As stated in a press release by Edita Jaskelevičienė, an expert at the “Virtual Lifestyle Studies” founded by Lithuanian scientists, a bioregulatory medicine doctor and naturopath, such cases are now very common because in a rushing world we treat symptoms, not causes, and she presents the most common complaints and their solutions.
The body remembers everything
“Our body cannot speak, so it reveals ailments through various symptoms – cracking, aching, or pain. What do we do then? We ignore these sensations until the pain becomes severe, and when it does, we take painkillers. The consequence is suppressed, but what about the cause – our psyche, which causes these pains through organs? The connection between mental tension and physical symptoms is not some trendy idea, as psychosomatics, as a medical field, has long studied how emotions and psychological stress affect the body. Interestingly, physical symptoms most often appear in systems that a person does not control voluntarily – the heart, blood vessels, and digestion; that is why during stress the stomach or heart “speaks” first, not, for example, the hand,” says Edita Jaskelevičienė, a naturopath and endobiogenics specialist who has been consulting patients for over 35 years.
Scientists have confirmed this multiple times. One of the most famous recent studies is a 2014 paper published by Finnish neuroscientists in the scientific journal “PNAS,” which was repeated in 2020 with nearly 4,000 people from 101 countries. Researchers found that we feel different emotions in different parts of the body and even created a kind of body map: anxiety is felt as tension in the chest, fear as pressure in the stomach, and falling in love as warmth spreading throughout the body. Interestingly, these sensation “maps” were essentially the same across different cultures, indicating that the basis of emotions and their corresponding bodily sensations is biological, not imagined.
According to E. Jaskelevičienė, the problem is that the modern pace of life has accelerated various psychosomatic pain processes, so the body increasingly signals that help is needed, but a person caught up in routine no longer hears these signals.
“All organs always ‘speak’: joints report chronic problems with cracking, the lower back with aching, the head with pain, the neck with heaviness, the stomach with aching, but we do not hear and continue rushing everywhere. However, the main problem is that our life pace is too fast, so we no longer hear our body, and delayed symptoms turn into diagnoses. When the body constantly experiences stress, it ‘wears out’ because accumulating tension and stress hormones disrupt and cause a domino effect – interconnected body systems begin to falter one after another. This is linked to weakened immunity, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic disorders, so detecting the initial cause is especially important as early as possible.
A large part of society is now caught in such a cycle, so observing this situation, the Lithuanian scientists initiated the “Virtual Lifestyle Study” – the first platform of this kind in Lithuania, where together with colleagues and scientists from various fields we provide individualized help to people tired by the pace of modern life in the context of lifestyle. From my many years of practice, I can even name the most common complaints – constant stomach pain, fatigue that does not pass even after long sleep, and unexplained headaches and back pain,” the doctor lists the ailments and provides some examples of how to combat them.
When the stomach “does not digest” the situation
One of the scourges of this era, according to the bioregulatory medicine expert, is digestive problems, which very often have nothing to do with a gastroenterological diagnosis but are merely a reflection of accumulated problems. In other words, digestive problems often begin when a situation arises in life that a person can no longer “digest” – whether complicated relationships or work problems, psychosomatics turns this into stomach pain.
“This connection has a clear physiological basis. When stressed, the body activates the evolutionary ‘fight or flight’ response, so blood flow is redirected from digestive organs to the heart and muscles because digestion becomes secondary in a moment of danger. When the danger is real, this is beneficial, but most people accumulate many such ‘dangers’ – endless work, family worries, an uncatchable pace of life, or important upcoming conversations, so the digestive system remains stuck in a constant state of tension. We probably all know the ‘knot in the stomach’ or ‘butterflies in the stomach’ before an important life event? This is not a metaphor but a direct stress signal transmitted to the gut,” explains the bioregulatory medicine doctor.
If stomach or intestinal pains persist constantly and specialists find no causes, E. Jaskelevičienė advises thinking about the reasons. It is especially useful to pay attention to whether symptoms worsen in specific situations – before meeting certain people or during stressful periods at work, as this often reveals the true source of the pain. If specific situations cannot be identified, it is worth honestly asking yourself – what is currently “undigested” in my life, and to resolve this chronic problem independently or with a psychologist.
“While searching for a deeper cause, digestion can be helped with simple daily measures because much depends on how we eat – it is likely that most often in a hurry. I always advise my patients to take several deep breaths before eating, eat calmly, without rushing and not at the computer or phone, and also maintain a regular eating routine because this stabilizes the communication between the gut and brain – when it is time to eat, both are prepared for this process.
Slow breathing, where the exhale is longer than the inhale, for example, inhaling for four seconds and exhaling for six, is also effective for calming the nervous system. Such breathing activates the vagus nerve, which sends a ‘you are safe’ signal to the body and helps switch the body from ‘fight or flight’ to ‘rest and digest’ mode. A short walk after a meal and sufficient sleep also help, as these are among the most powerful gut-protecting measures,” shares E. Jaskelevičienė advice on calming the digestive system.
