| Ask a Nurse Therapist |
We invite you to e-mail your questions and we’ll respond to your e-mail within 48 hours. Rays of Hope welcomes your questions on the following and other related topics:
- What is behavioral medicine?
- What is cognitive behavioral therapy?
- Stress (and impact on health)
- Panic
- Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Guilt
- Chronic pain/chronic illness
- Chronic pain/illness affecting family and significant others
- Chronic conditions affecting faith system
- Mental health disorders and how they interact with medical conditions
- Relationships between medical community and clients
- Compulsive eating
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Cindy,
I get muscular twitches in my upper body and I only notice it when I am stressed. My doctors and psychiatrist just shrug me off and think I'm crazy when I bring it up. Do you know what it is from? –curious-
Hello curious.
Although there are many causes for muscular “twitches” as you call them if you are only experiencing them during times of high stress there is a very specific cause to consider. Our bodies were made to “fight” or “flee” during a stressful situation. In primitive days this was a physical threat. The neighborhood cave man was confronted with a tiger, he fought it or ran from it and then his body was restored to his baseline resting state. Now, most of our threats of harm are emotional. In fact, your body cannot tell the difference from when you are actually experiencing the threat or just thinking about it. So when you are fighting with your spouse or parent or just thinking about the argument your body responds the same. Your body will release hundreds of chemicals to prepare you to fight or flee from this threat. One such chemical is adrenaline. Adrenaline will do two things.
First, it gives you extra energy to move. This is why people toe tap, pen click, and eventually pace and then take on productive projects such as clean the house, garage or take on remodeling projects.
The second thing adrenaline does takes us back to your twitches. Adrenaline will draw up your muscles. Your muscles need to contract in order to fight or flee from the enemy. It is preparing you to run or swing your club. This works great if you are battling that tiger. But, if your threat is emotional and you do not need to physically run, your muscles draw up, twitch and can lead to spasms, which often results in pain.
So you are not crazy. You very well may be experiencing muscle “twitches” only during high periods of stress. Your body is talking to you. So what do you do now? See this as a gift of awareness. You have a built in Danger! Danger! Sign. When your muscle twitches let this be a red light for you to breathe….slow down…self soothe….pull out your relaxation techniques, and care for yourself. Your body is demanding your attention, listen to yourself.
Hey Cindy......
What is a Nurse Therapist?
Submitted by Gail D. RN, Salisbury Maryland
Thanks for your question Gail. Indeed, there are many specialties in nursing. A nurse therapist is a uique field of nursing that not many have heard of. A nurse therapist blends two professions and requires two licenses and two degrees: one in nursing, the second as a professional counselor that follows a masters in counseling.
So what does a nurse counselor do? A nurse therapist simply helps people cope with or manage medical conditions. We look at how the mind and body interact. For instance, how does stress affect you physically. Or how does chronic pain affect you emotionally, mentally, relationally? Or how can you live a quality life despite having cancer? Or how can people manage panic so it does not destroy their lives. Or how do you live with a chronic illness that doesn't go away no matter how much you want it to? What happens physically to your body when you experience fear, unforgiveness, or anger?
How does that differ from a regular therapist? A registered nurse has detailed understanding of the disease process of your medical diagnosis and how this affects you mentally and emotionally. Combining the knowledge of a registered nurse and a licensed therapist together, a nurse therapist can better understand how your body physiologically responds to your emotional and mental distress.
A nurse therapist is also familiar with the medical lingo, concerns, ethics, constraints and need for patient advocacy. Often she bridges the gap between the medical community and patient.
A nurse therapist is a rare speciality of nursing that combines two professions. It bridges the fields of medical and behavioral health, understanding that your mind and body are not separated.