Tai Chi: Why it Treats American Practitioners’ Stress Effectively

Word Count: 2113

AP Capstone Seminar
Individual Written Argument
May 20, 2021
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Tai Chi: Why it Treats American Practitioners’ Stress Effectively

Excessive stress has long been a looming menace in America. Defined by the celebrated

endocrinologist Hans Selye as a “nonspecific response of the body to any demand”1—stress has

permeated society since the birth of civilization. However, it has proven to be more endemic to

American society in recent years. In their jointly written journal article in the Proceedings of the

National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, the Nobel laureates Daniel

Kahneman and Angus Deaton assert that, as of 2010, America is the fifth most stressed country

out of a ranking of 151 countries.2 America’s emergence as the fifth most stressed country

substantiates that its citizens have become more stressed than the inhabitants of most other

countries.

It is important to note that stressors evoke a stressed response in an individual.3 The

American Psychological Association has found that issues like healthcare and the economy are

common stressors on a national scale: healthcare elicited a feeling of stress in 43 percent of

Americans, and the economy stresses 35 percent of Americans.4 In other words, Americans are

distressed by the need to ensure a stable income and maintain a livable state of health. Because

stressors like healthcare and the economy are prevalent daily, many Americans suffer from

chronic stress. Chronic stress’s ubiquity affirms that stress is habitual in America and

inextricable from the fabric of American society. Because of this deduction, one can claim that

Americans live in an ‘epidemic’ of chronic stress.

1
Siang Yong Tan and A. Yip, “Hans Selye (1907–1982): Founder of the Stress Theory,” Singapore Medical
Journal 59, no. 4 (2018): 170, https://doi.org/10.11622/smedj.2018043.
2
Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton, “High Income Improves Evaluation of Life But Not Emotional
Well-being,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107, no. 38
(September 2010): 16490, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1011492107.
3
Tan and Yip, “Hans Selye (1907–1982): Founder,” 170.
4
Stress In America: The State of Our Nation (Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association,
2017), https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2017/state-nation.pdf.
 2

Additionally, the current chronic stress epidemic poses a threat to the health of the

American people. According to psychiatrist Mohd. Razali Salleh, chronic stress contributes

significantly to the United States’s (US) six most common causes of death: these ills include

cardiovascular diseases, cancer, accidental injuries, respiratory disorders, cirrhosis of the liver,

and suicide.5 The US’s common causes of death exemplify that Americans who encounter

chronic stress are likely to contract fatal diseases. Without any exaggeration—and to be brutally

blunt about it—chronic stress kills. The commonness of stress-induced diseases and death in the

US suggests that most chronic stress treatments have been ineffective.

Common American coping mechanisms for stress are ineffective because they are

predictive of substance use and abuse. Psychiatry professor Rajita Sinha of the Yale University

School of Medicine points out that many Americans use psychoactive drugs that alter

consciousness, mood, and thoughts, among other substances, to alleviate their stress

temporarily.6 Notably, Americans exposed to pharmacological (drug) treatments are highly

susceptible to addiction. Professor Sinha reports that many Americans are afflicted by the habit

of “regular and binge use of many psychoactive drugs”—an addiction to those drugs serves as an

additional pharmacological stressor.7 Generally speaking, when psychoactive drugs are

consumed per the current American trend, the drugs create stress instead of alleviating it. Besides

inducing additional stress, pharmacological treatments are ineffective in reducing stress.

Antidepressant medication is a prominent unavailing treatment for stress: a study conducted by

the Journal of Anxiety Disorders highlights that between one-third and one-half of patients on a

5
Mohd Razali Salleh, “Life Event, Stress and Illness,” The Malaysian Journal of Medical
Sciences 15, no. 4 (2008): 9, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3341916/pdf/mjms-15-4-009.pdf.
6
Rajita Sinha, “Chronic Stress, Drug Use, and Vulnerability to Addiction,” Annals of the New York
Academy of Sciences 1141, no. 1 (October 2008): 105, https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1441.030.
7
Sinha, 106.
 3

modern antidepressant do not achieve sustained remission from anxiety.8 Using pharmacological

therapeutics, especially antidepressants, is a weak stress reduction method for the American

population. This conclusion underscores the imperative of using non-pharmacological treatments

that alleviates the stress of Americans effectively and mitigates America’s stress epidemic.

