Laboratory MedNews

By: Evelyn B. Trinidad

Meditation is a by word in the health profession but most people do not give attention to stress or want to cope with stress. This is simply because they do not know the effects of stress on their health and even if they do, how to cope with stress is foreign to them.  In a study conducted, 60-90% of the reasons why people visit the doctors are stress related.

The study further revealed that stress is related to immune system weakness, skin disorders, cancer, heart attacks, diabetes, insomnia, chronic pain, asthma. It has something to do with headache, backache and depression that may lead to accidents and suicide. It also decreases the number and function of white blood cells. It has been pronounced that meditation is one way to cope with stress.

Deep Breathing or body-scan meditation

Deep breathing meditation is a very good method to cope with stress. It’s an uncomplicated method that requires little effort. It’s done by sitting upright with eyes closed. Then you inhale deeply then exhale. Focus on your breathing. Then shift your attention to your toes and how it feels against the floor.  Stay with that feeling for a while then move to your legs. Do the same with the other parts of your body until your head.

Mantra or focused or transcendental meditation

The primary consideration here is clearing your mind and focusing on an object, mantra or a single thought. A soft music can be helpful during the meditation. Let your attention focus on your body, you will feel where the tension is and let it relax. Begin to say a word.  Doing this helps you cope with stress and you will feel re energized afterwards.

Metta meditation

Is an excellent way to cope with stress. Many negative thoughts about yourself and about others are all that are occupying your mind and these could stress you. Clear your thoughts of negative ones and think positively. Sit upright comfortably and remember a time when you were loved, how you felt about it and stay with the feeling for 15 minutes. In doing so, you are changing the negative thoughts with positive ones.

Mindfulness or depression meditation

This type of meditation helps you to cope with stress or depression as your mind is allowed to wander and not focusing on one thing. This is also the most common technique. It is done by sitting down in one place and watch people come and go. You just watch. The point is, your mind has a lot in it, and just let the thoughts come and go. Don’t dwell on them. The more you are exposed to negative thoughts the lesser the effect it will have on you.

Movement or walking meditation

Sit and close your eyes then rotate your head, the movement relieves and helps you cope with stress. You can also run, walk, and pace while meditating. As you run focus your attention on your movements especially as your feet touches the ground and you can feel the release of tension there. Continue focusing on your feet as you keep experiencing the feeling of your feet hitting the ground.

Empty mind meditation

As the term connotes mean, this is a meditation technique that makes you discard all thoughts from your mind or keep your mind blank let it rest. Find a quiet place where you can relax. Sit down with your legs crossed and start to remove all thoughts from your mind. Stay that way for 15 minutes. You will feel refreshed afterwards.

Visualization meditation

Imagine a peaceful scene with you in it using your mind. If the scene you imagined is the ocean, then you smell, see it through your mind, touch it and listen to the sound of the ocean and feel the breeze of the sea on your skin. Enjoy the moment as you savor the beauty and serenity of the place. This will relax your mind and help you to cope with stress

Meditation techniques have been used for centuries now to help people cope with stress and to promote a healthy body and mind. It has evolved from the simple to the more complex methods as combinations and new techniques were discovered.  Even if there are numerous methods, it does not mean you have to use them all simultaneously. You can use two or just one depending on your needs.

By: Arvie Vitente, MPH, PTRP

Have you already experienced frequent cramping pain on your muscles mostly at the upper back area? That even with enough rest and massage the pain still persists? Maybe you are suffering from myofascial syndrome. Myofascial syndrome is included in the long list of chronic musculoskeletal pain disorder. In myofascial syndrome, there are palpable nodules in the muscles that are called the trigger points that cause pain upon application of pressure on them. This could also be felt in other parts of the body.

Causes of Myofascial Syndrome

Myofascial syndrome classically occurs among individuals with chronic faulty posture in which the muscles are contracting repetitively resulting initially to simple muscle soreness, then later on to a bothersome condition, which is the condition myofascial syndrome.

Clinically, the exact cause of myofascial syndrome is still not known. There is a theory associating it to connective tissue diseases but this is much generalized. Other theories state that this could be due to accumulation of lactic acid in muscles among individuals with jobs or other activities that require repetitive motions like in carpentry, typist, among others.

