Your body’s stress response, triggered by the autonomic nervous system, is what allows you to react to challenges, deadlines, and demands throughout your busy day. It also initiates a cascade of physiological changes that affect every muscle, tissue, and organ in the body. This is why we believe the first step to effectively managing stress is supporting a balanced and resilient nervous system.

When stress becomes chronic or overwhelming, it can lead to a state of dysregulation in the autonomic nervous system, often referred to as “adrenal fatigue” or “burnout.” This dysregulation can cause you to experience physical tension, emotional exhaustion, decreased focus, or many other symptoms and conditions. Chronic stress often goes unnoticed and can lead to a vicious cycle of heightened stress reactivity and decreased resilience.

Dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system may eventually lead to symptoms in various systems and organs of the body as well. These symptoms are your body’s way of alerting you that it’s struggling to cope with the ongoing stress. Unfortunately, the absence of obvious symptoms doesn’t necessarily indicate optimal health. By the time noticeable symptoms appear, chronic stress may have been impacting your well-being for months, even years. The great news is that you can help prevent and manage these types of symptoms and conditions with regular therapeutic massage.