Since pharmacological treatments to stress are ineffective, alternatives such as

non-pharmacological therapies should be explored. While pharmacological treatments prevail in

the US, physical activities, the predominant non-pharmacological treatment, are also present in

great detail.9 The significant presence of physical activities as a stress reducer in the US

accentuates that they are currently used on a large scale effectively. Neuroscience professor

Alicia Garcia-Falgueras carried out extensive research on the neurophysiological—the study of

the functioning of the nervous system—benefits of physical activities in her article,

“Psychological Benefits of Sports and Physical Activities.” She asserts that practicing sports help

to “release our own tensions and to reduce our stress level.”10 Through their reduction of stress,

physical activities help Americans improve their physical and mental wellbeing. Not to mention,

Garcia-Falgueras’s expansive findings suggest that all physical activities help relieve stress in

one way or another.

Americans view physical activities as alternative medicines—treatments used instead of

mainstream therapies like drugs11—to successfully treat their stress. A leading physical activity

in alternative medicine is Tai Chi (TC), a Chinese internal martial art and calisthenic developed

8
Frank J. Farach et al., “Pharmacological Treatment of Anxiety Disorders: Current Treatments and Future
Directions,” Journal of Anxiety Disorders 26, no. 8 (December 2012): 833,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.07.009.
9
American Psychological Association, “Stress a Major Health Problem in the U.S., Warns APA,”
https://www.apa.org, 2007, https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2007/10/stress.
10
Alicia Garcia-Falgueras, “Psychological Benefits of Sports and Physical Activities,” British Journal of
Education, Society & Behavioural Science 11, no. 4 (2015): 2, https://doi.org/10.9734/bjesbs/2015/21865.
11
Marino A. Bruce et al., “Contemplative Practices: A Strategy to Improve Health and Reduce Disparities,”
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 10 (October 2018): 3,
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102253.
 4

for thousands of years. Dubbed a mind-body exercise, TC incorporates sequences of flowing

movements that induce “changes in mental focus, breathing, coordination, and relaxation.”12

TC’s engagement of the mind and body in a peaceful manner points to its potential for stress

reduction and promoting internal equanimity.

Because Americans seek potent treatments for chronic stress, they turn to effective

alternative medicines like TC to decrease their anxiety: Dr. Ryan Abbott and Dr. Helen

Lavretsky of the University of California, Los Angeles’s Geffen School of Medicine convey that,

as of 2002, there were “more than 2.5 million Tai Chi users” in the US, wielding TC to treat and

prevent psychosomatic, stress-related disorders.13 Practitioners also exhibited that they used TC

to treat existing anxiety without resorting to professional medical treatment. Therefore, for its

practitioners, TC practice decreases the stress that stems from the previously noted need to

maintain a livable state of health, serving as a preventive method that reinforces stress reduction.

Even more, the magnitude of American TC users who use the technique for stress alleviation

clarifies that TC is, at the moment, a suitable stress-reduction method in the country that needs to

be examined in depth.

In contrast, due to the high population of TC users who live in retirement communities,

one could think that TC is strictly an exercise for the elderly; however, experts find that TC is

still an excellent exercise for health for people of all ages.14 Due to its comprehensive benefits,

TC displays that Americans of diverse age groups practice it. TC being a popular stress-relieving

exercise in the US begs the question: to what extent does TC serve as an effective stress

12
Ryan Abbott and Helen Lavretsky, “Tai Chi and Qigong for the Treatment and Prevention of Mental
Disorders,” Psychiatric Clinics of North America 36, no. 1 (March 2013): 109,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2013.01.011.
13
Ibid.
14
Don M. Tow, “A Call for More Comprehensive, Systematic, and In-Depth Investigation of the Health
Benefits of Taiji and Qigong,” The International Journal of Science in Society 4, no. 2 (2013): 91,
https://doi.org/10.18848/1836-6236/cgp/v04i02/51381.
 5

management technique for its practitioners in America? Stress reduction using TC encompasses

three primary forms: physiology, psychology, and spirit. Unlike any other medically alternative

stress treatment, TC uses all three modes of stress reduction mentioned above; consequently, TC

is a highly effective stress management technique.

Firstly, TC’s most apparent form of stress reduction is through physiology. In particular,

TC helps the body’s heart and blood flow under the cardiovascular system to manage stress.

Research from the Journal of Clinical Psychology stipulates that TC practitioners reduce a stress

hormone called cortisol, which is responsible for strengthening heart contractions and blood

flow.15 Thus, TC’s physiological stress-reduction capabilities are proven because of decreasing

levels of cortisol in the bloodstream. Related to cortisol is the high intensity of blood flow or

blood pressure in the body. Besides, TC has a benevolent effect on high-risk populations with

hypertension or high blood pressure—a common physiological symptom of chronic stress.16 Dr.

