Stress and how your thoughts and beliefs can affect our fertility

Our bodies respond to images we hold in our mind.   It appears the nervous system cannot tell the difference between a well imagined thought and reality.

So to prove this to yourself I want you to think of yourself walking into your supermarket and walking over to the brightly lit vegetables, now go to the citrus bins, oranges, grapefruits and lemons.  Now see the big pile of bright yellow lemons.  Next to them see a knife and a cutting board. Now pick up the lemon and smell it.  Place the lemon on the cutting board and pick up the nike and cut the lemon in half.   Now quarter the lemon by taking one of the halves and cutting it in half.  Notice the juices on your fingers as you pick up this juicy lemon wedges. If you have any small cuts on your fingers you probably can feel it sting.  Hold it under your nose and smell the scent of the lemon. Put in your mouth and suck on the lemon wedge like a tequila shot and careful not to swallow the little white seeds.

Most of you probably noticed a little extra saliva pool l in your mouth, correct. Your body was actually trying to process citric acid and it was just in your mind!!!!  You have just witnessed the mind body connection for yourself.

I recently read about a study on how touch causes biological changes.  In this case it was looking at blood samples taken immediately before and after a one hour massage.  Swedish massage was found to decrease the stress hormone cortisol as well as increase in the immune system measured by increases in lymphocytes and white blood cells.  Light massage (Swedish is deeper) showed an increase in oxytocin, a hormone that can lead to increases in cortisol. They also had increases in the number of lymphocytes, white blood cells that are part of the immune system.

I share these two examples with you to show you that subtle events like thoughts and gentle touch can have profound effect on our bodies and in these cases positive.   Distress often referred to as just stress can also impact our bodies and if chronic it does so negatively.  Negative thoughts and beliefs and fears can lead to poor health.   Dr. Gabor Mate in his book, When the Body says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress goes into great detail how chronic stress can lead to infertility. (Here is video presentation by Dr. Gabor Mate).  A recent study in the Journal of Fertility and Sterility has also linked stress to reduce fertility. I have included a few news reports about the research findings below.

Chinese medicine list emotional imbalances (chronic stress)  as being a possible cause of infertility.  This was documented.... oh say over a thousand years ago. Many practitioners may diagnose you with a form of Qi Stagnation and choose acupuncture and  herbal formulas plus other lifestyle changes to resolve this stagnation and the stress in your life. (Stress does not defacto mean Qi stagnation FYI)

My point for this post is to first let you know that stress can negatively impact your health and fertility. But rather than being stressesd about being stressed you can choose to be proactive and improve your health through your thoughts and behaviours.  It is not hopeless.  There is Cognitive Behavior Therapy, massage, walks in nature, mindful meditation, exercise, yoga and acupuncture to name a few. 

My goal for my patients is to find renewed hope  and also to help them get their lives back. So remember the lemon experiment above.... There is a mind body connection and the beauty is you can develop skills and use natural low tech interventions to positively influence your health through reduced distress which in turn can improve your chances of conceiving.

Nourish Life
Lorne Brown, DR.TCM, B.Sc., CA, FABORM

Resources:

http://www.acubalance.ca/mate-05-studies-on-stress
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2009.0634
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-08-12-stress12_ST_N.htm
http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/09/13/cycle_of_stress/?s...
http://www.fertstert.org/
http://www.medigogy.com/archives/psychosomatic-influences-functional-bio...

http://www.acubalance.ca/cknw-radio-talks-dr-paulmagarelli-mechanism-beh...