The doctor also provides a completely unexpected but scientifically grounded way to calm stomach pains – humming. According to her, humming causes the vocal cords to vibrate, and this vibration stimulates the vagus nerve – the same one that switches the body from ‘fight or flight’ to ‘rest and digest’ mode. Studies show that humming reduces stress and slows the heart rate, so a few minutes of a favorite melody after a stressful day can be much more beneficial than it seems.
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Chronic fatigue due to rat race
Another common companion of modern people, named by the doctor, is chronic fatigue that does not pass even after long sleep on weekends and is often accompanied by chest pressure, a ‘lump in the throat,’ and a feeling of shortness of breath. Naturopath E. Jaskelevičienė is strict on this issue – it is the consequence of a vicious cycle into which we unknowingly get caught.
“We run all day and live in tension to manage what we planned ourselves – even at night, lying in bed, we are still arranging plans for tomorrow in our minds. This means that cortisol and adrenaline are simply exploding in the body, so we have difficulty falling asleep and, even when asleep, wake up unrefreshed. The next day everything repeats anew, and since we are unrefreshed, it is harder to implement plans, so before sleep, we additionally ‘bite’ ourselves so that the overall fatigue does not disappear. The body remains in a ‘vigilant’ state even at night, so sleep becomes superficial and does not restore strength, and in the morning we rush to the rat race unrefreshed. What is the most common solution? Expensive dietary supplements taken by the handful, all possible trendy tests, and new challenges set for ourselves, but unfortunately, this rarely stops the vicious cycle,” describes the usual life scenario, often ending in burnout and chronic fatigue, the doctor.
However, it is possible to help oneself. As the bioregulatory medicine doctor notes, stress and cortisol tests show that the most important thing is to teach the body to ‘calm down’ in the evening. It is already known to everyone that at least an hour before sleep, one should withdraw from screens because their blue light suppresses the production of the sleep hormone melatonin and raises cortisol – instead of active browsing, it is better to read, listen to music, or be in a calm environment.
“A stable sleep rhythm also helps – going to bed and waking up at similar times, even on weekends. It is useful to write down tomorrow’s plans, which ‘spin’ in the head at night, on paper before going to bed – then the brain does not need to stay awake thinking about them. It is worth moving moderately during the day because regular, moderate-intensity exercise improves the nervous system’s resistance to stress, but very intense exercise in the evening should be avoided as it further raises cortisol. Attention should also be paid to caffeine – even one strong cup of morning coffee raises cortisol, and coffee drunk after lunch interferes with falling asleep for many.
One of the simplest but most unexpected tricks is two kiwis an hour before sleep. It sounds too good to be true, but in a study by Taipei Medical University, people who ate two kiwis before sleep for a month fell asleep faster and woke up less often at night – it is believed that this is due to melatonin and serotonin in kiwis. The study sample is still small, so this is not a miracle cure, but it is definitely worth trying.
However, if fatigue lasts for months and tests are good, it is already a sign that it will not pass on its own – it is worth looking for the real cause, preferably with a specialist who looks at lifestyle as a whole and does not just treat fatigue symptoms,” advises naturopath E. Jaskelevičienė.
Why do we “carry” tension on our shoulders?
Another problem that affects a large part of modern people is headaches and shoulder pain, which are usually treated with a simple painkiller. However, the doctor points out that behind this often lies not a one-time cause but tension accumulated over life. Why does the body “choose” to demand attention precisely through this area? According to E. Jaskelevičienė, the answer lies in our own instincts.
“Experiencing stress or threat, we unconsciously hunch – raise our shoulders, tense the neck, as if defending ourselves. This is natural for a short time, but when tension becomes daily, the shoulders remain ‘raised’ – day after day, month after month. Even our sayings are about this – we say we carry a heavy life burden on our shoulders or that something is our headache. This is no coincidence because this is exactly where the body stores what we do not let go of.
Moreover, the tension we hold in our shoulders during the day does not disappear at night. Many people, especially during stressful periods, unconsciously clench their jaw or grind their teeth while sleeping and wake up with a headache, tense temples or neck, and do not even know why. This is physiology: the jaw, neck, and shoulders form one tension chain, so what we cannot handle during the day, the body ‘processes’ at night. If you often wake up with an unclear headache, it is worth paying attention not only to the pillow but also to how much tension you bring to bed,” explains naturopath E. Jaskelevičienė about possible causes of pain.
What to do about it? The specialist advises first to ‘catch’ the tension during the day before it has time to ‘soak into’ the shoulders – pause briefly every hour and consciously lower the shoulders, relax the jaw, take a deep breath, and exhale slowly. In the evening, it is worth consciously ‘removing the day’s burden’ – put down the phone, perform a few simple shoulder and neck stretching movements, and if necessary, apply a warm compress. But the most important advice, according to the doctor, is not physical: if the shoulders and neck are constantly tense, it is worth honestly asking yourself what responsibility or worry you have been carrying so long that the body no longer has time to relax and to finally get rid of part of that burden together with a specialist.
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