I am so tired and stressed this time of the year! We all feel it as year-end approaches fast, but do you know that Therapeutic Reflexology can help you through the rush towards year-end?
This time of the year we all try to get everything done in time before certain companies closes down. Sometimes we all rush to get everything done due to our own hectic pressure we put on ourselves to finalise things at a specific time. Some of us are students and we are rushed to finalise the studies for the year while others are just compelled to complete everything before they are going on vacation in December. We all have this tendency to settle things before the end of the year in order to begin the new year afresh and on a new slate.
With this added pressure on our lives, we do not only feel stressed and anxious, but we also feel tired and looking forward to vacation. However, has it ever happened to you that after this year-end rush you go on vacation, but then return in January feeling even more tired and then it feels like you need a vacation in order to recover from the vacation?
Have you ever wondered why that is?
Well, one of the reasons is that it is not only emotional stress that you are experiencing and you are actually putting your body through physical stress. “Me? Never, I don’t even exercise, I just sit in front of the computer and answer the telephone all day; there is no physical stress!” you may proclaim, but that is so far from the truth.
Sitting in front of the computer is already a physical strain on your muscles and it would not be strange for you to have stiff shoulders and a stiff neck that often results in headaches; especially this time of the year. Your posture is stressing your body, but a good therapeutic massage is usually very good to relieve the stress in those muscles, but that is not the stress I’m talking about today.
The physical year-end stress I’m referring to, is that anxiousness you are feeling on the crop of your stomach, that butterfly feeling in your stomach; that feeling that you have too much to do and too little time and you feel so tired, but when you put your head on your pillow at night, you cannot switch off and go to sleep, because even though your body is in a horizontal state, your mind is still climbing the staircase of what you still have to do before you can end the year. Does this sound familiar? It should, we are all guilty of the same thing, but as I said, this is much more than emotional stress, this is actually physical strain on your body, but let me explain.
Our bodies have been designed so amazingly that it always wants to take care of you. When your body is in this heightened state of stress due to year-end pressure, it realises that it cannot cope and needs additional energy and so it produces it. Yes, your body produces adrenaline and your sympathetic nervous system is activated which means you have increased blood pressure, increased blood flow, an increased heart rate and your body needs maximised blood glucose for your brain and therefore the metabolism is altered and you may have increased pupils and even feel as if your breathing is faster. This is a normal bodily reaction and how the body is designed to react in a frightening or a highly stressed situation so there is no problem with this reaction; this is your body’s attempt to protect itself.
The problem comes in when this heightened state of increased adrenaline that is meant to be a short-term solution to a situation turns into a long-term process like when year-end is approaching. What happens with year-end is that your body is constantly in this heightened state of stress causing the body to secrete more adrenaline and it affects the body over a longer period; the result of this is the constant feeling of anxiousness, the inability to switch off at night and the inability to experience a good night’s sleep, because even though you eventually fall asleep, you either experience intermitted sleep throughout the night or you sleep, but wake up the next morning still feeling extremely tired.
Now have this happen to you not only one day, but for at least a week weeks to a couple of months towards middle of December and you end up with the very situation of feeling so extremely tired, but the vacation does not necessarily solve the tiredness as you are still taking this heightened stressed body of yours on vacation.
“There is no hope for me” you may think, but that is untrue. There is always hope.
Therapeutic Reflexology is a healthcare modality that can address this very stressful and anxious state by helping the body to relax and giving it the ability to balance itself from the inside out in order for your body to reach normal levels of bodily chemicals. The result is that your body will go back into a state where the sympathetic nervous system is no longer activated, but the parasympathetic nervous system will take the body back to rest and digest state instead of being in constant fight or flight state.
What does this mean? It simply means that your body will go back to normal functioning without the heightened stress and anxiety levels negatively affecting you.
This is the very reason why it is believed that more than 85% of all knows illness conditions are caused by stressed and most illness conditions are worsened by stress. So if your body remains in this heightened state of stress, in the long-run it may actually lead to illness conditions. It is better to prevent illness conditions from occurring instead of having to treat it afterwards.
Therapeutic Reflexology is excellent as preventative healthcare modality to keep your body in a state of wellbeing and therefore one of the best forms of relaxation you can ever experience.
With year-end approaching fast, take the decision right now to not allow yourself to reach the point burnout, but rather take care of yourself now already so that when you reach your vacation time in December, you will feel relaxed already and can enjoy the holiday instead of having to use that time to recover your body from the harm you caused preceding the vacation.
We all experience stress on a daily basis and some of those stressors are totally out of our control, but in the midst of your stress, you are still able to take care of yourself and enjoy a relaxed life of health and wellness. It is sometimes far less expensive to pay for a regular therapeutic reflexology session instead of ending up with a condition where you have to pay very expensive medical fees or hospital fees in order to get it under control again; rather control it now by taking care of yourself.
A regular therapeutic reflexology session will not cost you too much and if you are medical aid it is possible to be reimbursed if your option/plan covers it, but even if your medical aid does not cover it or you are not on a medical aid, it is money well spent on your own health and wellbeing; usually it is even less than what you spend on having your hair done. With the therapeutic reflexology session comes more than just an hour of relaxation and taking some “me-time” for yourself, but it usually offers added benefits like improved wellbeing, better sleep patterns and increased energy levels as your body is stimulated to balance itself in order to function optimally.
Therapeutic reflexology is a formally regulated healthcare profession in South Africa so ensure you receive the best possible treatment by visiting only a qualified therapeutic reflexologist registered with the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA), a statutory council regulating this profession and the only organisation that can legally provide therapeutic reflexologists with a license to practice in South Africa. If you want to claim back from your medical aid, you should also ensure that the therapeutic reflexologist holds a valid practice number which can only be obtained after registration with the AHPCSA is done. This will ensure you receive therapeutic reflexology from a properly qualified healthcare professional that is formally regulated within a scope of practice and ethical guidelines.
Relaxing with reflexology is possible; therapeutic reflexology helps your body to relax and it is one of the best forms of relaxation you will ever experience. It is not only enjoyable during the session when your feet are being stimulated and massaged as your body secrete endorphins in the body that will make you feel good and relaxed, but the real benefits sets in when your body attempts to balance itself and bring it to a level of homeostasis and you begin to experience an improved quality of life with less pain and improved energy, usually better sleep patterns and waking up well rested in the morning. This will help you to have the will to endure the rushing rat race until year-end, but with controlled stress and anxiety levels in your body.
A therapeutic reflexology session is only one hour in duration or it can be customised to fit in to your schedule and the best of all, it that you can receiving it during your lunch hour or in between meetings, since the treatment is very relaxing, but you do not feel oily afterwards so you can continue with the rest of your day without needing to take time out to shower first.
Make the decision today to experience a therapeutic reflexology session, or a few follow-up sessions as well, in order to help you relax as you pressure ahead towards the end of the year.
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Christo A. Scheepers: Therapeutic Reflexologist
Dip.T.R.(Cum Laude) [IARAMT]
AHPCSA: A11945
Pr. No.: 1080000737453
Tel. 072-800 7243