Stress is the body’s reaction to a perceived threat. It can be of a physical nature, but also be mental stress.
The aggressive-looking and unleashed neighbour’s dog and the lurking deadline for an unfinished spreadsheet can both cause similar fight or flight responses within the body.
In Chinese medicine, stress is typically associated with a stagnation of energy (Qi). Energy is supposed to flow freely within the body, if it gets stuck, it will develop symptoms depending on the location of the stagnation. It can manifest as a headache, the famous ‘lump’ in the stomach that prevents us from eating, irregular sleep and more.
Any Qi stagnation should be moved as soon as possible. You can try out several things from mild exercise (preferably in fresh air), meditation, yoga or even singing (did you know that you can’t sing and think at the same time? 😊 ). Several acupuncture points are able to move Qi in the different channels.