Ways to Interrupt Your Stress Response
Arnie Shapiro, M.D.
November – December 2022 • Vol 4, No 1
Why is relaxation important? How can we harness it during busy days? Relaxation is part of the energy equations of life; it is part of natural wellness! Activity of any kind requires energy, consumes energy, and there has to be some means of restoration of energy. I have assembled a list of ten words, all beginning with R, that describe what relaxation is:
| Rest Respite Recover Restore Reset |
Refresh Retreat Relieve Recharge Rebalance |
What these words encompass is the need to balance effort and rest, for optimal well-being. Stress is an arousal, or “gearing up” that consumes energy. The stress response, also known as the “fight-or-flight response,” activates the Sympathetic Nervous System, for an energy boost/mobilization of quick energy to respond to danger or threat. Relaxation, the opposite of stress, is a “gearing down” of energy use. The relaxation response, also known as the “rest, digest and heal” response, activates the parasympathetic (energy replenishing) nervous system.