Another probable cause of myofascial syndrome are stress-related conditions. Individuals working in the academe are particularly prone to myofascial syndrome since aside from their true job, which is to prepare lessons and deliver these in their classes, they still have other school-related responsibilities which come with great pressure that would in turn result to muscle tension. Likewise, bank managers, typists and bus drivers are also prone to myofascial syndrome.

Difference between Myofascial Syndrome and Fibromyalgia

Myofascial syndrome and fibromyalgia both affect skeletal muscles but the difference is that, myofascial syndrome affects muscles on one side of the body that radiates on other parts, which include the neck and shoulder areas, while fibromyalgia affects muscles on a broader distribution.

Red Flags of Myofascial Syndrome

The signs and symptoms of myofascial syndrome may include deep, aching and cramping in the muscles involved. The description of pain in myofascial syndrome is usually pain that persists and is aggravating. The pain is elicited by applying pressure on the muscles affected which are called the trigger points. Patients with myofascial syndrome mostly complain of having a hard time to sleep primarily because of pain. If these symptoms are present, make an appointment with your doctor.

Treatment

Mostly, patients with myofascial syndrome are advised to undergo physical therapy and trigger point injections. Oral analgesics and relaxation techniques are also included in the treatment options.

Anxiety and how to cope with it, is a common dilemma nowadays. This is because anxiety has become a common occurrence as a result of the increasing demands in the home front, coupled with the fast pace of doing work in a very competitive arena. Before you attempt to use some of the techniques, you must understand first what is causing your anxiety.

Accept that you suffer from anxiety

Once you recognized that you are suffering from anxiety, determine what triggers your anxiety and look for ways to treat it. There are many causes of anxiety, and how to cope with it can sometimes be individualized. You can read further for a better understanding on the subject thereby giving you the leverage to treat yours.

Do simple relaxing activities

Breathe deeply and slowly release the air. It relaxes the body. Veer away from negative thoughts. Indulge yourself. You can go dancing, listen to music, go to the beach, and go hiking, joy riding. There are arrays of happy things you can do if you love to do it. These will help you ease away your anxiety.

Engage in physical exercises and body relaxation

Go physical for 30 minutes 3 times a week. This would help you release the tension from your body and mind. There are relaxing exercises such as yoga and tai chi that you can do.

Meditate

Meditation relaxes the body and mind that leads to lesser tension and calm mind. When meditating put your mind in a “blank” state, in that way your mind is free of all thoughts that may trigger tension.
Talk to a Friend about it or Write it down

Talk to a friend about your situation, it would help release the tension. You can also do a diary on how you feel every time anxiety attacks, this way you are easing away tension and you might develop a strategy on how to combat it when it attacks.

Use Herbal Remedies

Aromatherapy is known to have soothing effects to the body that causes you to relax. When you relax, the tension eases out of your body leaving it worry-free.

“Anxiety and How to Cope with It” books and manuals include among others herbal remedies to address anxiety, specifically aromatherapy.

Observe proper and balanced diet

Intake of proper diet helps the body function at its optimum. Stay away from caffeine and sweets it increases tension in the body.

Boost your Confidence

The common cause of anxiety is lack of confidence in yourself and in your capabilities. When you feel this way, your mind reacts to it resulting to an inferiority feeling that tends to agitate and stress you.

With the tips discussed on Anxiety and how to cope with it, it is hoped that you gained knowledge on how to manage yours and find a fulfilling life.

Headache is probably the most common of all migraine symptoms. The question is, how will you be able to determine that what you are experiencing is really migraine? How are going to identify a migraine as compared to all other causes of headache?

Knowing the other associated migraine symptoms would help you differentiate migraine from headache caused by tension headache, sinusitis or cluster headache. If you are diagnosed with migraine, it is helpful to be familiar with such migraine symptoms so that you will be able to provide immediate care to decrease the pain that you are experiencing. Some migraines have auras, which are described as visual, olfactory or auditory perceptions that occur prior to a migraine attack. To be exact, auras may be experienced for 10-15 minutes before the occurrence of the actual migraine attack. Those who experience these auras describe them as flashes of light or visions of zigzag lines.

However, not all people who have migraine experience the auras mentioned above. In the absence of an aura, it is more integral to be familiarized with the different migraine symptoms. You will know if you are having a migraine if you experience any of the following:

• Usually, one-sided headache. Although pain of both sides can also occur, this is less frequent than one-sided pain.

