The Modern Epidemic of Stress and Disconnection
- Griselle Q
- Oct 26
- 2 min read
The Modern Epidemic of Stress and Disconnection
Anxiety and depression have become two of the most common struggles in today’s world. Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent class of mental health conditions in the United States, and depression remains a leading cause of disability worldwide.
Research continues to show how deeply emotional and physical pain are intertwined. Clinical studies reveal high rates of anxiety and depression among adults living with chronic pain.
Source: JAMA Network
For me, these weren’t just statistics. They were my lived reality.
Living Under the Weight of Anxiety
My upbringing carried over two decades of survival under chronic anxiety and unsurmountable bodily pain, which later evolved into depression and substance use in early adulthood.
There were expectations and responsibilities that no child should have to bear—caring for younger siblings, helping raise my teenage sister’s children, moving from school to school, and trying to find my place while being bullied as “the new girl.” The loneliness of those years shaped my body and mind to live in constant tension. I battled persistent joint pain, intense inflammation that affected my skin, sleep, and menstrual cycle and tension headaches so severe that even a simple turn of my neck could trigger a whiplash-like pain.
I don’t share this as a trauma story, but as a testimony. Even in the hardest moments, there was always a quiet desire within me to do better—to be better—even when I didn’t yet know what healing meant.
The Healing Power of Touch
What was missing in my life was love—and the understanding of unconditional love through touch. I didn’t grow up knowing the power of a genuine hug or what safe, nurturing contact felt like.
My first massage experience came from a woman named Angel—truly living up to her name. It happened three years before I would ever enroll in massage therapy school, but that day planted the seed that would become my life’s purpose.
I remember walking out of that chiropractic office in a silence I had never felt before—not the silence of emptiness, but of peace. My body wasn’t screaming anymore. It was listening.
“Healing doesn’t begin when the pain is gone. It begins the moment you choose to listen to your body.”
That session marked the beginning of something I wouldn’t fully understand until later: the awakening of my nervous system to what safety could feel like.
Coming Next…
Massage therapy became more than a career path—it became my gateway to reclaiming health, balance, and peace.
In my next post, I’ll share how massage therapy helped me reconnect my body, mind, and spirit—and how it can help you do the same.
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