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I like using the analogy of a “jug of stress”. Imagine you are the jug, and the stress is water. On any typical day in London, you may start your day half full. Stress can come from many things – work, partying too much, too little sleep, illness, mental unrest, environmental pollution, traffic jams, work stress..... the list goes on and on! So, you start your day half full. You only managed to get 5 hours sleep because you worked late then came home to realise you had to wash your clothes for work the next day, and then a car alarm kept you awake between 4 and 5am. You leave for work forgetting to have breakfast, and then you get stuck on the tube because of those infamous 'engineering works'. You're jug starts filling up with stress. You get to work and your boss calls you in to tell you your presentation was rubbish and you'd better shape up or ship out. Your jug is verging on overflow but then you meet your best friend for lunch and she gives you a big smile and a cuddle and after a vent some of your stress leaves. Later that day you get dumped by your partner for someone else and hey presto, OVERFLOW!!

When we hit overflow point, a number of interesting things happen to our psychological and physiological body. Stress initially evolved as an adaptive and protective process to ensure our survival. But let's face it, we don't face dinosaurs anymore so the fight or flight mechanism isn't always useful, unless you are actually in danger. If you're just stressed and sat at your desk, this stress response is inappropriately activated and if it continues too long it becomes very damaging. The brain, nerve and hormonal systems are activated, triggering a cascade of biochemical processes that cause the release of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. As a result the brain, heart and musculoskeletal system step up, enabling us to assess the threat and decide to stay and fight or run away.

This is called 'hyper-arousal' and when in this state everything happens so rapidly and efficiently that we function almost automatically. Our body generates an emergency supply of energy from glucose and oxygen, blood glucose soars (drawn from stores in the liver), breathing quickens and the heart rate and blood pressure increase.

In the meantime other organs such as the digestive, immune system and sexual systems grind almost to a halt to avoid taxing the body at a time of danger. If this stress response persists for days or weeks, or even months or years, memory is affected, we put on or lose weight, sleep less, become ill more frequently and are less capable of coping with every day life. This in turn can lead to a variety of mental and physical illnesses.

Firstly we need to understand the cause of it, and try and reduce the actual stressors in our life if possible. We also need to look at whether we have learned effective ways of stress management, and whether we have a personality type that stresses more easily than others. Is your 'self-talk', that voice in your head, predominantly positive or negative? This can make all the difference in calming yourself down in stressful situations. A lot of these factors are learned, and can therefore be un-learned with the right help.

There are many ways of reducing the stress. Talking therapies, getting organised, communicating with friends, and life coaching are all effective ways of dealing with any emotional or mental blocks occurring. In terms of your physical health, things like going for a massage, exercise, and meditation are all highly effective. Reiki is a fabulous way to de-stress, ease insomnia, and detox the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies.