Johnny wakes up at 8:30 A.M.– ten minutes until his bus arrives. Oh shoot! He forgot to set his alarm last night. He quickly jumps out of his bed and instead of landing with his feet, his face becomes his landing. Great, now he needs a band-aid. He rushes into the bathroom and realizes he’s out of toothpaste. Great, now his breath will stink the rest of the day. He needs to use the toilet and then realizes he’s out of toilet paper. He then hears the bus arriving and leaving without him. Grrrrrrrr!!! 

This is stress, or at least, one of the most common forms. 

Stress is a condition proven to be very dangerous when not treated. It affects millions of people all over the world, ranging from teenagers to seniors. Stress causes many problems for these individuals, both in the physical and psychological aspects of their body. Yoga, meditation, exercise, etc. are all ways to relieve stress, but they have not been proven to work for all individuals. Also, some people don’t have enough time for these activities. However, there might be a more effective approach to this problem.

There are three different types of stress: acute, episodic, and chronic.

 

Acute Stress

Johnny is sitting in his chair, praying that the teacher does not call on him for presentations. He knows he didn’t practice enough and is frantically scrolling through his notes, jotting down as many points as he can in his mind.

“Hmmm, let us see who shall go next, “ calls out the teacher. “Johnny, why don’t you go up there.”

Oh no! His worst nightmare is coming true. He slowly gets up out of his seat and walks to the podium as if it were a slow-motion movie. His heart is beating and he is thinking of all the possible scenarios of what he should say once he starts his presentation. He stands there, just wishing he could’ve had another day to prepare, despite knowing this is the same thing he would be thinking the next day. 

This well known experience is referred to as acute stress.

The one type of stress we all experience in our bodies at one time or another is acute stress. Acute stress is the short term stress which is experienced before, during or after a stressful or pressure inducing moment. For example, let’s say you are waiting in line to ride a very dangerous roller coaster. Your heart is beating much faster and you are scared and nervous. This is acute stress you are experiencing. However, after the roller coaster ride has ended, your body returns to relative homeostasis. Acute stress can be thrilling and exciting sometimes, unlike the other types of stress we will be going over. 

The effects of acute stress aren’t usually life threatening, as acute stress is only short-term stress. However, some instances of acute stress can be worse depending on the person and the experience. It is not uncommon during extremely heightened periods of acute stress (very rare for most people) to experience emotional distress, muscular problems such as back and jaw pain, and/or stomach, gut, and bowel problems like heartburn, diarrhea, and constipation. You can also get problems like rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, dizziness, migraine headaches, and cold hands or feet. Keep in mind that thee extreme side effects are exactly that: the extremes. Acute stress isn’t very dangerous as it is very treatable and the more threatening effects are relatively rare. 

 

Episodic Stress

Johnny has now learned over the years that he is pretty good at giving presentations. But he is still worried every time he has to give a presentation. He is now also worried every time before a basketball game or every time he is taking a test at school. The worry and associated stress is sometimes so bad that he has this experience even when choosing what clothes to wear. Johnny doesn’t want to be like this, but he can’t help it. He always worries every day about every little thing. 

This is episodic stress. 

Episodic stress happens when a person is experiencing lots of acute stress every day. They overwhelm themselves with endless tasks and are always busy as a result of these tasks. Everything this type of person does tends to be executed in a nervous or busy manner. These people are always in a rush, which takes a toll on their minds and bodies. The other common example related to episodic stress is people who worry every day. These “worry warts,” as they’re often called, are people like Johnny who seem to worry about every task they do.

The effects of episodic stress are a little more serious than the side effects of acute stress. Some of the physical issues are persistent tension headaches, migraines, hypertension, chest pain and heart disease. The reason why episodic stress is more dangerous than acute stress is that it can take many months to treat episodic stress, unlike acute stress which can usually be resolved after only a few moments. Behavioral and emotional concerns also rise from episodic stress, such as blaming problems on other people. Those who have episodic stress also don’t like to take blame for their own problems, which can annoy others interacting with them.

 

 

Chronic Stress

Johnny is now a lot lot older. He has completed college and is now in the real world with a job, a house, and a family. His worrying has gotten a little better, but it is still there lurking in his shadow. Even though his episodic stress has gotten better, he is piled high everyday with his work, bills, kids etc. This has given him problems like eating disorders, lack of social activity, and even depression. This is the worst experience of stress Johnny has ever had, and it has become a part of his daily life.

