Stressing the positive: A multitude of techniques, gadgets available for lessening stress

Monday, March 18, 2002 | 8:28 a.m.

An aroma of citrus hung in the air. New-age music played softly in the background.

Massage therapist Rod Green worked on Kathy Gerdon as she sat on a massage chair, her face buried in a pad, a heated pillow around her neck.

First he rubbed her hands, focusing on the fingers, then the palms, working his way up to the wrists, the forearms, upper arms and, finally, the shoulders, back and neck.

As he kneaded, pounded, folded and punched the office worker's taut muscles, co-workers walked past an open door, occasionally glancing into the office that had been turned into a temporary massage parlor one day last week.

Employees of American Insurance Co. on West Sahara Avenue smiled, knowing their turn in the chair was coming. Gerdon's husband, Kelly, soon followed Greene has taken the war on stress to the front lines the offices where it is often created.

"A lot of jobs are high-stress," Greene, who owns Perfect Touch, said. "A company can pay a person well, but if there is no relief from stress, there can be burn out."

Gerdon enjoyed the pause in her busy workday.

"When you're in a job caring for other people, sometimes you forget to stop and think about yourself," she said.

James Quick, professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Texas at Arlington, says jobs are the leading cause of stress in the United States but they aren't the only cause.

"It would be nice to say it is isolated to the work environment, but that's not the case," said Quick, who also is chairman of the U.S. chapter of the International Stress Management Association.

According to Quick, a study published in the December 2000 issue of the American Psychological Association Journal found that there was a large increase in the anxiety level of Americans from the early 1950s to the early 1990s.

"Stress and anxiety are not exactly the same, but there is some overlap," he said.

"(The study) came up with two theories why there was an increase: One, there was a decrease in social connectedness and, two, there was an increase in environmental threats, such as the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. A number of events have increased the feeling of threat."

Escape clause

Dr. Paul J. Rosch, president of American Institute of Stress in Yonkers, N.Y., says stress is a coping mechanism that evolved at the beginning of mankind.

"Our defenses were honed for preserving life," Rosch said. "But stress today is not running into a saber-toothed tiger."

The basic premise is "flight or fight." Under stress, the body's physiological makeup changes. Breathing becomes more rapid and muscles tense to increase strength for fighting or for running.

While this reaction is valuable in many circumstances, Rosch said it is being triggered too often today by such events as being caught in traffic.

"The tragedy is, our body responds in the archaic fashion," he said. "It once was useful, but repeatedly invoked it can lead to heart attacks and decreased resistance to colds and (other illnesses)."

Rosch said stress results from a feeling of lack of being in control and is highly individualized.

"Things distressful for some may not be for others," he said. "Stress is different strokes for different folks."

Quick said there are three levels to stress management:

First, try to remove the source of the stress. If that can't be done, the second step is to control the effects of stress.

"Physical exercise is a central component of good stress management -- aerobic exercise, flexibility training, stretching, weight training," he said.

Meditation and prayer also help relieve stress, Quick said. If all else fails, there is psychotherapy and medication.

Rosch said how a person copes with stress is as individualized as what a person finds distressful.

"For some people, jogging and mediation are boring and they would rather do something else," he said.

Here's the rub

Quick said massage is an excellent way to relieve stress.

"One of the key elements of stress response is the tightening of the large flexor muscles (arms, legs, shoulders)," he said. "Massage therapy can loosen the tension, get the physical part of the body healthy again."

Las Vegan Glenn Hall practices a variation of massage therapy called BioSync, which was developed over the past 25 years by Mark Lamm, a Los Angeles exercise and fitness expert.

"BioSync is a combination of many different things that come into play," said the 43-year-old Hall, who gives BioSync massages out of his Las Vegas home. "We are using different leverages than in massage. There are different positions, to stretch the body out in a certain way."

He described the system as a fusion of yoga, martial arts (aikido), meditation (tai chi) and western science.

"I learned about the system about a year and a half ago," said Hall, a private massage therapist for five years.

Hall charges $95 for a half-hour treatment, $150 for an hour and $250 for two hours. He explained BioSync works by erasing the memory locked into muscles by stress.

"The body is like a computer, storing information," he said. "Stress and trauma are stored in the muscles and tissues of the body. BioSync goes to a deeper level than massage to release the tension, to erase the memory stored in the computer."

Regular massage is just folding, stretching and kneading, Hall said.

"It puts the mind and body into a relaxed state, but it is only temporary," he said.

Stressing gadgetry

Stressed-out workers don't necessarily have to go to a massage therapist to get a massage.

There are products on the marketplace that will knead, fold and stretch muscles and soothe those who are anxiety-ridden.

Most of the inventory at Brookstone, a gift store with unusual gadgetry at the Boulevard mall, seems related to stress management. Georgia Barber, Brookstone store manager, said the shop's best-selling item is a 15-speed Professional Percussion Massager for $99.

At the other end of the price scale is a $3,000 recliner equipped with rollers and vibrators that are controlled by a remote.

In between are a variety massagers in cushions that fit over chairs or car seats, to help attain a deep-penetrating massage while stuck in traffic, watching television or working in an office.

If stress is interfering with sleep, Brookstone sells a Tranquil Moments sound machine that re-creates the sounds of an ocean, rain, birds and even "white noise," static sound for those who are stressed out by silence.

There are masks of all kinds to relax tense facial muscles, including plastic masks filled with gel that may be heated or chilled.

Sound Therapy Eye Shades ($40) not only cover the eyes to block out light, but the mask has Tranquil Moments sound chips built in for deeper relaxation.

A touching thought

Roseann Colosimo is an assistant professor in counseling and psychology in the Department of Nursing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She says much of the stress people are experiencing today is brought about by uncertainty.

"Being at war adds another dimension of uncertainty," she said, referring to the war on terrorism. "Many people are preoccupied with the uncertainty of life right now.

"I think we deal with so much change, which causes stress. Back a couple of generations, a person might live in the same house their whole life, have the same job, the same neighbors for 20 years."

Colosimo says whatever people need to do to alleviate the stress should be done, whether it is getting a massage, bowling, fishing or taking the kids for a walk in the park.

"The major thing is, people don't take time to manage their time effectively, so that they have time for themselves," she said. "They run from one obligation to the next."

Colosimo's prescription for stress relief is a fun weekend.

"You define fun," she said.

Massage, Colosimo said, is great, but simple touching is also great.

"Touching, unless it is abusive and intrusive, is always very soothing -- as long as it is in a caring fashion.

"What happens is that in today's world people are too busy to take the time to touch one another, even if its just a hug."

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