Long COVID, stress, mast cell activation syndrome, and finding relief with The Reaset Approach22/8/2024
 As a therapist dedicated to helping people navigate the challenges of both body and mind, I’m always exploring new ways to better understand and treat the complex issues my patients face. In recent years, one such issue that has become a major focus is long COVID-19. While I’ve developed a solid understanding of this condition, a recent video by Dr. Denef, a local doctor here in Brussels who herself battled long COVID, offered me a fresh perspective. Dr. Denef has since dedicated her practice to helping others who are struggling with this debilitating illness.
In her video, Dr. Denef mentioned Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), a term that, I like Dr Denef (see video) wasn't familiar with. I was immediately prompted to delve deeper into this condition and how it might connect to stress—an area I’m deeply passionate about and one that plays a critical role in my work. What is Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)? MCAS is a condition where certain immune cells in your body, known as mast cells, become overly sensitive and release too many inflammatory substances like histamine and cytokines. These cells are found throughout your body—in the skin, lungs, and digestive system, among other places. When they become overactive, they can cause a variety of symptoms, including skin rashes, digestive problems, heart palpitations, and breathing difficulties. In the context of long COVID-19, MCAS has attracted attention because its symptoms can be very similar to those many of you may be experiencing, such as extreme fatigue, brain fog, and persistent pain. Dr. Denef’s video highlighted how long COVID-19 might actually make MCAS worse or even trigger it in some people, leading to a complex set of symptoms that can be tough to manage. The Link Between MCAS, Stress, and Long COVID-19 As someone who has worked extensively with stress, I found the possible connection between MCAS and stress in long COVID-19 particularly compelling. Stress isn’t just something that happens in your mind—it has powerful effects on your entire body. When you’re stressed, your body’s stress response kicks in, involving both your nervous system and your hormone-producing glands. This process releases a.o. cortisol and other stress hormones, which can actually make your mast cells more active, potentially worsening MCAS. For those of you dealing with long COVID-19, the ongoing stress of coping with these lingering and debilitating symptoms, combined with how the virus affects your immune system, can create a vicious cycle. Stress makes MCAS worse, which in turn worsens your long COVID-19 symptoms, leading to even more stress—a cycle that can feel impossible to break. How The Reaset Approach Can Help Understanding the connection between MCAS, stress, and long COVID-19 is crucial, especially since long COVID is also linked with what is referred to as dysautonomia. Dysautonomia is a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, where your stress response doesn’t switch off. As a consequence, mast cells are likely to remain active, and therefore, any treatment aimed at alleviating these symptoms might fail to have the desired effect. This is where The Reaset Approach, a method I’ve developed over nearly 20 years, can make a real difference. The Reaset Approach is designed to help reaset your body’s stress response through an integral body-centred hands-on treatment. By addressing the root causes of stress and helping your body find a new balance, we can reduce the overactivity of mast cells and ease other stress-related symptoms. For instance, if you’re dealing with dysautonomia and MCAS as part of your long COVID-19 experience, The Reaset Approach can help calm your nervous system, lower the levels of stress hormones in your body, and support your natural healing processes. This approach is about more than just managing symptoms—it’s about empowering you to take control of your health and wellbeing. Conclusion If you’re struggling with long COVID-19, especially if you’re experiencing symptoms of MCAS or dysautonomia, it’s crucial to address not just the symptoms but the underlying causes. Dr. Denef’s insights into MCAS have deepened my understanding of how these conditions are interconnected with stress and how they can perpetuate each other. Long COVID-19, health, and healing are complex, but together we can make a difference by offering a more integrated strategy to support your recovery. My role in that process, through The Reaset Approach, is to reset your body’s stress response by addressing the root causes that might be keeping you trapped in a cycle of discomfort and illness. This includes calming your autonomic nervous system and regulating hormonal and vascular processes in both the body and brain, which in turn will positively affect the physical aspects of long COVID-19—such as headaches, muscular and digestive disorders, brain fog, dizziness, cardiovascular problems, temperature dysregulation, cognitive delays, and mental and behavioural symptoms like irritability—and reduce stress-related inflammation. If you’re ready to explore a holistic approach to managing your long COVID-19 symptoms, I’m here to guide you on your journey to recovery and resilience.  This is a work in progress based on my own thoughts and those of Professor R. Sapolsky’s books, including his latest, “Determined”, as well as A. Damasio’s “The Strange Order of Things” and elements of evolutionary and developmental mismatch theories. The purpose of this simplified diagram is to gain a better understanding of whether and how we can evolve on purpose to better adapt and manage change. It illustrates the continuous body-mind loop where our body’s neuronal and molecular mechanisms, influenced by genetics, environmental factors, and individual experiences, govern our behaviour. Behavioural changes affect cognition, which in turn shapes the mind. The mind’s decisions, choices, and actions then alter the environment, creating new experiences that continue to influence our body’s mechanisms. Throughout this process, feelings are generated and play a crucial role at each stage. At the moment, our rising “biological footprint” — a term I coined to capture the impact of our lifestyle, environment, and actions on our biological systems — is making us sick. By understanding the interconnected elements of my illustration, I hope you/we can better comprehend what is happening and why, but also gain insights into how you/we can purposefully change or stimulate a process of evolving on purpose (evolopsis). How do you feel about this? For example, by reading this, your body has created neuronal and molecular changes that alter your behaviour, perspective, emotions, choices, decisions, and actions, which in turn cause changes in your environment, creating experiences that further influence your body, changing the way you respond, and so on. What I’m striving for with this illustration is to shed light on my understanding of how you/we can foster better ways of adapting and managing change. In other words, how we can create stability through change and evolve with the changing times, thereby improving our physical and mental health and wellbeing and foster a more compassionate and humane society. Again it is a work in process… and I’m awaiting Prof. Sapolsky’s view on this. PS: The key message of Robert Sapolsky’s book Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will is that human behaviour and decision-making are entirely shaped by a complex interplay of genetics, environmental influences, and individual experiences. Sapolsky argues that the concept of free will is an illusion, and our actions result from deterministic processes involving the body’s neuronal and molecular mechanisms, which influence behaviour and cognition.
