It's that time of year again: you know what we're talking about! The malls are crowded with last-minute shoppers, looking for the best deals on pencils, backpacks, and other school essentials; first-year college students are picking out their "bed-in-a-bags" and inexpensive storage solutions to fit as much as possible in their tiny temporary homes; school uniforms are on display and you're left wondering what sizes to get for your growing children so their clothes will last all year.
As a parent, back to school shopping is typically one of the most stressful times of the year because there's always so much that needs to be done in an impossibly short amount of time. If this is your first time sending your child off to school, that's made even worse because you're new to it all! Every year it seems the required list of essentials changes, and if you're sending your kid off to college and the "dorm life" you now have to worry about them living with a stranger, making sure they have everything they need and helping them budget to make sure they will be okay on their own. Schools nowadays seem to have a never-ending list of required items as the class budgets shrink, leaving more work for you in finding everything they need.
In a recent study, 70% of parents and their kids feel back-to-school shopping is stressful because of increased expenses, pressure to buy the latest fashion trends and ongoing expenses that occur throughout the school year, according to prnewswire.com. This level of stress this induces is similar to the stress you can feel while shopping for Christmas presents, as the expenses are about the same and you're dealing with roughly the same amount of people out in public (if not more). This is NOT good for you!
As a parent, back to school shopping is typically one of the most stressful times of the year because there's always so much that needs to be done in an impossibly short amount of time. If this is your first time sending your child off to school, that's made even worse because you're new to it all! Every year it seems the required list of essentials changes, and if you're sending your kid off to college and the "dorm life" you now have to worry about them living with a stranger, making sure they have everything they need and helping them budget to make sure they will be okay on their own. Schools nowadays seem to have a never-ending list of required items as the class budgets shrink, leaving more work for you in finding everything they need.
In a recent study, 70% of parents and their kids feel back-to-school shopping is stressful because of increased expenses, pressure to buy the latest fashion trends and ongoing expenses that occur throughout the school year, according to prnewswire.com. This level of stress this induces is similar to the stress you can feel while shopping for Christmas presents, as the expenses are about the same and you're dealing with roughly the same amount of people out in public (if not more). This is NOT good for you!
According to WebMD, ongoing, chronic stress can lead to a variety of issues, mentally, physically and emotionally. Some examples include: depression, anxiety, easily agitated or feeling overwhelmed, abdominal pain/upset stomach, headaches, insomnia, cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure or heart attacks, skin problems, menstrual problems and nervous habits. This is just a small list of the varying symptoms and different ways chronic stress can affect you. While small amounts of stress are okay, and even good for you since it engages your "fight-or-flight" instinct, putting yourself through constant stress can negatively impact your health.
How Massage Can Help with Stress: The Power of Touch
Massage is a go-to for many to help manage their stress. It's pretty cool how it works! When receiving a massage, your body releases oxytocin, the "love" hormone, all throughout your body. This is the same hormone released when holding hands with someone you love, getting a hug from a friend, or even holding your newborn for the very first time. Massage is often recommended in postpartum mothers as it can help with postpartum depression and reduce stress in the new mom. According to Babble.com, oxytocin has even been found to help induce labor! The power of touch is quite amazing, so even just being around the people you love can help reduce stress!
Massage also has the added benefit of manipulating the soft tissues, relieving pain and tension you may not have known you even had! Here's a great example: if you sit at a desk all day, you may not even notice how poor your posture can be, causing pain in your back, shoulders and neck. Over time, the feelings of pain increase and you become uncomfortable, making it harder to sit, stand, even sleep.
Did you know it's possible for stress to present itself physically as pain in the body? It's true! As mentioned before, one of the physical symptoms of chronic stress is abdominal pain or an upset stomach. It's pretty crazy that hormones in your body can cause these kinds of symptoms! People tend to hold their stress in different areas of the body. A common area to hold onto stress is the shoulders, neck and back. This physical symptom of stress could present itself as hard, rigid muscles, poor posture, lack of mobility in the neck, or just constantly feeling ache-y. However, with massage, heat and stretching, these physical symptoms will decrease while the hormones released during your session will help ease the mental/emotional ones.
Stress and symptoms of stress creates a vicious cycle: the more stress you have, the worse you feel, making you less motivated or unwilling to take on problems, which makes you more stressed, which causes you to feel worse...and so on and so forth. It isn't until this cycle is broken that you'll be able to get some relief! Massage is an excellent candidate for stress-relief because of its pain-relieving qualities and the hormones released through the power of touch, according to Greatist. Massage also forces you to take a moment for yourself to just sit or lay down without having to focus on anything except how to help YOU. This can help to reduce the physical symptoms of stress and make you feel more motivated to face your problems head-on. Therefore, it's important to take care of yourself so you can take care of those that depend on you the most: your kids!
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We've said it before but we'll say it again: there's always a million reasons not to get a massage. Lack of time and money are the two most common reasons people don't go, with a third reason being a "lack of evidence." Well, there's many studies out there that can prove those people wrong! We've named a couple in this article alone. If money is an issue, here at Massage La Mesa we offer packages at varying prices to fit anyone's budget. If you'd like to learn more, please give us a call at (619) 917-4675 so we can talk about how massage can help you!
Do you have something you'd like us to discuss in an upcoming blog post? Comment below or email us at: massagelamesa@gmail.com!
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