Member Blog Post -

Our No. 1 Health Problem — Stress the silent killer

 by Nasrin Lakhani, B.S., M.N.M.,

Director of Biofit Health Center

8917-23 Conroy-Windermere Road,

Orland, FL 32835

407-992-9955 ● 407-217-6977

www.BiofitHealthCenter.com

If a country’s military was no longer able to protect its citizens, the chaos would be unimaginable. Stress creates similar chaos in the body uncontrolled by an equally compromised the immune system. The nature of stress today is chronic and tends to exhaust one’s system, causing myriad symptoms. Unfortunately, the body reacts in the same archaic “fight or flight” way, releasing cortisol which in this case is detrimental to one’s health. The prolonged release of cortisol can actually decrease the number of brain cells, impair memory and affect blood pressure, making it more likely for a person to have a heart attack or stroke.

Stressful challenges are part of everyday life — more so today, with multiple demands in a 24-hour day, which is further complicated by financial and job stress. Stress may be impossible to avoid, but there are skills a person can learn to reduce the damage it causes long-term if left alone.

Biofeedback training involves learning skills to harness the power of the mind to control the body’s reaction to stress. A special hi-tech monitoring device conveys the body’s physiological signals, such as skin temperature, heart rate, muscle tension, breathing pattern and sweat gland activity, in real time. For patients, this device acts as a kind of sixth sense that allows one to “see” or “hear” activity inside the body. It provides awareness of the changes that occur during a stress reaction and allows a person to develop strategies to control them. This information is used to teach patients skills to handle everyday stress; and along with a therapist’s professional guidance, patients are able to make positive changes and improve general health and performance.

Some of the skills taught through biofeedback therapy are diaphragmatic breathing, skin warming, progressive muscle relaxation and mindful relaxation. These are known to provide relief from most stress-related symptoms, including migraines and headaches, chronic pain, panic disorders, test anxiety, speech anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome and high blood pressure.

Biofeedback may be used to improve health or performance; and the physiological changes often occur in conjunction with changes to thoughts, emotions and behavior. Eventually, these changes can be maintained with the techniques learned, without the need of any equipment. The techniques enable an individual to develop a stronger mind-body connection that is useful for providing stress relief.