Gloria Yeh and colleagues of Harvard University School of Medicine report that TC

“significantly reduces blood pressure” in practitioners.17 Reduction of blood pressure and

cortisol, both physical impacts of TC, accentuates TC’s stress-relieving ability to combat the

American stress epidemic. Moreover, reducing blood pressure profoundly reduces susceptibility

to physiological disorders like cardiovascular disease, previously mooted as a foremost cause of

death in the US.18 Despite benevolent physiological effects, one may question whether the

benefits mentioned earlier are prevalent in comparable physical activities.

15
Shuai Zheng et al., “The Effects of Twelve Weeks of Tai Chi Practice on Anxiety in Stressed But Healthy
People Compared to Exercise and Wait‐List Groups–A Randomized Controlled Trial,” Journal of Clinical
Psychology 74, no. 1 (2018): 92, https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22482.
16
Gloria Y. Yeh et al., “The Effect of Tai Chi Exercise on Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review,”
Preventive Cardiology 11, no. 2 (2008): 84, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-7141.2008.07565.x.
17
Ibid.
18
Salleh, “Life Event, Stress and Illness,” 9.
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In analyzing physiological effectiveness, one should compare TC to similar body-only

interventions for stress reduction. The International Journal of Nursing Studies contends that TC

is superior to brisk walking, a comparable body-only intervention, when alleviating the harmful

effects of stress on the cardiovascular system.19 Thus, it can be understood that activities such as

brisk walking are less effective in reducing practitioners’ physiological stress. Besides providing

more minor physiological benefits through stress reduction, brisk walking is limited in its

capacity to provide for a diverse demographic of practitioners, namely the frail and chronically

ill. Meanwhile, a clinical implication of TC is that it may be “appropriate for patients unable or

unwilling to engage in other forms of physical activity,” says Dr. Yeh and partners. 20 TC’s ease of

practice fosters stress reduction and, in turn, an improvement of wellbeing to all potential

American practitioners.

In addition to TC’s impacts on physiological stress, its benefit on psychological stress is

equally evident. According to the International Journal of Science in Society, TC is also called

moving meditation because its strategic breathing produces appreciable psychological

ramifications.21 TC’s favorable psychological effects suggest that it mitigates the prevalence of

anxiety in American practitioners. A twelve-week study conducted by psychology professors in

the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that TC reduced chronic stress in the mind for the long

run, which, in turn, reduced anxiety.22 A long-term reduction in chronic stress and anxiety

amplifies that TC delivers desired psychological results to American practitioners. Accordingly,

TC relieves American practitioners of the most severe anxiety disorders. A study published by

19
Aileen Wai Kiu Chan et al., “Tai Chi Exercise Is More Effective than Brisk Walking in Reducing
Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors among Adults with Hypertension: A Randomised Controlled Trial,”
International Journal of Nursing Studies 88, no. 1 (December 2018): 45,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2018.08.009.
20
Yeh et al., “The Effect of Tai Chi Exercise,” 86.
21
Tow “A Call for More Comprehensive, Systematic, and In-Depth Investigation,” 95.
22
Zheng et al., “The Effects of Twelve Weeks of Tai Chi,” 88.
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Dr. Barbara Niles and colleagues of the Boston University School of Medicine presents that after

four sessions of TC introduction, American veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, an

acute anxiety disorder, experienced a reduction in several negative symptoms such as “intrusive

symptoms, concentration difficulties and physiological arousal.”23 A decrease in harmful

symptoms means that TC helps American practitioners with psychological disorders rooted in

chronic stress feel more comfortable in their day-to-day lives.

Additionally, mindfulness meditation has shown to be a complementary mind-only

treatment to TC. Dr. Niles and colleagues also mention that mindfulness meditation reduces

negative Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms in practitioners with the disorder.24

Assuaging the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder illustrates why mindfulness meditation

is also revered for its practitioners’ treatment. However, TC is a more efficacious treatment than

mindfulness meditation because it incorporates aspects of moving meditation and encourages

practitioners to focus on physiology. Dr. Niles and her associates continue by pointing out that

TC encourages practitioners to be conscious of the “present moment,” a component of

mindfulness meditation, as well as of “body positions and sensations,” a phenomenon unique to

TC.25 The combination of mind and body exercise into one practice allows practitioners to reap

the physiological and psychological benefits of TC. Providing TC practitioners with the

advantage of cleansing starkly different body systems of chronic stress undoubtedly

differentiates TC from other alternative medicines.

