Do you ever feel tension in your neck or your shoulder? 

Ever feel tightness in your jaw? 

THAT IS STRESS 

Do you have stress?

Stress has been called the health epidemic of the 21st century by the World Health Organization. 

During my career as a family practice physician, I discovered the benefits of functional medicine. 

Functional Medicine indeed turned my health around,

and it can do the same for you. 

My stress started in medical school as neck tension. After a long day of studying, I would start to feel the tension throbbing in my neck. 

How does your body feel when it’s stressed? 

Well, I didn’t pay it any mind. Over the years, I developed neck pain, fatigue, and headaches.

 After ignoring SMALL symptoms, BIGGER symptoms developed. 

Once I became a physician, on a typical day, I’d see patients, go grocery shopping, cook dinner, do a load of laundry, and go to bed exhausted. 

I was so busy taking care of others; I forgot to take care of myself. 

Does that sound familiar? Are you so busy taking care of others that you forget to take care of yourself? 

I thought to myself, I’m a doctor, fixing my headaches should be no problem. I took ibuprofen and then one day I threw up blood. I took acetaminophen (aka Tylenol) and developed abnormal liver function tests. Over-the-counter medicine can be dangerous. As a physician, I knew these were risks of medication, but I was surprised how quickly it happened to me. 

One day in May, the weather was beautiful and sunny. The perfect day for stand-up paddleboarding, my favorite go-to activity. 

However, I had to let this day go due to a migraine. Instead of paddle boarding, I spent the day curled up in a dark room. 

I had chronic daily headaches and they stopped me from doing things I loved. 

That was my turning point; I decided to get help.

I accessed help from physical therapy, a chiropractor, massage therapy and a neurologist. I took multiple medications and was so desperate for relief; I would get needling done. Every treatment helped, my symptoms were relieved, but I still felt stressed and unwell. 

I continued my research for healing. I came across Functional Medicine, 

described as getting to the root cause of disease. It caught my eye due to my passion for optimal health and wellness.

I was excited to find a physician who had already discovered the benefits of Functional Medicine. It turns out my GYN does Functional Medicine as well as her usual practice. We started with some lab tests. And at our next meeting, she looked me in the eye and said, Sheri, I know what your problem is -your hormones are out of balance. I can help you with that. 

But, what is Functional medicine? 

Functional Medicine is a holistic health-building program. 

Practitioners don’t diagnose a disease or treat symptoms. 

A symptom is not the problem. It is a sign of the problem. 

If you have symptoms, it’s a sign your body is not working at peak performance. Some common symptoms include: stress, fatigue, headaches, difficulty sleeping, digestive issues, and weight gain. 

After identifying the root of the problem. Functional Medicine supports the body to build health through diet, rest, exercise, stress reduction, and supplements. 

Wellness principles are then used to fix every cell, every tissue in every organ, every system in the body. It can heal the whole body at once. 

I started taking classes in functional medicine. In addition to discovering my hormone imbalance, I found my gut bacteria out of balance, and I was unaware that I had food sensitivities. During my healing journey, I stopped eating 

inflammatory foods such as sugar. I start my day by taking care of myself by doing exercises and meditation. With these changes, I no longer take daily medication to prevent headaches.

I go paddle boarding every chance I get! 

Once my body’s natural healing ability was supported. Then, healing progressed faster and now sustained. I wake up in the morning thinking, today is going to be a great day! 

Functional Medicine helps all the healing modalities work better. 

This is the secret to feeling better: 

transforming stress to serenity with Functional Medicine. 

Functional medicine goes beyond relief care; it is corrective care.

Consider the story of Melissa, a 51-year-old physical therapist. When she came to me, she suffered from stress that triggered her migraines, joint aches, 

and constipation. The straining during bowel movements had led to rectal prolapse where the rectum slips outside the body. She told me at our first meeting, “I work long hours, and I just don't have time to take care of myself.” 

Once Melissa focused on stress reduction, better food choices, yoga, and added select supplements all her symptoms eased, smooth bowel movements were achieved, and her sleep improved. Surgery was needed to repair the rectum and healing went smoothly. She chose a path to vitality. Now that she feels great, she has the energy to pursue her passion,which is starting a nationwide business to help prevent falls in the elderly. 

That is what I do; I help people address stress to optimize health so they can avoid pain and have more serenity, energy, and enthusiasm. 

Now, let’s consider John, a 62-year-old man who’s a business owner with high blood pressure and cholesterol. He “relaxed” by eating comfort foods, smoking and drinking alcohol. These activities are not relaxing to the body, they actually create additional stress to the body. Stress increases blood pressure and increases the risk of a blood clot which may lead to a heart attack or stroke. At the time, he refused to change lifestyles, he said, “Just give me medicine.” John’s choices led him down the path of chronic disease that resulted in a stroke. 

See, this is what I try to prevent. I help people make effective lifestyle changes so that they can have better health. 

If there are any symptoms that you could use help with, do you want the success of Melissa, or the result of John? 

Now I would like to do a visualization. Place your hands over your heart. Take slow deep breaths. 

Imagine, right now, if you could have the ultimate dream for your health. What would that be like? 

Are you smiling? 

Would you have less stress and more energy? 

How would you spend your energy? 

Would you spend time in nature? 

Do you feel the sun or brisk wind on your cheeks?

Are you looking at someone you love lovingly? 

Would you take up a new instrument? 

Travel the world? Start a new business? 

Now, think about if you did nothing to decrease your stress for five years. 

How do you feel if nothing changes? If things get worse? 

Let that feeling sink in. Does that motivate you to address your stress now? 

There are different types of stress, and the right kind helps us grow stronger and adapt. The wrong kind, such as chronic stress, can cause breakdown of our body. 

When you experience any kind of stress, whether emotional, physical or metabolic, your body processes it the same- through the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands respond by pumping out cortisol. Cortisol is catabolic and breaks the body down. For example, chronic stress can affect nerves, which can lead to brain fog and cloudy thinking. Chronic stress is now linked with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. Chronic stress increases blood sugar. Increased blood sugar increases the risk of diabetes. If the stress is not addressed, then inflammation may occur and the immune system may be affected. This person may go on to develop thyroid symptoms, achy joints, and muscle aches. 

As you can see, if the stress is not resolved, it will cascade into dysfunction of multiple body systems, leading to disease. 

Metabolic stress can be resolved through functional medicine utilizing lifestyle protocols. 

Think how easy it would be to achieve your life goals if you have optimal health. 

When your stress transforms into serenity, energy, and enthusiasm, you can better bring your gifts to the world. It will increase your ripple effect, you will be 

better and more effective, and all that you do will help your family, your friends and your work. Let’s build a healthier, happier and better world together. 

Take care of symptoms when they are small. 

Remember to take care of yourself so that you have the serenity, energy, and enthusiasm to do the things you love. Your health matters and others are counting on you. 

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