors and are more prone to imbalance. The limbic system is responsible for the emotional and vegetative phenomena and, through the hypothalamus and pituitary, they command the sympathetic and parasympathetic system, which causes the release of adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine, reaching various organs through the bloodstream, mainly the heart. , liver and intestine.

 

Stress is a natural action of our organism, that is, a primitive mechanism that helped the survival of our species in the course of our evolution. The downside occurs when we remain in this state for long periods. The constancy of this state leads us to a situation of imbalance in the neurological and hormonal systems and can trigger health problems such as:

• Increased sugar levels;

• Uncontrolled blood pressure;

• Cardiac arrhythmia;

• Decreased libido;

• Heartburn;

• Gastritis;

• Tremors and spasms;

• Overweight or obesity;

• Muscle tension and pain;

• Muscle weakness;

• Diffuse pains;

• Blurred view;

• Intestinal problems;

• Insomnia;

• Breathing difficulty or shortness of breath;

• Increased blood acidity;

• Dizziness;

• Sweating;

• Tiredness without reason (fatigue);

• Dryness of skin, eyes, vagina;

• Allergies;

• Decreased defense capacity against viruses and bacteria;

• Headache;

• Decreased ability to concentrate;

• Migraine;

• Increase in free radicals;

 

In addition to the various problems listed above, stress can contribute to trigger autoimmune disease triggers or increase the chances of developing cardiovascular problems, ulcers and even cancer. Emotionally, it contributes to the establishment of depressive states that can manifest with different symptoms such as anger, apathy and mood swings.

 

Finally, it negatively influences our cognitive ability and the way we see everyday facts, making us rigid and increasing the chances of blaming ourselves and creating negative beliefs helping to feed uncomfortable situations, acting as a feedback loop in the process.

 

The three phases of stress

1. Alert - When we feel pressured. It is at this stage that our body undergoes changes in order to prepare for flight or fight. It is a shock stage, marked by an adrenergic discharge characterized by tachycardia, hemoconcentration, production of urine below normal, hyperglycemia, leukopenia and, afterwards, leukocytosis.

2. Resistance - It occurs when our organism tries to rebalance itself to a new situation. Coming out of his natural state of balance, he starts to use our energy more, even for activities that do not require effort. The organism starts to show signs of tiredness, malaise, dizziness, tingling in the extremities, loss of concentration and also problems with memory. When the body loses the ability to withstand this effort, it can cause the body to go into the third phase of stress.

3. Exhaustion - Our body begins to show signs of fatigue, interfering with the ability of its defenses and its rebalancing system can be severely compromised, giving space for diseases to begin to appear. It is a way for the unconscious to alert us that it is not managing to deal with the pressure situation. After these phases arise the so-called adaptation diseases such as hypertension, peptic ulcer, myocardial injuries, and takes the body to a state of physical and mental exhaustion, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, anguish and emotional hypersensitivity, among others.

4. Collapse - It is a phase not addressed by most authors. Emotional situations can create mental schedules, such as negative beliefs. As I am unhappy, I am no good, I do everything wrong, nobody likes me, etc ... It can happen, when we are in a state of exhaustion, the activation of one of these negative programs by triggering triggers generated by more stressful situations. It is as if our body wants to validate our mental affirmations. In this case, it may represent the onset of autoimmune or degenerative diseases. An example, if a person has lost the pleasure of life, seeing everything and everyone without grace. Life is bitter and, therefore, without sweetness. In this situation, there is a possibility that a trigger for type II diabetes is being generated. In this situation, the organism will no longer be able to return to its former complete state of homeostasis. This individual will have to live with this situation for the rest of his life. Bearing in mind that the generation of a trigger depends on multiple factors, and it is not as simple to understand as I described above. Factors such as physical inactivity, body mass, eating habits, genetic factors and other emotional factors may contribute to the generation of this schedule.

 

Types of stress:

1. Acute is when we have strong reactions to certain events that trigger stressful mechanisms. These symptoms are called acute because they come with extreme intensity and speed, but in a short duration.

2. Accumulative is when we are exposed daily, and several times, to situations that trigger stressful processes, such as tension, alertness, increased blood pressure, among others. This prolonged exposure is responsible for triggering a series of mental and physical illnesses.

3. Post-traumatic is when the individual presents disturbances and physical and mental changes, after a certain event, either directly with him or just witnessed. It is a delayed response, resulting from a traumatic situation. For example: a person witnesses an accident where his or her life or that of someone else has been put at risk, and after that event, when he remembers the fact, signs of stress such as anxiety, for example, are triggered.

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How can Reflexology help in reducing and controlling Stress?

 

In the academic paper " The Physiological and Biochemical Outcomes Associated with a Reflexology Treatment: A Systematic Review " twelve randomized clinical trials were evaluated and five randomized or viability clinical trials, involving a total of 697 participants, were reviewed. Study participants ranged from healthy volunteers to those suffering from a wide range of musculoskeletal, neurological and systemic conditions, including people with breast cancer, coronary artery bypass surgery, chronic heart failure, nursing home residents with dementia and cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), multiple sclerosis (MS), pregnant women and women who are unable to ovulate. In these studies, physiological and biochemical changes associated with reflexology treatment were evaluated by exams. This compilation of studies demonstrated a variety of positive effects can be attributed to treatment, specifically the reduction of stress parameters. This will facilitate decision-making based on clinical evidence. It is important to note that, in all studies included in this review, where psychological parameters were assessed, a significant improvement in health and well-being was determined and this factor alone had a positive effect on disease outcomes, prognosis and rehabilitation.

Study failures: None of the studies in this review investigated any long-term effects through follow-up with participants.

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With reflexotherapy, we will address several strategies to reduce the condition of stress and its various side effects (loss of homeostasis). For this, the aspects will be worked on:

• Strengthen the will to overcome procrastination and have the blush to be active in life.

• They help to balance mood and reduce irritation;

• They strengthen the ability to see life with different eyes;

• They improve the state of attention and the concentration to exercise the activities;

• Changing the mood and reducing the feeling of helplessness and lack of initiative. Avoids somatization due to misperceptions of life:

• Improves muscle tone and determination to face difficulties and perform;

• It acts against nervous exhaustion;

• Improves pleasure giving new flavor to life;

• Improves self-esteem;

• Improves the ability to plan for the future;

• Improvement of discouragement that seems lazy;

• Improves the perception of the state and feeling of surprise;

• Helps to reduce self-collection and self-criticism;

• Improves the feeling of well-being;

• Improves the perception of situations that are stressful;

• Reduces anxiety.

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For each of these items, reflexology has therapies to restore the balance affected by stress, giving our body the tools to rebalance itself.

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Reference :

a) The Physiological and Biochemical Outcomes Associated with a Reflexology Treatment: A Systematic Review

Authors : JEM McCullough, SD Liddle, M. Sinclair, C. Close, and CM Hughes

Published in : Institute of Nursing and Health Research, University of Ulster, Jordanstown Campus, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, County Antrim BT37 0QB, UK

PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation

DO - 10.1155 / 2014/502123

Published : 5 May 2014