CHARLOTTE – This is the season for the world to bustle and stay busy, go to parties and get in the spirit of the holidays. What can you do to keep your attitude positive and manage your stress? Why massage of course. This is the perfect time to treat yourself and get into the habit of taking care of your mind and body. Let’s take a look at different kinds of stress.

Your brain is amazing, but it too gets affected by stress. According to National Library of Medicine/Pub Med Central, there are three kinds of stress. The first is good stress. This could represent when you are faced with a challenge or when you take a risk. A healthy brain does well with this type of stress because it will often find a positive outcome, even if there’s failure or discord involved. A healthy brain will accept the challenge and use this as a growth/learning experience.

Then there’s what’s considered tolerable stress. This is most likely a tough situation where bad things happen but you have a support system in place (supportive friends/family) that help you cope. This could be a death or some sort of loss. This too can be turned into a positive growth experience.

The third stress is called toxic stress. This is when bad things happen to you and you have little to no support. Your brain might already show past trauma from your childhood years which has affected and actually changed the way your brain functions.

-Lisa Lane is a licensed massage and bodywork therapist (#13098) and owner of Massage Sanctuary in Mint Hill.