|
Needle therapy: Do I look relaxed?
Cherie Blair has found a way to beat the stress of being a working mum and
prime minister's wife: ear acupuncture. BBC News Online's Megan Lane follows
her lead to see if needle therapy works.
It can't be easy living life as a top-flight barrister and mother-of-four
who plays consort to the prime minister in her spare time.
Stress release: Cherie Blair's holistic ear stud
So it's little wonder that Cherie Blair has been spotted with an acupuncture
stud in her ear. Located in a point in the ear known as shenmen, the
holistic needle apparently helps relieve stress and promote relaxation.
Now, I don't have kids, I don't argue human rights cases in court, and I've
never even met Tony Blair. But just living in London can be stressful
enough, so I decided to give it a whirl.
Auricular acupuncturist Stella Simpson, of the Craven Clinic in west London,
sticks five needles in each of my ears.
What really concerns me is whether I cleaned my ears
Rather than go right through, the tips of the thin metal rods merely break
the skin surface. It doesn't hurt, and seems to bother the photographer more
than it does me.
The needles apparently stimulate the production of endorphins, the body's
natural painkillers also known as the "pleasure chemical", Ms Simpson says.
"It has much the same effect as doing vigorous exercise or eating
chocolate."
Five needles are inserted into each ear
By the time she removes the needles 20 minutes later, my shoulders have
melted and I'm feeling a little dozy (although that may have something to do
with being jolted awake at 5.30am by a departing neighbour).
In order to test whether I have indeed been de-stressed, I set about a few
tasks selected for their capacity to cause aggravation.
Phone the council
I don't know if Cherie has ever had to deal with her local authority, but
mine is an organisation that could try the patience of a saint.
Three years ago, Cherie wore a New Age pendant
My task is to sort out a spot of unpleasantness with our rubbish collection
(no details as you might be eating while you read this).
When I tried to get through last week, I was stuck in the phone queue for so
long that my call timed out. I was cut off without ever getting past the
automated voice thanking me for waiting.
My heart rate increases somewhat as the automated voice welcomes me once
again to the phone queue. I first get through to one department, which fails
to grasp my problem and so shunts me onto another... who prove to be very
helpful.
STRESS RATING: Slightly anxious, but keeping calm helps get the job done
Run lunchtime errands
My aim is to leave Television Centre to buy stamps - and be back at my desk
in less than 20 minutes.
Shenmen is the relaxation point at the top of the ear
Although the light industrial wasteland that is the road to Shepherd's Bush
is hardly pleasant, the sun is shining. Not even the lorries barrelling past
disrupt my inner calm.
I've timed it so I arrive at the post office just as the lunch rush should
be starting.
But where are the little old ladies who typically form the bulk of the
queue?
After being served in record-quick time, I even manage to secure a couple of
the newly released scratch-and-sniff eucalyptus stamps and make it back in
22 minutes.
STRESS RATING: Relaxed, perhaps because of my extra serenity
Tea with the boss
Now no offence intended, but tea and small talk with the head honcho is
hardly a stress-free prospect.
It's not that he's scary or grumpy, but he is, well, the boss. I must admit
that of all the tasks I set myself, this one was the most foolhardy of all.
The thought of knocking on his office door, and asking him out of the blue
if he would like a quick trip to the coffee bar...well I would need more
than acupuncture to give me such resolve.
He'd think I'd gone mad, was plotting something nefarious, or had become a
dreadful brown-noser.
But what a shame - the top brass are in a meeting... all morning.
Maybe the needles have worked some magic after all.
STRESS RATING: Needlessly jittery
OK, now I'm relaxed
¡¡
Information resource:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1574953.stm
¡¡ |
