Stress is a fact of life. Its symptoms manifest themselves in so many familiar ways that we often dismiss them. Headaches, backaches, insomnia, stomachaches, and even skin rashes and restless body movements could all be symptoms of a more serious problem. These symptoms are clues, just pieces of a puzzle, that warrant a good look and often further testing.
We now know that the impact of these common symptoms on our overall health can be far-reaching, from high blood pressure and heart disease to depression and irritable bowel syndrome. Conventional medicine is focused on the evaluation and treatment of symptoms as they arise. Many patients, as well as healthcare practitioners today, take a wait-and-see approach to potential issues, then seek a quick solution in the form of a pill when disease develops.
The goal of functional medicine is to uncover the root causes of disease and disorder before they develop into a serious problem. This is an especially important distinction when it comes to stress. We see the clear line from our fight with our spouse to our raging headache. We can connect the dots from our 60-hour workweek to the creeping numbers on the scale and cholesterol readings.
Yet, what we often don’t realize is that there are also a great many “hidden stressors” that are also depleting our energy and making us feel unwell and out of balance. How do we know? We can start by asking ourselves a few questions.
Do you ever feel …..
1. Often feel drowsy during the day?
2. Feel overly agitated, angry or worried?
3. Suffer from food allergies or frequent infections?
4. Have difficulty getting motivated?
5. Experience frequent mood swings?
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We can also consult with healthcare professionals who take the time to get to know a patient beyond their vital statistics. As functional medicine practitioners, we ask our patients questions about their personal and professional relationships, their jobs, their personal and family medical history, and everything we can possibly discover about their lifestyle choices. That is the beginning but not the end of an exploratory process whose goal is to reveal the underlying, root causes of disease and dysfunction.
When a patient complains they don’t feel well, we look at the whole person—from their relationships to their sleep patterns, as well as their medical history and laboratory results. We often order additional testing to address specific concerns and to determine how the various systems within the body are working. These tests, which seek to identify nutritional deficiencies, inflammation, and environmental and genetic factors, include:
What we often find is a hormonal imbalance, a digestive and detoxification issue, and poor energy production. These are all signs of stress on the body, and some of the most common healthcare issues of the 21st century. Functional medicine brings the practitioner and patient together to address them.
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More than ever, we need to take a step back and figure out what is preventing us from achieving optimal health. Despite tremendous advances in medicine, many Americans are walking around sick and tired and totally stressed.
If you are not feeling well, you already know that reducing stress in your life is a great first step toward achieving a better quality of life. The goal of functional medicine is to look beyond the surface and find out if it is, for example, a sensitivity or intolerance to certain foods, a chronic health concern, or even a lack of connection that is causing you to feel less than optimal.
Once you understand the source of hidden stress in your life—and in your body—you can start to make lifestyle changes that help you to prevent heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, and manage and even reverse pre-existing conditions, such as chronic pain, high cholesterol, autoimmune conditions or arthritis.
When you uncover and manage the stress that is hiding in your body, you will discover that joy, vitality and balance are also waiting to be revealed.