It’s Not Debatable: This Blog Post Could (Really) Save Your Life
© 2024 by Dr. David B. Meredith, D.Ac.
Well, it’s political season, and I’m a junkie. A couple of weeks ago, splitting a bottle of wine—and gaping open-mouthed at times—I watched the presidential debate and doom scrolled through Facebook to see real-time responses. That wine bottle wasn’t just for ambiance; it was self-medication for a nerve-wracking experience. If it’s one thing that political junkies know about, it’s nail-biting stress.
Short-term stress can be exciting and motivating, like the thrill of a roller-coaster ride or the beneficial challenge of a gym workout. Chronic stress, however is a different ball of wax. Not only is it unpleasant on its own, chronic stress can lead to depression, disease, compromised performance, and severely reduced quality of life. You may not even realize that your progressive symptoms or injuries are stress related. One study in 2005 linked an increased risk of athletic injury to a measurable, stress-induced reduction of peripheral vision. Who would have thought?
Worse, chronic stress is a compounding issue, as its symptoms can cause even more stress in a spiraling feedback look.
And our attempts to mitigate the uncomfortable effects of chronic stress can lead to other problems. When I drink a soothing glass of wine (or two) to relax in the evening, my overnight resting heart rate dramatically elevates, my HRV and my “sleep score” drop, and I wake up several times overnight. Interrupted sleep all by itself can spiral into many other issues. So much for my strategy for watching political debates.
Results of Chronic Stress
Yale and Columbia Universities each reported lists of conditions linked to chronic stress and our attempts to relieve it. These include many of the defining health problems of the 21st century:
Hypertension
Heart disease
Weight gain or loss
Metabolic syndrome
Type II diabetes
Arthritis
Muscle tension
Digestive issues
Headaches
Trouble sleeping
Susceptibility to cancer
High blood pressure
Stroke
Other doctors mention Alzheimer’s disease, mood disorders, asthma, accelerated aging, increased pain, frequent infections, substance use disorders, and even premature death from any cause as results of chronic stress.
As an acupuncturist, I see many of these symptoms in my clinic EVERY DAY. My clients are rightly concerned about the above issues in and of themselves (and yes, acupuncture and Very Well’s other services can help them), but relatively few really take in that they can do something about the underlying condition of chronic stress.
After all, it’s an American fact of life, right? Politics, current events, job stress, family stress, social media angst and drama, financial worries, anxiety about the future… stress is everywhere we turn in these complicated times.
One of the hallmarks of chronic stress are feelings of disempowerment… even helplessness. The more it compounds, the more it seems hopeless to resist. But in fact, there is plenty we can do to escape.
Freeing Yourself from Stress and Its Harmful Effects
Interventions for chronic stress come in a few different categories.
1. Reversing the effects of stress on the body. It’s all about balance. Stress is a regular, broad-spectrum detriment to your body’s systems, mood, and overall quality of life. Countering that with regular, broad-spectrum benefit in those areas should relieve, reverse, or prevent the damage. Very Well’s offerings—Red Light Therapy, PEMF Therapy, Salt Room and Infrared Sauna Therapy, Vibroacoustic Therapy, and Acupuncture—can work individually or in tandem to rescue you from chronic stress! These treatments are simple, quite lovely to experience, and extremely effective, especially over time.
2. Lifestyle changes to relieve and protect from the effects of stress. These are the elements of self-care we hear so much about but often have trouble implementing: improved nutrition, hydration, increased sleep and rest, meditation, deep breathing, exercise, enjoying hobbies, connecting with other people, etc.
3. Lifestyle changes to prevent chronic stress in the first place. These are a little more complicated and involve personal empowerment to make larger life decisions. A therapist or life coach (or acupuncturist!) can help with the overall perspective to identify what is causing the stress and how to redesign things to address it. This could mean changing jobs or making other major adjustments. But it could also mean changing perspectives, or learning techniques for not internalizing external stressors.
How a Political-Junkie Acupuncturist in His Middle 50s Handles Stress
Not only am I fixated on politics and current events, I’ve recently started a challenging new business I need to build from scratch (you may have heard of it), and my home life is haunted by an elderly dog who often refuses to eat and barks mysteriously in the night. I may have studied the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching and translated it into limericks, but that doesn’t mean I’m magically protected from modern stressors. Here are some habits that keep me feeling surprisingly peaceful, even as I work 50 to 60 hours a week and tend to my family (and, yes, my little dog):
I get acupuncture every three to four weeks, whether I think I “need” it or not. My practitioner is able to help me calm my mind, while making minor corrections to my body systems before they spiral out of control.
I use our PEMF Therapy, Red Light Therapy, Vibroacoustic Therapy, or Infrared Sauna sessions at least weekly. While lying there, I also try to use this time to clear my brain and let my concerns float away.
I go to the gym for both strength training and cardio. (The goal is three times a week, but time usually permits only one or two. Therefore, I’ve come up with a home exercise routine for when I have only a few minutes.)
Whenever I feel like my time is being wasted (at a traffic light, waiting for the microwave to ding), I take some deep breaths, relax, and make it a point to feel my weight on the ground or seat. Sometimes, I also think of things I’m grateful for.
I don’t avoid the news. Yes, it’s often upsetting, but I think it’s our crucial responsibility to be aware of the world around us and understand our connections to it. Part of the stress around politics and current events is the feeling of powerlessness to do anything about them… so I’ve become clear on my mission in life—to help heal and empower my community—and take whatever steps I can toward it through actions and donations. Feeling like I’m actually making a difference—that is to say, taking effective action—helps tremendously. And as for the rest, I do my best to restrict my news intake to specific times of day, from demonstrably reliable sources.
I have a ritual for winding down at the end of the day and preparing for a good night’s sleep. It used to feature a lot more wine than it does now—except for debate night, it’s usually kombucha.
The Last Word
Look, I realize you know all of this already. You are a person who is alive and aware in the 21st century. You know stress is ubiquitous, that it feels bad, and that it underlies some of our most major health risks. But I think that part of its insidious nature is that it overwhelms us and makes us feel disempowered, like there are no options for anything to change.
There are options.
An old friend of mine used to say: “The moment of power is now!”
In this moment, think about some of the burdens you could lay down, and for the sake of what you’d do so. To be a good example for your kids? To live up to your values to make the world a better place? To avoid the agony of an stress-induced disease?
Stress reduction is sometimes considered to be the “booby prize” of holistic treatment modalities like the ones at Very Well. It’s easy to achieve in the short term, and I’ll admit, it’s less flashy than some of the more dramatic results I’ve gotten for my clients. But it’s more challenging—and more rewarding—to help someone commit to an ongoing practice of being more peaceful in body and mind. And in such cases, I know I’ve achieved something in my quest to heal the world, because you can see the results radiating outward to improve every aspect of their life, and setting a clear example for everyone who comes into contact with them.
— Dr. David Meredith