Pandemic Fatigue: It's not all in your head

Pandemic Fatigue, or Quarantine Fatigue, it goes by many names. It's that underlying fatigue that we are all experiencing, regardless of how well we sleep. It is an emotional fatigue that has a very real, physical impact. It can feel like low level depression or dysphoria, lack of motivation, your "get up and go" has "got up and went."

Psychosomatic symptoms (psyche-mind, soma-body) are symptoms that are caused by the mind but experienced in the body. Many allopathic doctors use this term in a derogatory way, meaning, "it's all in your head, it's not real." Natural or Holistic doctors and practitioners see this as something very real, where what is happening in your head is causing physical symptoms; it is real and you should pay attention it.

In my acupuncture practice I see psychosomatic symptoms frequently, where long held emotions are causing physical pain and dysfunction. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the mind and the body are interconnected, where each internal organ has an emotion that is related to it. The 5 main organs that we look at are Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidneys and Heart. Each organ has a characteristic emotion. When you feel that emotion it affects that particular organ, and over time the emotion can create an imbalance in that organ, or an imbalanced organ can lead to a particular emotion:

• Liver--Anger, frustration, stress, unfulfilled desires, irritability, feeling emotionally stuck
• Spleen--Overthinking, worrying, ruminating/obsessing, compulsivity, depression where you can't get out of bed due to exhaustion
• Lung--Grief, sadness
• Kidneys--Fear, shock, fright, lack of motivation
• Heart--Feels all the emotions, joy, lack of joy, mania

It is normal, and human, to feel all of these emotions at some point. The problem is when you get stuck in these emotions, and are experiencing them chronically, the long term effects can translate into physical symptoms. Some examples:

• Anger/frustration damaging the Liver: Headaches, migraines, muscle tightness, frequent sighing
• Worrying damaging the Spleen/Stomach: Stomach aches, loose stools, foggy thinking, weakened immunity, fatigue/exhaustion, loss of appetite
• Grief damaging the Lungs: Chronic or recurring bronchitis, asthma, allergies, recurrent sinus infections, frequent colds
• Fear damaging the Kidneys: Lower back ache/instability, knee pain, bone pain, low libido
• Too much Joy or lack of Joy damaging the Heart: Mania, anxiety/panic attacks, having a flat affect, palpitations, unusual sweating

The fatigue that many people are experiencing right now during this pandemic is like a slow leak from a bucket. The constant fear or anxiety, even if it is at a low level, running in the background, is slowly draining your energy, like water leaking from a bucket. Over time, the water level in the bucket drops and you find yourself feeling really tired, even though overtly, nothing has really changed in your life (aside from having to wear a mask, staying away from people and washing your hands constantly). The worry is damaging your Spleen, the grief from missing people (and your pre-COVID life) is damaging your Lungs, the fear is damaging your Kidneys, the frustration is damaging your Liver and the Heart feels, and is affected by, all of the emotions. These are all very real and valid things to be feeling right now. Stepping up your self care is important so that the physical symptoms above don't start to creep in. 

Self-Care Ideas:

• Sleep--getting enough hours of good quality sleep
• Eating high quality, nutritional foods--vary your diet, include plenty of fruits and veggies and high quality protein
• Finding time to relax and recharge-- read a book, watch a movie, draw, paint, dance, be creative, anything that is quiet and allows you to recharge your batteries
• Exercise-- exercise should improve your energy. If you feel more tired after exercising, change things up a bit. Exercise should make you feel better, not worse. Maybe take it easy and just move your body, stretch, breathe, go for a walk. Anything to get out of your head and back into your body.
• Meditation-- even 3 minutes of meditation can improve your mindset and help you feel more centered. Just watch your breath; if your mind wanders, just start again. It's all part of the process.
• Journaling-- a great thing to do before bed. Dump out all of your worries and stressors onto the page so that you don't have them swirling around in your head while you are trying to sleep.
• Acupuncture-- it can help you sleep better, calm your anxiety, clear your foggy head and improve your energy and well-being.

All of these things will repair your leaky bucket and help you feel better in your daily life. Give them a try, let me know how it goes!

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6 Ways to Boost Your Immunity

With all of this talk about COVID-19, it is easy to get all worked up. Anxiety and generalized stress are at an all time high. Nothing brings on anxiety like the unknown: will I get sick? Will someone I know and love get sick? How bad will it be? Unfortunately, no one has these answers, but what we do know is that the #1 immune suppressant is STRESS.

Stress suppresses the immune system. Yes, you read that correctly. Originally it was a brilliant evolutionary design where in moments of stress, the Sympathetic Nervous System would up regulate, increasing the heart rate, tightening the muscles, increasing breathing so that you could escape from danger quickly. During that time the body would down regulate processes that were unnecessary for survival, i.e. digestion, fertility and immunity. Once the danger passed, we would move out of "fight or flight" and up regulate the Parasympathetic Nervous System, which would return us to the calmer state of "rest and digest."

In modern times, however, stress is no longer lasting for moments, but can be days, weeks, months, even years at a time. Right now, with everyone worried about getting sick, we are worrying ourselves out of our much needed immunity; we are weakening our own ability to fight off illness. So what do we do?

