January 2014

304 330

HEALTH&FITNESS
304 January14
Now for some good news
In a recent TED talk, health psychologist Kelly McGonigal examined new
studies which show that how you view stress can change how it affects
your body. People who worry about the impact of stress are worse off,
according to the health statistics. Hear what she says about rethinking
stress and stress mindsets on the fabulous TED website. .
ted.com/2013/09/04/could-stress-be-good-for-you-recent-research-that-
suggests-it-has-benefits/
they are not enjoying life, despite their
apparent success. They say they don’t
feel calm, they lose patience quickly,
feel on edge, can’t switch off, feel
unhappy and are not enjoying life,”
she says.
“People wonder why they have
physical symptoms, such as sciatica,
headache, tension and poor posture. I
believe lifestyle and stress are strongly
connected, and this is manifesting itself
in physical, emotional and cognitive
symptoms.
“When the body is chronically
stressed the brain simply disconnects,
so the body cannot feel the effects of
the stress and it can’t switch off,” she
says. The sympathetic nervous system
(which mediates the neuronal and
hormonal stress reaction commonly
known as the fight-or-flight response)
gets flicked on permanently. “When
people are in that state it is exhausting:
their muscles are tense, their brains are
racing, they are hyper-functioning and
very tired, but at the same time they
can’t sleep.”
Lynelle trained as a chiropractor, but
Alarm bells
should ring
when a
person feels
overwhelmed
practises her own method that uses light
spinal touches. “The spinal cord is a link
between the brain and the body and
I work with people at this core level to
improve that connection.” She believes
in waking up the spine and coaxing the
brain into a parasympathetic state (which
promotes maintenance of the body at
rest). “When the spinal cord is free of
tension and functioning more effectively,
people regain the flexibility and plasticity
of their nervous system response.
“Once this happens they are
equipped to switch the stress response
on and off. When necessary, they can
function at a higher level, but are able
to switch that off and return to the
baseline relaxation state,” she says.
“If the body can interpret the stress
factors more effectively, then people
can have a different experience of
stress. Rather than being victimised
by it, they can use it to their advantage
and thrive under it.”
Lynelle says that once people feel
their bodies relaxing and can distinguish
between stress and ease, they start to
say, “Wow, I was stressed after all and I
didn’t know it.”