Life can be unpredictable, and setbacks are an inevitable part of the human experience. Whether it's a major illness, a relationship breakdown, or a career setback, life challenges can take a toll on our mental and physical health. Chronic stress resulting from these setbacks can lead to a condition known as stress-related dysautonomia, which affects the autonomic nervous system's functioning.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is responsible for regulating various vital bodily functions, including heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and more. When we experience chronic stress, the ANS can become dysregulated, leading to a wide range of symptoms, including fatigue, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, gastrointestinal disturbances, musculoskeletal pain, cognitive and emotional disturbances, and more. The Reaset Approach for Life Setbacks One way to bounce back from life setbacks and manage stress-related dysautonomia is through manual therapy, such as the Reaset Approach. This gentle, non-invasive manual therapy approach based on osteopathic principles, uses light touch and gentle movements to stimulate the body's natural healing mechanisms and regulate the ANS's functioning. A trained manual therapist who applies the Reaset Approach can help release tension and restrictions in the fascia and other soft tissues of the body, which can contribute to dysautonomia symptoms. The Reaset Approach can help reset the body's functional status, restoring balance to the ANS, improving overall function, and enhancing wellbeing. Bouncing Back from Life Setbacks Bouncing back from life setbacks requires a multifaceted approach, including manual therapy to ease the body's stress-response. The importance of the body's ability to bounce back from setbacks is often overlooked, as it plays a crucial role in determining the outcome. In every aspect of life, including our emotions and thoughts, the body is involved. However, not all body-oriented therapies significantly improve emotional and cognitive functioning as much as the Reaset Approach does. 2021 is the year that one of my childhood dreams becomes a reality "space tourism." Citizens just like you and me will be able to take a trip into space with regular flights to above the Kármán line and back offered by among others Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX. I already imagine myself up there one day viewing the earth from above. Ok, it is still a dream as I can't afford the ticket just yet, but I can imagine that one-day prices will have become more democratic and I will be able to afford it. Journeying to space it will give your generation the planetary perspective on which the future of humanity rests that we're all in this together fellow travellers on Spaceship Earth. Maybe by that time, I will not only be able to spend a few minutes in space but a few days on NASA's International Space Station (ISS), Orion Span's Aurora Station or the Gateway Foundation's Von Braun Space Hotel. Needless to say, but we are truly living in an amazing time in human history where technology is offering us opportunities that only a few years ago were thought impossible. Professionally as a forward-thinking Osteopath and Body-centred Stress Coach, I do ask myself the question: "How will the body deal with this unprecedented stressful experience?" It is not because it is an amazing experience that it isn't without stress and stress when not managed will have an impact on the private astronauts' health and physical, psychological, social and spiritual (biopsychosociospiritual) well-being? The main physical-stress the body needs to deal with is the sudden acceleration to 3 - 4g followed by the few minutes of microgravity to then again be confronted with 3 or 4g on the way down. There is also the increased anxiety and excitement stress... tensing muscles, increasing heart rate, blood pressure, changes in vascularisation, digestion, hormone levels (increased adrenaline and cortisol...)