This is chronic stress. 

Chronic stress is the worst out of all these types. This is the long-term stress which wreaks havoc on your body day in and day out. Chronic stress is usually originally caused by a major traumatic event in life. However, it can also be caused from a job overload, an unhealthy marriage or the threat of entering poverty. The worst part about chronic stress is that it stays in the person’s body and becomes a part of them to the extent that people don’t even recognize they are experiencing stress.

Chronic stress, as you probably guessed, also has the most dangerous effects out of all types of stress. The reason why it’s so bad is because it can kill you! Issues like suicide, violence, heart attack, stroke, and sometimes even cancer, rise from chronic stress. What’s even worse is that chronic stress is also the hardest to treat, as this form of stress becomes a virtually integral and familiar part of the person over time. Chronic stress wears the body down so much that hundreds of thousands of people choose suicide as a final resort to ending their stress.

So, what are we supposed to do about all the stress in the world? We cannot just let more people resort to suicide because of stress. Is stress simply unavoidable on the whole? According to recent research, the manipulation of our brain waves may hold the key to freeing ourselves of stress. 

 

 

Manipulating Brain Waves

Brain waves aren’t something normally heard in the same sentence as a solution to  stress, especially with a non-scientist. However, the relation between brain waves and stress is so great that it presents a viable method of relieving stress in both the short and long-term. There are four overarching types of brain waves: alpha, beta, delta, and theta. While each of these natural frequencies of the brain play a part in relieving or intensifying stress, we are going to talk about more specific types of waves: sound frequencies. Each organ in the body can be correlated to a specific frequency by which it functions. Using all of these frequencies, or tones, we can make a reference pitch for the whole body: A=432hz. All of this refers to a concept called quantum reflex analysis(QRA) which relieves stressors in the body by playing specific sounds needed to relieve a particular type of stress. There are QRA sessions available to help individuals deal with stress, but they are expensive and infrequently utilized. However, technology is improving everyday, broadening the availability of these sessions. 

These waves can be transmitted into the body in multiple different ways. One way is by using a simple speaker to emit a constant sound frequency at 432hz, the reference pitch for the body’s functioning frequency taken as a composite of each organ’s frequency. Another way is by using a concept called bone conduction, which involves sound waves being transmitted through the skeletal tissue of different parts of the body, directly to the brain. This can take the form of a patch being applied on the arm, which will give the same experience as hearing a sound without actually hearing the sounds with your ears. These solutions allow the person to experience a QRA session without ever leaving the comfort of their home.

QRA can help society in numerous ways. One of the biggest ways is the work force. Stress is a major issue in the workplace, and studies show that stress affecting the work of employees is extremely commonplace. Businesses and the economy, in turn, are hurt from the poor work. Stress is a major factor for why employees exhibit poor working habits. And from this poor work, the employee can get fired, resulting in even more stress. It all equates to an endless cycle of stress, however, by using sound frequencies, the cycle can get cut off. Teenagers in schools can also benefit from this solution, as they are also under extreme amounts of stress. College admissions, exams, and “fitting in” all put stress on these students, causing them to show a lack of effort in their school work. Crimes can also be lowered from the reduction of stress in society. Most of the people who commit crimes are in poverty, which means they are under stress to get more money, so they turn to criminal activities. The society can be benefited in numerous ways with the reduction of stress all from sounds easily transmitted to the body.

Stress, as shown, is a widely known psychological and physical problem for all types of individuals. The most dangerous part of stress is that it can be a downward spiraling cycle in your daily life if it is not treated properly. Using brain waves to relieve stress can be very efficient as there are multiple ways to implement them, one of the most effective, easiest and cheapest being sounds heard by the ear of the individual.  

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While scrolling through the Internet, looking to find ways to relieve stress, Johnny finds this wonderful article you are reading on QRA sessions. He decides to give one a try to help relieve his stress. Johnny goes into the session and comes out as a different man. A better man. A more relieved man. He keeps going to the sessions and it has become very helpful to him in his work, family and physical life. Soon, Johnny will be able to experience a QRA session without ever leaving his home.