Author: Chew Yin Chan – Raindrop Technique Therapist at the Balance Health Clinic
The build up to the Holiday season is frantic for most and it’s been no exception for me juggling appointments and Christmas errands. A running theme I’ve sensed throughout my sessions seems all too common at this time each year: Stress.
Christmas is accompanied by is a lot of lists, tasks, planning and heightened stress levels are perhaps normal for some at this time of the year. It’s important, however, to remember not to shut down your emotions and hold on to the stress. Don’t allow the pressure to push you in the wrong direction.
A moderate amount of stress is normal, even useful. It helps us manage deadlines and focuses us on getting organised for big events, be they work or pleasure related. Stress can be associated with both the good and bad; pleasant experiences like a family reunion and holidays, or less pleasant experiences like air travel and crowds.
What I’ve been experiencing from my clients is higher-than-normal stress levels and anxiety. Symptoms include tiredness and difficulty sleeping, complaints of aches, pains and irritability. Quite often when faced with stress our natural inclination is to block out and ignore the aches and fatigue and plough on, pushing through work and daily life in an emotionally numb state. I like to compare this to a kind of emotional auto pilot that reacts only to the immediate flight plan and not to what happens once you reach the destination.
This emotional ‘auto pilot’ can impede people’s ability to put things into perspective. Not unlike the old idiom ‘Can’t see the woods for the trees’, people’s own coping mechanisms can blinker them to only see what’s in-front, detaching them from greater picture.
It’s little wonder then that people fail to see the positives in their lives when they are unable to step back and look outside of their direct field of vision. We need to be able open our eyes and behold the things to be grateful for in life. Otherwise we can soon feel overcame with that feeling of “nothingness” and depression.
Stress related symptoms can include:
– Sleeping Irregularities (difficulty falling asleep, interrupted sleep, waking early or over sleeping)
– Lack of energy and feeling lethargic
– Problems with diet (no appetite, weight loss or gain)
– Loss of interest in social activities
– Loss of libido
– Sadness or anxiety
– Chronic aches and pains
– Difficulty with memory, concentration or decision making
– Hopelessness and pessimism
– Irritability and short temperedness
My wish for 2019 is for people to start recognising their stress and to try and do a something kind for themselves to help manage it. Have some quiet time, you deserve it. Embrace nature, exercise, meditate or do things that you like to do.
Count your blessings! I’m grateful for all the clients that come to see me regularly, who recognise the need for assistance, and shift and release stress during our sessions. Regularity enables their bodies to remember how it feels not be be stressed. Work and commitments don’t go away but with a lighter and brighter outlook everything is more manageable.
You are not a robot, you are a living life force. Be kind to yourselves and amplify that kindness towards others!
Interested in a Raindrop Technique Session with Chew Yin Chan? To book an appointment, call us today: +852 2530 3315 or send us an email: appt@balancehealth.com.hk
