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EM🙌🏻 A hill I will die on as a clinical reflexologist:
Chronic stress is behind far more symptoms than people realise.
When people think of stress, they usually think of feeling anxious or overwhelmed.
But medically, stress activates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and increases cortisol and adrenaline. When this system is activated constantly, it doesn’t just affect your mood it affects multiple body systems.
Symptoms people often don’t associate with stress include:
⚡️ Digestive issues like bloating, reflux, IBS and nausea
⚡️ Hormonal disruption, irregular cycles or worsening PMS
⚡️ Poor sleep or waking between 2–4am
⚡️ Frequent headaches or jaw tension
⚡️ Brain fog and poor concentration
⚡️ Muscle pain or tension in the neck, shoulders and back
⚡️ Skin flare-ups such as acne, eczema or psoriasis
⚡️ Fatigue even after resting
⚡️ Increased susceptibility to illness
Your body is designed to move between fight-or-flight and rest-and-digest.
But many people are living in a near-constant stress response.
One of the aims of reflexology is to help encourage the body back into a parasympathetic state the state where regulation, repair and recovery can occur.
Sometimes the most powerful intervention is simply giving the nervous system space to switch off.
#reflexology #nervoussystemhealth #stressandhealth #holistichealth
@emilywalkerreflexology