• Throbbing type of pain. Intensity of this type of pain may range from moderate to severe. For most cases, the person will not be able to continue with his physical activity due to this debilitating intensity of pain.

• Nausea or vomiting. Among the migraine symptoms, this is one of the most classic complaints of patients. They will say that the headache is accompanied by nausea and most patients say that they feel some degree of relief after they vomit.

• Increased sensitivity to light, odors or noise.  The patient gets more easily irritated by these stimuli. That is why a person who suffers from migraine will prefer to rest on a dark and quiet place.

• Other less common associated migraine symptoms such as pain near the eye, loss of appetite, blurred vision and dizziness

Remember, migraine is different from the other types of headache. These migraine symptoms described above are not commonly experienced by patients experiencing the other types of headache. Thus, you will be able to identify the difference. Now you would know, if it’s truly a migraine.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS is described as muscle pain that occurs 12-48 hours after the muscles were subjected to vigorous exercise. It can be more frequently experienced when you exercise at a particular intensity that the body is not yet used to, like when you initiate a new exercise regimen or when you progress your usual exercise to a heightened intensity or duration.

The reason why you experience DOMS is because of microscopic tearing of the smaller components of your muscles called muscle fibers. Aside from the tearing, swelling can also occur at the muscle fibers, causing you to experience muscle pain. Studies say that the greater the intensity of exercise, the greater will the microscopic tearing be, and so it also follows that the soreness of the muscles will be of a greater extent. There are studies that further say that eccentric or lengthening contractions of muscles are more likely to cause DOMS. Examples of activities that require eccentric muscle contractions are slowly lowering of weights after you have lifted it and the downward motion that you perform during squats and push-ups.

Although DOMS can largely cause discomfort, rest assured that it is a normal phenomenon. It is actually expected that when you subject the muscles to strenuous exercise, DOMS will eventually occur in a few days. However, there are measures that you can do to prevent the occurrence of DOMS. To avoid the discomfort of having that dull, aching type of pain days after you exercise, follow these three important measures:

• Include a warm-up exercise for at least 10-15 minutes before your actual exercise regimen.

Gentle stretching of your muscles prior to your high intensity exercise can lower the tendency for you to experience DOMS. When you stretch prior to exercise, the muscles get more prepared for the actual exercise regimen.

• Perform a cool-down exercise for at least 10-15 minutes after the actual exercise regimen.

Having a cool-down exercise after vigorous exercise, rather than suddenly stopping, can help in preventing the occurrence of DOMS. Cool-down can be in a form of gentle stretching or low-intensity activities such as walking or marching in place.

• Progress your exercise gradually, not drastically.

With regards to progression of exercise, follow the ten percent rule. Progress the duration or intensity of your exercise only by ten percent a week. Also, be aware not to make sudden changes to your exercise regimen.

Most lifestyles today are full of deadlines, hectic schedules or quotas. That is why stress is a common experience for most of us today. The fact that some people consider stress as a natural thing is not a good idea. This is because, people might not be aware of how much stress is creeping into their systems and affecting their health. When stress becomes chronic without you doing anything about it, it may greatly affect your mental, physical and social health. This is why; stress relievers must be learned by you before stress takes its toll on your body.

Studies say that a large percentage of primary care consultation to physicians is due to stress-related issues. Come to think of it, these medical consultations could have been minimized if people know how to deal with stress on their own. If you think you are stressed now, you should learn some techniques that are known to be effective stress relievers. Do not let stress damage your health and well-being. You should do something about it now!

Find time to exit from the pressures of your daily routine. Try these different stress relievers and save yourself from the long-term adverse effects of stress.

• Studies reveal that quiet reflection is one of the most effective stress relievers. This is done by stopping for a while, despite how fast paced the day is, and just think of thoughts that will be relaxing to you. It may be in a form of imagination of a serene place or reminiscing on a favorite memory. Studies further say that doing this for 10-20 minutes is the most effective duration that will help you relieve your stress.

• Make a to-do list in chronological order based on the weight of priority of the tasks. To-do lists are also very effective stress relievers. Not only will they help you organize the things that you have to do, they will also decrease your tendency to mind-race. After you have listed the things that you should do in a day, cut your list into half. This means that you need only to do the “top priority tasks” in a span of one day.