Not to forget: "How will body, mind and spirit cope with the overview perspective?" Seeing the earth for the first time in its entirety is an unprecedented experience in our evolution. This overview effect might be life-changing for some in a positive way, but for others, it might leave a devastating effect when suddenly faced with the reality that the earth is but a tiny, fragile ball of life, "hanging in the void", shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. I see it very often in my practice how life-changes or extreme emotions have an impact on my patient's health and well-being. This impact goes from neck, shoulder or back pain to mood swings, depression, short-temperedness and concentration loss. Research on life-changes has been done and led to the creation of the Holmes and Rahe rating scale. When you add up all units for each event experienced to you in the last year and you come to 300 units the likelihood of becoming ill or having an accident is increased with 70%. So knowing how change and experiences can have an effect on health and well-being (in my practice 3 to 4 months after a main good or bad life-changing event), I wonder how many units of stress a space tourist will have experienced preparing for and during a flight (so over a period of lets say 3 months)? What if for example, the spine is not aligned, a vertebrae, disc or rib is just a tiny bit out of place? You won't be aware of this, there is no pain, but what will happen when you suddenly the acceleration to 3g confronts you with a force equal to a cow sitting on your chest? So, you've had the most exhilarating ride and experience of your life, you saw the earth from above but the acute exposure to stress has - without you knowing or feeling it - led to long lasting adaptive changes in hormone levels (adrenaline and cortisol) and stress-susceptible brain regions, like the amygdala or hippocampus? Over time you will experience physical discomfort and behavioural changes not for the better of mankind. Just look at the behaviour of someone who is stressed. All of these questions are going through my mind... You may think I'm exaggerating, it is all speculation Tom... but my experience as an osteopath tells me otherwise and this needs to be addressed or at least researched. I believe it to be essential that private astronauts and space tourists (that are not rigorously tested and trained) not only train for their experience of a lifetime, but also receive appropriate person- and body-centred Stress Coaching. Personally I think it makes sense to assure that the private astronauts' journey includes body-centred stress coaching. It will make the journey even more enjoyable and rewarding as it helps the body towards a dynamic balance to cope with the extra stressors put on it before and after 'the' flight of a lifetime. I want to address this. I want to be involved in helping private astronauts have the experience of a lifetime in the best conditions and have mankind benefit from their experience afterwards. I want to train others in this approach and improve my approach learning form others. To be continued. Tom Osteopath, Body-centred Stress Coach for Space Tourists 😉, Speaker, Author of "Futurize Yourself"  Yes, the holiday season is here. After many months of hard work, the time has come for you to have a well-deserved break, to relax, unwind and recharge the batteries. However, for a group of people, the start of the holidays isn’t always as relaxing as they hope. Maybe you’ve experienced it yourself you’re finally off work and on your first day at your ideal holiday destination a severe headache, a cold, fever and flu-like symptoms start. Worse, just then a shooting pain in your back that has you in its grip and you’re bedridden for days. This phenomenon is generally known as ‘leisure sickness’ and overcomes more often within the first days of being off work to those with high levels of stress. Although not much is known about this phenomenon, most people attributed their condition to difficulties with the transition from work to non-work, stress associated with travel and vacation, as well as work-related stress and personality characteristics. One of the many explanations researchers have suggested is that physiological processes play a key role in the development of these health problems. One study demonstrated that in workers with a high workload, the production of adrenaline was not only increased during working hours but also in the evening hours and the rest periods after finishing work. In other words, when the relaxation response had to set in for the body to unwind, recuperate and regenerate it didn’t. When this goes on for a day or two, there isn’t a problem. However, when this is weeks or even months on end and your immune system is chronically inhibited because of the increased production of the stress hormone cortisol, your heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension are permanently increased due to excess adrenaline production, and well yes illness will eventually set in. But it could also be that last minute acute stress has just given you that extra boost you needed and then when the external demands suddenly stop the body fails to inhibit the counter-pressure in time, then this might result in a situation of being physiologically off balance, accompanied by an increased susceptibility to illness. Whatever the reason 'Leisure Sickness' can be avoided by minding your body before it reminds you. Regular breaks at work, breathing exercises, taking enough 'YOU' time, having enough sleep, and so many other practices can help you. When all of that is not enough and you feel your body, mind and soul needs a helping hand than don't hesitate to make an Body-centred Stress Coaching appointment. Be good to you, always. Tom Osteopath & Body-centred Stress Coach, Brussels Author of "Futurize Yourself"  The central aim of osteopathy – is to get your body back into balance and remove barriers to good health manually. While many techniques are used to to this the treatment itself is based on 4 principles which are the essence of osteopathy:
Historically, osteopathy has been around since the late 19th century, when it was discovered by an American physician by the name of Andrew Taylor Still. Since then, it has become an increasingly popular treatment around the world. What makes osteopathy special is that it is a holistic approach to health and never work on the symptom alone but try to find and treat underlying cause. For example shoulder pain can have as a cause working 8h a day on the computer, but also stress of a twisted ankle that hasn't healed properly. With a verbal and palpatory anamneses the osteopath will try to find out and treat both even if that treatment means giving stress management advise . Palpatory anamnesis means that the osteopath will use a heightened sense of touch, to assess your body and find points of strain and weakness. He or she will then choose a treatment plan that suits your body’s needs and physical condition. Problems an osteopath can help you with Osteopaths tend to treat chronic or acute musculo-skeletal problems. However, more and more it is showing to be a very good in offering deep relaxation, stress relief and is therefore highly recommended for prevention and to cope with the demands of life (work and private).
Want to know more about osteopathy or how I can help you? Send me an email or call 0472399779 |
AuthorTom Meyers, is an osteopath, body-centred stress coach, wellbeing futurist, space enthusiast, TEDx organiser and author of “Futurize Yourself” and “The Futures Effect”. Adress
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