The best thing you can do (in addition to washing your hands, not touching your face and following recommendations by the CDC) is to manage your physical and mental/emotional stress. Here are 6 ways to do that:

1.) 5 Deep Breaths. This is something that costs nothing and is extremely effective in a period of stress to help you get back into balance. You can do it while working, driving, pretty much anytime during the day. Place your hands on your lower abdomen and inhale through your nose, filling the abdomen with breath; feel it expand under your hands like a balloon inflating. Exhale slowly through the nose for longer than you inhaled. This will slow the heart rate and slow the mind, getting you back in touch with the present moment.

2.) Mindfulness practices like mediation, yoga, T'ai Chi, etc. These practices teach you to be present. In this moment there is no stress, no anxiety, as anxiety lives in the future. It is the thought of "what if" or feeling like you have no control that gives you anxiety. You have the most control over the present. In the present you have choice and can act on that choice, so by practicing techniques that bring you back into the present, into a calmer state, on a regular basis, you will know what that feels like and can access that feeling more easily. Plus, activities like yoga and t'ai chi move your body to get you out of your head, where stress can start .

3.) Sleep. One thing that should be prioritized is sleep. If you are not giving yourself sufficient rest (7-9 hours per night) your body cannot heal itself properly and you will be in a state of physical stress. If you do get sick (colds, flu, other viruses) you won't recover as quickly without proper sleep, as it is during sleep when the body heals itself. Sleep deprivation causes the body to be stressed even if you don't feel emotionally stressed. Your body will still down regulate digestion, fertility and immunity. Sufficient, good quality sleep is essential for good health.

4.) Proper Diet. While there is no one-size-fits-all diet that works for everyone, eating a diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and drinking plenty of fresh water are a good place to start. Try to avoid processed foods, sugar, artificial sweeteners/colors/additives and instead choose foods that you recognize as food. If a 3rd grader can't pronounce an ingredient on the box, it probably isn't food and should be avoided.

5.) Exercise. Move your body a little every day. You don't need to go to the gym and punish yourself on the treadmill for an hour, just make sure that movement is part of your day. Moderate exercise is better than intense exercise which can cause more stress to the body, and it doesn't need to happen all at once. You can exercise for an hour, or do 3-6 10-minute increments throughout the day. Take a class, go for a walk, dance in your living room, roll out a yoga mat and just move your body for 20 minutes or more. Park further away from your destination and take the stairs instead of the elevator. There are lots of ways to put movement into your day if you are not a regular gym or studio goer. Moving your body is a great stress reliever.

6.) Acupuncture. Acupuncture can help you sleep better, improve your energy and calm the nervous system bringing you out of fight or flight and back into a state of calm and well-being. If you tend to run on the anxious side in general, acupuncture can help give your mind a break. Acupuncture increases activity in the para-sympathetic nervous system helping you "rest and digest." It can also improve the strength and efficacy of the immune system, making it easier for your body to fight off disease.

The best thing you can do for yourself right now is to take care of your health. The stronger and healthier you are, the more easily you will fight off whatever bug comes your way. Just do the best you can. That's all any of us can do.

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Why Movement Matters: A TCM Perspective

Most people know that exercise is beneficial to your health. If you are not quite convinced, a quick Google search (or clicking the links below) might give you some more reinforcement.

Exercise has been shown to help improve the quality of life and health for people with chronic disease and pain, depression and anxiety, osteoporosis, and can even improve your sex life! Any movement that you do will have a positive effect on your body, and you don't need to go to the gym to feel the benefits of movement.

One of the reasons that exercise is beneficial is that it increases the circulation of Blood, Fluids and Qi in the body. There is a saying in Chinese medicine:

"When there is pain, there is no free flow;
When there is free flow, there is no pain."

The Liver is in charge of the free flow of Qi in the body. When the Liver is imbalanced, it causes various types of pain in the body and mind. The Liver can be out of balance due to emotional reasons like stress, anger, frustration or unfulfilled desires, or due to physical lack of bodily movement. When the Qi doesn't flow well; we call this "Stagnation." Qi Stagnation can manifest as different symptoms:

• Musculoskeletal pain in the muscles and joints, muscle tightness, low range of motion, body stiffness
• Emotional pain, feeling stuck, depression, irritability, short temper
• Headaches, eye strain, menstrual pain (cramps, breast tenderness, lower back ache)
• Sighing, frequent yawning when you are not tired

Movement is something that you can do to unblock the stagnation and free up your internal flow, which will make you feel better.

Movement can be going for a walk in the woods, playing with your children, dancing, yoga, pilates, T'ai Chi, running, weight lifting, etc. but, what matters most is that you have fun doing it. If you dread moving your body, you won't do it. In order to lead a healthy life, movement needs to be part of your daily activities. That being said, you don't need to exercise for an hour every day, or at least not an hour in a row. Every little bit counts. 5 or 10 minutes here and there over the course of the day have the same or greater impact as exercising all at once.

Easy movement additions are park further away from your destination, or take the stairs rather than the elevator. Other ideas are, if you have a desk job, every hour stand up and stretch for 5 minutes, maybe walk around your office, maybe have a little mini dance party (this is best if you work from home, but if you have cooperative office mates, this might be a fun group activity). Get creative. Make it fun. Intentionally move your Qi! When you move what is stuck, you feel less pain and have improved mood, increased creativity, better balance and increased freedom of movement.

If you still need support with pain or with any of the above symptoms, acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment option. The needles improve the flow in the muscles, joints and fascia to improve how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally. 

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https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-exercise#section5

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389

https://medlineplus.gov/benefitsofexercise.html