Students at the University of Oregon may not have the dominant say when it comes to how much stress they will encounter or when, but they do have the power to choose how they tackle it. Exercise is widely known for clearing your mind and leaving stressful thoughts behind, but energy-based methods are just as capable of reducing stress.
When the body is stressed, the adrenal glands above the kidney release two main stress hormones: adrenaline and cortisol. The frontal executive part of the brain that regulates judgment, reasoning, planning, etc., becomes disengaged when the two stress hormones enter the bloodstream.
One of the Health Center’s methods to reduce stress is acupuncture, a traditional ancient Chinese method that stimulates the area around the kidney to reduce the release of hormones into the bloodstream like cortisol — thus alleviating physical, mental and emotional pains related to stress.
UO student and current acupuncture patient Lily Wyss believes the method has played a major role in alleviating her stress.
“I got in a zen mode and felt very relaxed,” Wyss said. “It doesn’t hurt at all. I felt somewhat of a release of pressure and also the release of bad energy. I felt an overwhelming sense of calm and at peace. And then the next few weeks I felt a high sense of productivity.”
According to the “Endocrinology Journal,” rats that received electric acupuncture treatment had lower levels of stress hormones. Perhaps with results such as these that support the credibility of acupuncture, students should not be fearful of the needle procedure.
“There is stress involved with ‘Oh, I have to go somewhere and have needles put in me,’” said Mary Ann Petersen, a registered acupuncturist at the Health Center. “I would like to clarify that people are in a wide spectrum of discomfort with needles but the needles are about the size of a cat whisker and much much smaller than getting blood drawn or a shot.”
Additionally, Petersen practices a form of acupuncture called “gua sha” for apprehensive patients who seek the benefits of acupuncture without the needles. Also ancient, this procedure releases tension in the muscles built up from excessive stress by rubbing the skin, sometimes causing light bruising.
If a stressed student does not wish to participate in the holistic methods of acupuncture or gua sha, there are other opportunities available for energy-based stress relief. Nestled in the UO Health Center is a glass-windowed cubicle called the Peer Health Office. There, Jude Kehoe, a licensed practical nurse, healing touch certified practitioner and meditation instructor, helps students incorporate noninvasive stress relief techniques such as energy healing and meditation into their lives.
“When I work on people doing energy healing, I have so many students say ‘Oh, I just feel so much more like myself,’” Kehoe said. “And that’s because the relaxation response has been induced.”
“Healing touch” is an energy healing method that restores the balance of the body’s energy system through the use of the practitioner’s hands facilitating the patient’s surrounding energy field. Therefore, the patient heals physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.
When it comes to choosing which stress relief method will work for you, Kehoe recommends using the method of trial and error.
“I think using it all: acupuncture, meditation, energy healing, massage, exercise is great. It’s about whatever you resonate with,” Kehoe said.