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At Hawaii Headache & Migraine Retreat - Hawai'i Naturopathic Retreat Center Inc. - we combine the best of detoxification methods with psychotherapy, neuropathic research and body-mind-spirit therapies. In order to achieve maximal healing in minimal time. One of the two-week (or longer) headache programs is a specialized version of the 7-step program. The following article is by headache specialist Dr. Ian Livingstone, who wrote the book "Breaking the Headache Cycle" in 2003, and who is a doctor at the retreat, from late 2007. Read about our purpose and mission, and our philosophy and medical approach. by Ian Livingstone M.D. Stress 
Despite technological advancements, convenience foods, and communications, demands on our time and performance continue to increase. Have you caught yourself feeling or saying you are “stressed out”? “Stress” is one of those words bantered about by everyone from grade-school children to senior citizens. Although stress is a specific biological condition, it is commonly misused as a synonym for being unable to cope, for feeling overwhelmed, or for generally describing anything that makes us feel uncomfortable. What is stress and what does stress do to your body? Technically that which threatens us or forces us to meet a challenge is the "stressor " and the response that this elicits in us is "stress." Therefore, stress describes both our reaction and that to which we react. The stressor may be physical, such as exposure to cold or pain, or it may be psychosocial. Interestingly, the biological basis of stress was first systematically studied by a Canadian, Hans Selye, who published a paper on stress in 1936. Based on experiments with rats, he categorized the stress response in three stages:
Scientific studies give a renewed appreciation for the damaging effects of continued stress on the body and brain. This has led to the concept of "allostasis". Allostasis is the mechanism by which we achieve stability through change. Allostatic load refers to the wear and tear that the body experiences due to repeated cycles of adapting to change; it represents the price the body pays for being forced to adapt to various psychosocial challenges and adverse environments. Stress and the Brain In both mice and men the effects of continued stress on the brain can be seen mostly on the hippocampus, an area of the brain which is essential to memory. It used to be believed that we had a fixed number of brain cells, neurons, at birth. Unlike cells in the rest of the body, neurons do not multiply and gradually die off as we get older. Recent evidence shows that the brain continues to produce new nerve cells. In addition, an enriched environment allows these nerve cells to make greater contact with adjacent nerve cells through contact points called synapses. Experimentally, the effects of stress prunes back nerve cells so new connections between neurons are reduced and the brain is inhibited from producing new nerve cells. Continued stress causes damage to selected nerve cells. The brain is a very vital organ. The brain, 3% of the body mass in the average adult, consumes 20% of the body energy. The brains of people studying to be London taxicab drivers showed that the hippocampus of the brain significantly increased in size after they memorized the streets and highways of the city of London. By contrast, a study of flight attendants showed a shrinkage in the size of the hippocampus in those who by flying across time zones were under the most stress. The mechanisms by which stress affects the brain include high levels of cortisol which the body produces in reaction to stress, increased excitatory-neurotransmitters such as glutamate, increased production of free radicals which produce chemical stress on the nerve cells and preventing new neurons from being formed. The stress epidemic According to testimony before the U.S. Senate subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services in 1998, 60% to 70% of all visits to primary care physicians in United States are for stress-related disorders. Medical practitioners are good at treating the diseases that result from stress. However, stress and stress responsiveness is usually ignored in medical practice. At the very best, the prescription for dealing with stress or reducing stress is limited to off handed advice such as "take a vacation" or "you must learn to take it easy". That is no prescription! So many medical disorders, if not caused by stress are certainly aggravated by our response to stress. The statistics on stress indicates the magnitude of the stress epidemic. The federal government-funded study by the national Institute for occupational safety and health report that more than 50% experience significant job stress. The number of days lost from work due to stress has tripled in the past four years. It is easier to recognize the signs and effects of stress and others then in ourselves. Approximately 42% of employees (more than twice as many last year) think that their co-workers are stressed and need help. The stress epidemic is not limited to the United States. Stress is now considered the second largest occupational health program in the European Community. What can be done to protect the brain from the effects of stress? Many stress reduction methods are one-sided. They rely on relaxation methods to produce a sense of calm, quiet and lead to a temporary sense of peace. Stress reduction is only part of the prescription. There are other factors which protect the brain and makes us stress hardy. These factors include exercise (which helps produce chemicals in the brain which protect nerve cells). A study showed that jogging results in 30% improvement in working memory -- 30 minutes three times per week. Other factors include social support and interaction, positive mental attitude and feelings of fulfillment, expectancy and happiness. An "enriched" environment include exercise, mental stimulation and social interaction is beneficial. In experiments, mice that exercised voluntarily had far greater benefit with enhanced production of new nerve cells compared to those mice that were forced to exercise. There is no reason to believe that we humans are any different where voluntary and willing participation in healthy habits is better than a program imposed on us. The body responds best our inner desire for health. Recent studies suggests that the use of supplements such as antioxidants, high doses of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene have no particular protective effect on the brain or body. By contrast, natural occurring antioxidants in the proportions that occur in nature, in natural foods, have a protective effect. Summary Modern living comes with a hidden price tag! Years of adapting to change, overcoming obstacles, dealing with changes in environment, relationships and earning a living exact a toll on the body and brain to say nothing of exposure to toxic chemicals such as contaminants in food. The accumulating stress-load declares itself later in life when healthy function begins to break down in the body and brain. It is ironic that the very responses that we used to cope with stress become damaging with time. The Brain Protection Program at "Mind your Body" is designed to mitigate and reverse the effects of stress on body and brain based on science and methods provided by nature. Vital Exhaustion Vital Exhaustion (VE) has three defining characteristics:
The concept of VE grew out of an interest in understanding the mental state of 'undue fatigue' and 'lack of energy', a state that, according to the cardiological literature precedes myocardial infarction (MI) and sudden cardiac death Vital Exhaustion as a Predictor of Disease Researchers (Appels and Mulder 1988) followed 3,877 middle-aged men, who were free of coronary heart disease at the initial screening for 4.2 years. In these men VE predicted increased risk for heart attack when controlling simultaneously for blood pressure, smoking, cholesterol, and use of antihypertensive drugs. A further analysis showed an association with risk of angina pectoris and with non-fatal myocardial infarction. Ian Livingstone M.D. |
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HAWAI'I RAW DETOXIFICATION RETREAT HAWAII NATUROPATHIC RETREAT CENTER INC. A center for health, longevity and happiness www.mindyourbody.info Contact information (808) 982-8202 
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