In 2007, I wrote a series of articles on how stress affects the systems of the body.  I am going to post these articles again as I feel the importance of this information is paramount for all.  Stress is a fact of life and a necessity in many cases but left untreated, stress can wreak havoc on your systems and interfere with the intelligent workings of your body.  Simply put, general health will be impaired and ill effects unavoidable.

So, how does stress affect us?  Before we can answer this question we must know what stress is. Simply put, stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental and emotional responses.

Stress, to varying degrees, is a normal part of life and our body, mind and spirit is designed to experience and react to stress. Stress can be positive in that it helps to keep us alert and ready to avoid danger.

Stress, as we know, can also be negative and without relief or relaxation, it will negatively affect every system in our body. In future posts, I will be highlighting the different systems of the body and how stress affects those systems.

Here are some interesting statistics on stress:

- 43% of adults suffer adverse health effects from stress
- OSHA estimates that stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually
- Emotional disorders are more than 50% due to chronic, untreated reactions to stress
- It is now believed that 80% – 90% of all disease is stress induced
- 75% – 90% of all doctor’s office visits are for stress related ailments and complaints

My intent is to help you understand just how important it is to allow our mind, body and spirit to experience relief. Whether you are an elite athlete, a corporate executive, college student or average joe, we all need to be active participants in our own care.

So please, take an hour out of your life and come in for a massage. Let me assist you in living a healthy life.