The Important Role of Myofascial Release in Stress Treatment and Anxiety
Anxiety
Removing the power from this big word “anxiety” and returning it back to you. You are in charge of your body and your mind.
Knowledge is power, understand what happens in your body and you can change it.
STRESSOR
(DANGER)
Something that sets off the alarm in our body.
What we perceive as a stressor is determined by:
- Life experiences
- Belief system
- Coping mechanisms
Most of these are subconscious, learnt from a very young age and we’re usually not aware of them. Until we start looking in.
A Stressor can be real or not!
Real:
I.e. A lion in front of you
Not real:
-
A thought (even when it’s triggered by someone else, for example, what someone says might trigger a thought in you that makes you feel bad, it’s not what they said but the thought it triggered and that you’re identified with that feels bad – nobody can hurt you with words / you can only hurt yourself)
-
A feeling (all feelings are caused by thoughts)
-
Something we can’t fix right now
-
A memory
AMIGDALA – RINGS ALARM BELL (the initial stressor gets processed in this part of the brain which then sends the alarm to the Hypothalamus).
HYPOTALAMUS – Command centre. Controls the Autonomic Nervous System (regulates involuntary physiologic processes – including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and sexual arousal. The Autonomic Nervous System comprises of two main components:
- Sympathetic (in charge of “fight or flight” response)
- Parasympathetic (rest and restoration)
ACTIVATES FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE
(After the initial alarm the Hypothalamus activates fight or flight response through Sympathetic activity)
1st stage: Production of Adrenaline
2nd stage: HPA Axis gets involved to perpetuate the state of alarm response. This is the system that rules the nervous system during long term stress. During this stage the body produces a stress hormone called Cortisol.
*Here we have changes in the body as it preps to react to the threat. Heart rate goes up, breathing fastens, digestion stops, blood pressure raises… etc you get the idea
PARASYMPATHETIC KICKS IN
Under real threat, once the threat goes (either we fought the lion or we escaped) the Parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system kicks in and puts the brakes on, returns the body to resting/restoring, which should be our default state that we spend most of the time in.
- CHRONIC ANXIETY happens when our STRESSOR doesn’t go away and keeps triggering the sympathetic nervous system. Fight or flight is a response designed for short term use, to get us out of trouble. It’s amazing when we need it but when it’s prolonged over long periods of time our body malfunctions.
It goes like this:
CHRONIC STRESSOR
Usually a thought
(Not a present real threat! That’s why it doesn’t go away, because it gets perpetuated in our mind)
causes
CHRONIC ACTIVATION OF SURVIVAL MECHANISM (FIGHT OR FLIGHT).
This causes:
-
Psychological changes (How we process reality and therefore how we feel)
-
Physiological changes (How we feel):
-
Here it’s were inflammation of the Myofascial tissue happens. This tissue has a huge amount of nerve endings. Some of these nerve endings feedback information straight back to the brain. Inflammation of this tissue perpetuates the signal of alarm from the body upwards to the brain feeding into that CHRONIC STRESS RESPONSE.
-
After a prolonged period of stress we lose perspective, it becomes harder for us to simplify and analyse a situation, we get overwhelmed with things a lot easier. It’s like living in a glass almost full and a simple drop can make the glass overflow.
-
A panic attack is an episode of anxiety taken to the extreme.
-
We must exercise MINDFULNESS, observe ourselves, in order to understand what’s causing that state of anxiety. We can then take control and begin to change how we see the world and process reality, how we perceive ourselves and therefore how we feel.
-
Today’s society bombards our brains with information at a speed that we are not able to process, the simple act of scrolling through social media for example, causes anxiety. Therefore, reducing the amount of external input is very important. We must choose what we give out energy to.
WHAT WE DO
Remember life happens FOR you to become happier and to develop as a human being, not against you. We’re here to grow and love.
1st
We need to realise that the chemical composition in our body caused by the fight or flight response is negatively affecting how we:
- See and interpret reality
- Feel
- Magnifying our experiences and dimming our ability to cope or resolve challenges in our head with ease.
(Look at it as the body being intoxicated and needing a cleanse, which is what you’re gonna focus on)
2nd
Reduce the input. Cut the crap out of your life. Be aware and be selective with what you put in your brain and how long for. Cut social media time. Cut people in your life that don’t make you feel good.
3rd
Practice mindfulness. This is very important. You need to develop the ability to observe what you’re doing, what you’re thinking, what you give your mind to. You need to learn to become the observer.
