About Stress...

- Research tells us that approximately 70-80% of ALL medical conditions are stress-related.

- Every week millions of people take prescription and over-the-counter medications for stress-related complaints.

- Stress affects the nervous system and EVERY other bodily system.

- Research tells us that chronic and long-term negative emotions like anxiety, fear, grief, depression, doubt, negativity and worry affect your nervous system and actually cause chemical changes in the body that are detrimental to your health.

- Deep negative emotions (conscious or unconscious) and very high stress are often present in persons with cancer.

- Many studies show that chronic mental & emotional stress including anxiety and depression result in a weaker immune system – more colds, and other illnesses.

- Stress is a major factor in high blood pressure and heart disease.

- Stress causes muscle tension which reduces blood supply to the muscles.

- Reduced blood supply to the muscles can cause frequent and painful muscle cramps, especially in the legs and feet.

- Tight and tense muscles can cause sciatica in the hips and legs.

- Tight and tense muscles reduces flexibility, movement and range of motion.

- Chronic muscle tension can cause or aggravate muscle cramps, PMS, tension headaches, neck and back pain, and a wide variety of digestive problems, including indigestion, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, heartburn, constipation.

- Stress is also a major factor in high blood pressure, sleep problems, headaches, muscle pain, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, indigestion, heartburn and other digestive problems.

Want to Improve Your Health?
Relaxation is So Important for Your Immune System

Managing stress in a positive way is vital to the function of your immune system, staying well & feeling your best.

The Good News — Clinical studies show that massage therapy and Reflexology are valuable therapies for wellness.

They not only help you relax, but help decrease heart rate and blood pressure, and most importantly, increase the number of white blood cells (the illness fighters) in your body.

Massage therapy and Reflexology also releases endorphins – the ‘feel good’ hormones, which reduce anxiety, promote relaxation & feelings of well being.

Reflexology, massage, Reiki, Tai Chi and other body therapies are holistic ways to promote wellness, relax, and de-stress. The benefits are only positive - no negative side effects.

Deep relaxation benefits your immune system.

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New!
Take a stress management class at FRCC taught by Mary Axelrod, NCMT, RMT, CR.

"Managing Life's Stresses" is very popular and is offered each semester as a 5-week online class for college credit. The class is experiential where you learn about stress and do various self-assessments to understand your own stressors and how to reduce them in your own life. Throughout this class you will be creating a realistic stress management plan for yourself.

This class is open to anyone, no prerequisite, but you must enroll at FRCC to take the class. (You must have a computer (or have access to a computer) that meets the technical requirements for online classes.)

For more information about this class go to
http://web1.frontrange.edu/catalog/5235.htm

Massage Therapy 
is an integral part of maintenance for good health and overall well being, helping the immune system as well as prevention of problems in the muscles and joints.

Want a Quick and Easy Way to Relieve Stress?

Try Chair Massage  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stress Affects
and contributes to many conditions and illnesses, including:

- Asthma
- Allergies
- Anxiety
- Arthritis
- Cancer
- Chronic fatigue
- Carpal Tunnel
- Cold & Flu
- Digestion
- Fibromyalgia
- Frequent illness
- Headaches
-Heartburn
- Immune System
- Irritable bowel (IBS)
- Migraines
- Muscle pain
- Neck tension
- PMS
- Sinus pain
- Sinus congestion
- Sleep Disorders
- Pain
- Fibromyalgia
- Nervousness
- Panic attacks
- Ulcers

From the News:

Mind-Body - How mental, physical pain are linked
by Dr. Charles Raison, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University. See his recent article about "... understanding how the brain and the body work together to produce disease or well-being, resilience or defeat. "

Chronic Stress: Feels Bad, Is Bad
"Plenty of studies have suggested that stress can make you sick. Now scientists may have identified one reason why: interluken-6 (IL-6) a chemical associated with such illnesses as heart disease and some cancers. Recently Ohio State University researchers compared 119 men and women caring for spouses with dementia to others who weren't carrying the same burden. Over six years, levels of IL-6 increased four times as much in caregivers as in the other participants. Chronic stress, the study authors say, seems to age the immune system prematurely."   "Health", October 2003, "The Power of Living Well", p. 126.