I hold my hands up. I don’t manage stress very well at all. I changed career from being a pretty high level corporate film producer, a well paid job I had done and loved for over 20 years to being an acupuncturist in an area where there’s as many therapists as there are cafes.
Although I enjoyed my work, it would often mean working in a relentlessly pressurised environment. My sleep, appetite and anxiety levels were all affected and I would often wake up in the night thinking I’d forgotten a prop or not printed out enough scripts for the following day’s shoot. Hardly earth shattering events – but that’s what stress is all about – not coping with even minor problems.
So, we all live with stress, but not all of us manage it well. There’s a reason for this. When we are stressed it triggers a ‘fight or flight’ response. Fine if an elephant is charging towards us, but not if we’re worrying about whether our boss thinks we took 5 minutes longer at lunch. Stress releases physiological and hormonal responses that are often inappropriate for the actual event we are stressed about, leading to increased anxiety, disturbed sleep, fatigue and depression and other distressing symptoms.
No-one needs to live with that kind of stress, and yet many of us do, for extended periods of time.
Of course, there are many things that help with stress levels such as meditation, exercise, cbt, and yoga. But if you are gripped in a cycle of stress and anxiety, it can be really hard to motivate yourself so reaching for a couple of glasses of wine after work is often the way people self-medicate.
In my clinic, I treat people for stress virtually every day. I also run six, weekly auricular acupuncture groups of no more than six people specifically for stress relief, which is particularly useful in helping clients to manage their lives in a calmer way. The process takes around 40 minutes in all, with just five very fine needles placed in each ear while you sit and relax. No need to lie down or disrobe. It really couldn’t be easier and clients have been known to snore for the 30 mins the needles are left in! I measure how they have been feeling the previous week and throughout the six weeks in order to evaluate the results.
In my most recent group, there was over a 50% reduction in stress, anxiety and sleep issues, with significant changes in weeks 3 and 4 and these positive results maintained over the full 6 weeks. Clients felt they were coping better, responded less negatively to events that would normally stress them, and were generally happier. Plus they enjoyed coming once a week as it offered them some ‘me’ time where they could properly relax.
The protocol* I use is well documented, incredibly powerful and used all over the world in health clinics, at natural disaster sites and by the American military. It works for conditions such as addiction, stress and post traumatic stress disorder. So if you’re considering giving up smoking, drinking or drugs, this protocol will support you.
If you’re interested in signing up for six, weekly group sessions, then drop me a line. Cost is £90 for the full course of six sessions.
Begin the new year with a new perspective.
Ask when a new course is starting.
*NADA protocol