What makes a care provider susceptible to emotional stress?
Consider that words and by extension, stories, are like tuning forks. They carry a sound and a vibration which is felt by the speaker, the listener and the witness.
Dr. Emoto, a Japanese scientist, introduced the world to the concept that words carry emotional energies – emotional vibrations.
Dr Emoto, studied the effects of words on the crystalline structure of water and he captured the results in photos.
The crystalline structure of water when exposed to the word “thank you” looks like a beautiful snowflake. The crystalline structure, however, becomes quite ugly when exposed to words that are mean and hateful.
Why are these experiments so important?
As human beings, we are primary composed of water.
When we are babies we are approximately 78% water and in our senior years this percentage reduces to 55%.
Although percentages may vary from person to person research has shown that our brain – 70+% water, Blood – 80+% water, Bones – 20+% water, Muscles – 70+% water.
This means that our bodies are extremely susceptible to the emotional energies and vibrations of the words and stories we say, hear, witness and keep.
The body is always seeking balance and to be safe. The body makes memories to protect us. Memories consist of both thoughts and feelings. The paradox is that in creating a memory from a story we tell ourselves, hear or witness, we can inadvertently cause ourselves harm.
What is Caregiver Syndrome?
Consider the types of stories a care provider hears or witnesses. Stories which can cover the gamut from heart warming to heart wrenching. When a care provider creates a memory of a story, s/he is potentially locking in the emotional stress associated with the story into his/her body.
When emotional stress is allowed to accumulate and not released, the care provider is susceptible to caregiver syndrome characterized by anxiety, depression, irritability, over reacting to minor nuisances, new and worsening health conditions, trouble sleeping and feeling tired and run down.
How can emotional stress be reduced?
By incorporating relaxation (not distraction) practices such as meditation, tai chi or yoga into a daily routine, emotional stress can be reduced.
If none of these practices are appealing, then booking a session with a holistic practitioner such as a Reflexologist or Specialized Kinesiologist is another option to reducing stress and tension.
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