Have you always wanted to know more about the stress-relieving power of TCM? You’re reading the right post! TCM stands for Traditional Chinese Medicine, one of the oldest surviving medicinal systems in the world. TCM’s longevity has attracted millions of twenty-first-century followers, and this traditional form of medicine boasts myriad benefits that people all over the world can enjoy.
Helping both body and mind
Today, many people turn to TCM for its uniquely holistic approach to a person’s health. TCM is grounded in Daoist belief and posits the existence of 20 interconnected meridians (or channels) throughout the body. If any of these meridians become imbalanced, the whole body is thrown off kilter – with stress a sure-fire trigger for this imbalance.
Because Traditional Chinese Medicine aims to restore balance to the body and mind, it constitutes the ideal stress treatment. Via techniques like acupuncture, acupressure, and meditation, TCM has helped many individuals rediscover their more energetic selves.
Acupuncture, in particular, has proven popular with Western patients as a proven way to increase blood circulation and to stimulate the release of endorphins and other natural opioids. A newer trend within acupunctural treatment is cosmetic acupuncture, which with its anti-ageing power has been called the natural alternative to surgery or botox (goodbye, stress lines!). If you’re looking for a caring, holistic approach to health and wellness, TCM and its associated techniques might be the method you need to help manage stress.
Creating Calm
It’s no secret that modern lifestyles are often incompatible with inner peace and physical well-being. Busy jobs, city living, and an ever-expanding list of digital distractions can make it all too easy to lose ourselves in a spiral of stress and negative self-feeling. This is where TCM comes in.
TCM, in particular, aims to relieve stress (2) and anxiety by helping to regulate hormone levels and reducing cortisol levels. TCM aims to release tension and calm the mind, promote physical and emotional well-being and improve sleep (3).
Treating the cause, not the symptom
Although TCM and acupuncture (4) can do wonders to alleviate stress symptoms (1), they alone can’t alleviate your angst. No medicinal cure will help your stress and anxiety so much as actually identifying the root causes of these issues and addressing them accordingly.
Start by stepping back and deconstructing each aspect of your daily lifestyle. What works well for you and what makes you feel stressed and anxious? Once you look at your life a little more critically, you may realise your angst is caused by things like overwork, unnatural environments, a poor diet, or a lack of human connection.
No matter what is causing your stress, every person can benefit from making a few simple changes. These include spending more time exercising, hanging out with friends, and disconnecting from social media self-extensions whenever you can.
We tend to forget how unnatural the modern habitus is: full of concrete, screens, and antisocial, individualistic behaviour. We could all do with rediscovering what it means to be human again. So, shake off those work shoes and remember how it feels to run barefoot along the grass with the people you love best – that way, you’ll deal with the problem of stress at its source.
Harper Reid is a freelance writer from Auckland, New Zealand who loves spending quiet time meditating in her backyard – or in her cosy room when it rains! Writing is her therapy, with her work on home living, health, and business topics published across dozens of sites. Discover more of Harper’s work here.
Resources:
1. British Acupunture Council. Stress [Internet]. Welcome to the British Acupuncture
Council. [cited 2019Jan9]. Available from: https://www.acupuncture.org.uk/a-to-z-of-conditions/a-to-z-of-conditions/stress.html
2. Healthline. Researchers Find Proof that Acupuncture Blocks Stress [Internet].
Healthline. Healthline Media; [cited 2019Jan9]. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/mental-researchers-find-proof-acupuncture-blocks-stress-031413
3. Kecskes AA. Traditional Chinese Medicine Can Help Adrenal Fatigue [Internet].
Pacific College. 2017 [cited 2019Jan9]. Available from: https://www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2014/10/24/traditional-chinese-medicine-can-help-adrenal-fatigue
4. Sparrow K, Golianu B. Does Acupuncture Reduce Stress Over … – PubMed Central
(PMC )[Internet]. National Library of Medicine. 2014 [cited 2019Jan9]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4203477/
