Let acupuncture take the stress out of your job
This month sees the launch of a new survey to gauge the impact of stress in the workplace. The last time the survey was conducted, two years ago, it painted a pretty bleak picture, with up to 71% of employees thought to be suffering from some form of work-related anxiety.
So, what’s likely to have changed when the results of this survey are finally collated? Given that life and business are both under increasing pressure, particularly with the Brexit question still unanswered, it’s hard to imagine the situation has altered very much.
Last time, high workload, unrealistic deadlines and demanding clients topped the list of reasons for work-related stress, and nothing in the last two years suggests any of that has got any easier.
If the problem isn’t going to go away, then the logical next step is to find ways of dealing effectively with its impact – which puts acupuncture front and centre of the options that are out there right now.
Acupuncture for stress has such well-documented benefits because the condition plays to the treatment’s strengths. Stress causes imbalances in energy and overproduction of naturally occurring hormones – precisely the responses that acupuncture is designed to normalise.
There’s a lot of responsibility on businesses now to put employee wellbeing at the heart of their HR strategy (and if you’re a senior manager in an organisation that needs to rethink its employee welfare policies, then we can come and talk to you about our corporate services), but acupuncture for stress is also an inexpensive way for individuals to take back control of their lives.
I’ve written before about the cost to business of stress-related absence – it adds up to many millions of pounds – but there’s a personal cost to those who live with it, too, and I’m always really sorry to see a patient come to the clinic bearing such a heavy emotional burden.
Stress is voracious in the way it eats away at people. Left untreated, it can be very detrimental to physical health – sleep, appetite, confidence and self-esteem can all be easy prey for it, and it can lead to chronic health problems.
One of the joys of what I do is seeing the transformation that can be achieved in someone when the amazing effect of acupuncture starts to deliver results. My patients are visibly more relaxed, less anxious and much better able to deal with the challenges life throws at them.
One of the worrying results of the previous Stress Matters survey in 2017 was that just under half of those living with work-related stress had turned to alcohol, cigarettes or drugs to cope with its effects.
Acupuncture can improve resilience and eliminate that desire to hide behind something else when everything gets too much.
By restoring the body’s natural energy flow, it achieves a sense of balance that isn’t just emotional, but also physical. Many patients say they have a sense of a pleasant heaviness and relaxation when they have the treatment, others experience a growing warmth in the areas where the super-fine needles are inserted.
And contrary to some myths I still see online and elsewhere, acupuncture performed by a qualified practitioner like me is painless. Some people say they feel a tiny sensation, which they liken to a mosquito bite, but this disappears within seconds.
If you’re fed up with living with work-related stress and want to regain control of your happiness, contact us for a confidential chat and see how acupuncture can clear the way for a better future.