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April 2015 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
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INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE
Mindfulness for Stress and Anxiety
By John A.
Patterson MD,
MSPH, FAAFP
The fast pace and
high demands of
modern life have created a culture
in which stress and anxiety are
almost unavoidable. The half-truth/
half-joke “I’d never get anything
done without stress” reflects the
fact that it is even possible to benefit from manageable amounts of
stress and anxiety without harming
your physical, mental and emotional health or your relationships
with yourself and other people.
Nevertheless, stress and anxiety can
also be killers.
Studies of human efficiency and
productivity show that a certain
amount of stress is a catalyst for
work performance. However, as
stress increases, efficiency, productivity and performance decline, and
you may even begin to have signs
and symptoms related to stress and
the anxiety that often results from
it. This is even more true if you are
prone to anxiety from your genetic
inheritance, family experiences, personality or traumatic life events.
Anxiety and other stress-related
symptoms are a leading cause of
visits to conventional and complementary health practitioners. You
may not easily make the connection between the symptoms that
require professional attention and
the stress or anxiety that is contributing to them. It is also clear that,
while stress does not necessarily
cause clinical illness, it can aggravate symptoms of most illnesses.
Stress can be “the straw that broke
the camel’s back,” taking you from
relative health to serious and even
life-threatening illness. Therefore, it
is important to recognize your own
personal signs and symptoms of
stress and anxiety and learn healthy
ways to manage them with self-care
approaches, professional consultation or both.
A partial list of physical symptoms of stress includes headaches,
jaw clenching, trembling, neck and
back pain, muscle tension or spasm,
dizziness, ringing in the ears, blushing, sweating and cold or sweaty
hands. Immune system effects can
lead to recurrent herpes outbreaks
and other viral infections. Other
symptoms of stress are itching skin,
fatigue, heartburn, peptic ulcers,
nausea, esophageal reflux (GERD),
chest pain, palpitations, increased
or decreased appetite and associated weight gain or weight loss, frequent urination and elevated blood
pressure (a risk factor for heart
attacks and stroke). Some researchers believe the increased incidence
of heart attacks on Monday morning is partly due to the physiological stress of returning to the work
week.
Mental and emotional signs and
symptoms of stress include anxiety,
worry, guilt, nervousness, anger,
frustration, mood swings and sleep
disturbance. You may also experience racing thoughts, stuttering,
forgetfulness and memory problems, difficulty making decisions,
feeling overwhelmed, crying spells,
depression, feelings of loneliness,
suicidal thoughts, irritability and
diminished sexual desire or performance. Self-medication to relieve
stress and anxiety can lead to
increased smoking, alcohol drinking
and recreational or over-the-counter drug use.
If you suffer from any of the
above symptoms, your primary
health care provider can help you
determine the best plan for testing,
diagnosis and treatment, which
may include a mental health referral. Please do not allow the stigma
often associated with seeking
professional mental health counseling prevent you from getting help
when it is truly needed. It can be
lifesaving. While anxiety can be a
normal, temporary human emotion
that is appropriate under stressful
circumstances, it can also become
a serious, overwhelming clinical
disorder that can not only rob you
of happiness, but also contribute
to depression and interfere with
your performance at home, work or
school.
Anxiety disorders that require
professional help include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social
anxiety disorder (SAD), panic disorder, phobias and post-traumatic
stress disorder. Mental health professionals are increasingly using
mindfulness-based interventions to
help clients manage these serious
anxiety disorders. Such interventions include mindfulness-based
stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
(MBCT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
Less serious anxiety symptoms
can often be helped by non-clinical
mindfulness study through books,