You’ll be able to see when you’re getting stressed before it gets bad.
Use breathing to shift it around and engage the parasympathetic nervous system (we teach this in our sessions)
This fast paced, over stimulation, highly demanding and individualistic society can be enough to trigger anxiety. Mindfulness has become vital. It will give you the tools to tune out what’s not necessary.
BOOKS-AUTHORS I RECOMMEND to read:
The power of now – Eckhart Tolle
Dr Joe Dispenza – watch on Youtube
4th
Understand that our THOUGHTS ARE NOT REALITY – disidentification from the thought.
When stressed, thoughts are more often than not, negative. Thoughts are only our interpretation of reality, which is affected by that chronic state of stress or disconnect.
Thoughts are also a result of our belief system that we start developing since we are very small babies.
You need to become an observer of your own thoughts, look at thoughts as not who you are. Look at them as if they were clouds passing by. The ones that make you feel good and serve you, you can pick and explore and give your time to. The thoughts that don’t serve you, you need to let pass by, say “thank you and no” and let them go, even though you might be wanting to cling to them.
I recommend you write down the thoughts that make you feel bad, anxious, sad, angry etc.
Writing them down will help you identify them. Simplify things.
You can then work on them with your therapist one at a time (if you’re not seeing a therapist I recommend you find one).
5th
If my thoughts are all over the place and not serving me or making me feel anxious, I fully stop listening to them. I focus my whole attention on what I know is real, my breathing. I watch my body breathe. If I drift away to thoughts, it’s ok, I bring myself back to the breathing as soon as I catch myself and I watch the thoughts as clouds.
This way I’m stopping the thought from perpetuating stress (remember thoughts are not reality)
6th
With the help from a therapist of my choice I question the thoughts that stress me.
7th
Tackle the body as well to restore the parasympathetic activity.
- Mindfulness/breathing
- Exercise
- Myofascial release
8th
All of these changes simultaneously will break the cycle of “fight or flight” and restore parasympathetic activity.
Once this mode is restored and balance is restored in our body, our ability to process, cope and solve challenges will improve.
We start seeing life though new lenses.
What we once saw as extremely difficult, embarrassing, painful or alarming we now see with perspective and suddenly we’re over it, life becomes easier and more friendly.
Always think of a baby. That’s who we all are. Remember your true nature is joy and love. When thoughts stop dictating, that’s what we are.
Panic attacks are happening FOR you not TO you. Life wants the best for you. It’s life’s wake up call, to a happier more peaceful and meaningful life
Tackling the body - The important role of Myofascial release in stopping the fight or flight cycle
The fascia is a connective tissue in our body that wraps around and supports every structure in the body, down to the cellular level.
The fascial system has various tools for communicating inside and outside the body, precisely because of its characteristic feature of enveloping and supporting each body area. These communications allow rapid adaptation of bodily functions, from posture to metabolic function, from vocal expression to psychological and pain perception, affecting the health and well-being of the person.
The Fascia or Myofascial tissue acts on a macro scale level as connective tissue that surrounds muscles and organs and stabilises posture through a principle called tensegrity.
On a cellular or micro scale level, the Myofascial tissue enables communication and transportation down to the cellular level, regulating processes across all bodily systems – from digestion to the endocrine system or the nervous system.
Under a state of chronic stress the Myofascial system becomes tight; its major role in regulating bodily functions and mental health mean that these bodily functions will be negatively affected as a result in a self-perpetuating stress cycle.
Addressing the Myofascial tissue is an important angle towards stopping the fight or flight response and restoring balance in the body. The easiest way to restore the function of the fascia is though myofascial release.
About the author
Rocio Santiago
MA in Nursing, Dip. Soft Tissue Therapy
Ro initially began her career as a nurse. Following this and after a difficult time in her life that resulted in a career change, Ro went on to train at one of the leading soft tissue therapy schools in Europe, completing a 3 year degree level course and specialising in effective soft tissue manipulation for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain.
The treatment method Ro uses consists of a combined approach using different specialised techniques, myofascial release and trigger point work among others, with the intention and focus on providing effective results in the least possible amount of time.
Combining her training, science background and life experience, her treatment method is based in science and built using a whole body approach, where mind and body are addressed as one.
Ro has been seeing clients as a soft tissue therapist for 8 years, successfully treating a wide range of conditions.