• Have a regular exercise regimen. Exercise helps your body to release the happy hormones called endorphins. These hormones are proven by many studies to reduce stress. In addition to this, endorphins cause a positive or euphoric feeling in the body that can help you have a renewed feeling of energy that will help you cope with the daily hassles that you will encounter.

Coping with stress using natural methods is quite easy if people become aware of it. Here are ways you can cope with stress.

1. Exercise

Exercising would help release those harmful substances accumulating in your system. When you sweat it out, unwanted substances are excreted through your sweat, urine, stool and breath.

2. Do breathing exercises

“Breath in and breathe out” exercises are excellent to relieve stress. Inhale with all your force using your nose and then exhale forcefully using your mouth and nose simultaneously. You could also take this opportunity to meditate.

3. Be an optimist

This is the most important thing to manage stress. When you look at things positively, the less stressed out you will be. This is because you spend your time worrying about unnecessary things.

Have a positive outlook in life, exercise and meditate. These three would definitely reduce your stress and allow you to enjoy life as you should. Coping with stress is a doable goal.

You can reduce stress in the workplace through the following  steps.

1. Work  in  an ergonomically  safe  place

Your table and chair should be appropriate or your height,  weight and leg length. You should be seated comfortably with your feet touching the floor and not hanging from your chair.  The back rest of your chair should fit snugly into your back. This  would reduce  your stress because discomfort can lead to lots of stress.  When you”re comfortable you can also stay safe.

2. Remove all sources of destruction

If you’re not comfortable with music around you, then get rid of it. Each person has his own preferences. Some persons could work more with soft music piped in, but many people want silence when working.

3. List your activities for the day

You may want to write down a checklist for the day, listing your priorities first. Having a list would also make sure you performed the most important tasks first. As you finish one task, you can cross it out until you’re done with your list. This practice would reduce stress because you know exactly what to do next.

4. Be organized

In any office work that you do, be organized. Being organized will avoid catching up with last minute deadlines, which could cause great stress. Aside from organizing your work, you should also organize your working area. Be sure you know where each item is kept. Labeling folders would help a lot in organizing your files.

Reducing stress in the workplace will depend much on you. You know what stresses you out at work, so devise a means to avoid or prevent their occurrence.

The world you live in has continuous demands from you. Whether you are working or you are still in school, the stressors come in different ways. Although stress may be good, too much of it can also be a bad sign. Thus, it is recommended that you at least minimize them. The best way to reduce the stress in your life is to be aware of their common sources.

Interpersonal Relationships

Maintaining a good interpersonal relationship with the significant people around you entails effort and time. The key in keeping the harmony with your family and friends is an open line of communication. Generally, simple misunderstandings can lead to big arguments if you do not communicate well.

Life Adjustment

If your body is accustomed to your daily routine, changing your regular schedule can cause significant stress in your life. If you have been used in working, enjoying financial abundance, and physical wellness, a sudden change in these situations can put pressure to you. Loss of employment, economic crisis and illness require life adjustment. If you are not ready for these and you lose support from your family, you might end up feeling depressed.

Because changes are constant in life, you need to be ready for them. The best way to prepare for the adverse situations is by keeping an intact interpersonal relationship with others

Aging is a dreaded stage by many people especially for women. They relate old age with wrinkles, dry skin and white hair. If there is a magic product that can stop the aging process, for sure, this secret will go flying off the shelves within minutes. As a product of the constant search of man to delay the process, there are some anti-aging regimens that are highly recommended for all enthusiasts.

Get Foods High in Anti-Oxidants

According to some researches, free radicals speed up the aging process. The chemicals are the result of the constant pollution in the environment. To reduce its adverse effect in the body, you need to take more anti-oxidants. This comes in a variety of fruits and vegetables. Some examples are berries, legumes, nuts and seeds, cereals and spices.

Protect yourself from the Sun

The harmful UV ray from the sun is the major culprit of the ugly signs of old age. If you want to look younger from your actual age, avoid extreme exposure to the sun especially during peak hours. If you must stay outdoors, use sun block with high SPF and wear glasses. There are several products that contain sun screen protection in the market. You just have to choose based on your skin type.