Moreover, TC’s distinctiveness emanates from its emphasis on spirituality. The spirit

factor in TC's stress reduction considers the vital life-affirming energy that one feels during and

23
Barbara L Niles et al., “Feasibility, Qualitative Findings and Satisfaction of a Brief Tai Chi Mind–Body
Programme for Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms,” BMJ Open 6, no. 11 (November 2016): 6,
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012464.
24
Niles et al., 2.
25
Ibid.
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after practicing the method. By engaging in TC practice, practitioners increase the flow of

Qi—believed to be an abstract life force or energy—in their bodies; Qi flows through invisible

channels called meridians, and, in body vessels where it is concentrated, Qi fosters vitality, good

health, and resilience.26 The increased circulation of Qi in practitioners’ bodies implies that they

will continue to live in welfare as long as users continue to practice TC. Indeed, maintaining a

good state of health through Qi production prevents the rise of stress related to healthcare

procurement in America. To further understand the role of Qi in reducing the stress of American

practitioners, it can be interpreted as positive energy. This positive energy increases one's

spiritual awareness and compassion, mitigating stress that originates from social interaction and

enabling individuals to reach a state of pure being.27 Attaining a state of pure being proves that

TC liberates American practitioners of their chronic stress woes while encouraging users to

self-actualize. Furthermore, TC's success in reducing stress rooted in physiology, psychology,

and spirit elucidates that it is highly capable of improving the lives of all American practitioners.

Ultimately, TC’s effectiveness as a stress reducer is unparalleled in other physical

activities. American practitioners who use TC to shield themselves from chronic stress and

stress-related disorders are well-protected from any previously mentioned vices because TC

alleviates physiological, psychological, and spiritual stress. Therefore, practitioners’ bodies

internally and externally experience remission from anxiety due to TC. However, another angle

on TC efficacy suggests practitioner lifestyles can impact the degree to which health benefits,

including reduced stress, are obtained. Human development experts found that statistically

significant “interactions were seen between curricular complexity and diet quality.”28 Thus, the

26
Tow, “A Call for More Comprehensive, Systematic, and In-Depth Investigation,” 94.
27
Bruce et al., “Contemplative Practices: A Strategy to Improve Health,” 5.
28
Matthew F. Komelski, Rosemary Blieszner, and Yasuo Miyazaki, “Curriculum, Practice, and Diet Predict
Health among Experienced Taiji and Qigong Practitioners,” The Journal of Alternative and Complementary
Medicine 22, no. 2 (February 2016): 157, https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2015.0071.
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rigor of the TC practice and diet affects received health benefits to a certain extent. Nevertheless,

there is overwhelming evidence suggesting that generous health benefits through stress reduction

are still received by practicing TC, benefitting American practitioners. Finally, to effectively

reduce chronic stress for more Americans, TC should be taught to a more significant number of

them: to do so, more research needs to be conducted to gauge how Americans will respond to the

idea and how organizations will implement it.

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Bibliography

Abbott, Ryan, and Helen Lavretsky. “Tai Chi and Qigong for the Treatment and Prevention of
Mental Disorders.” Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 36 no. 1 (March 2013):
109–19, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2013.01.011.

American Psychological Association. “Stress a Major Health Problem in the U.S., Warns APA.”
https://www.apa.org. 2007. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2007/10/stress.

Bruce, Marino A., Kia Skrine Jeffers, Jan King Robinson, and Keith C. Norris. “Contemplative
Practices: A Strategy to Improve Health and Reduce Disparities.” International Journal
of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15 no. 10 (October 2018): 1-9,
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102253.

Chan, Aileen Wai Kiu, Sek Ying Chair, Diana Tze Fan Lee, Doris Yin Ping Leung, Janet Wing
Hung Sit, Ho Yu Cheng, and Ruth E. Taylor-Piliae. “Tai Chi Exercise Is More Effective
Than Brisk Walking in Reducing Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Adults
with Hypertension: A Randomised Controlled Trial.” International Journal of Nursing
Studies, 88 no. 1 (December 2018): 44–52, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2018.08.009.

Farach, Frank J., Larry D. Pruitt, Janie J. Jun, Alissa B. Jerud, Lori A. Zoellner, and Peter P.
Roy-Byrne. “Pharmacological Treatment of Anxiety Disorders: Current Treatments and
Future Directions.” Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26 no. 8 (December 2012): 833–43,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.07.009.

Garcia-Falgueras, Alicia. “Psychological Benefits of Sports and Physical Activities.” British

Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, 11 no. 4 (2015): 1–7,
https://doi.org/10.9734/bjesbs/2015/21865.

Kahneman, Daniel, and Angus Deaton. "High Income Improves Evaluation of Life But Not
Emotional Well-being." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United
States of America, 107 no. 38 (2010): 16489-93,
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1011492107.

Komelski, Matthew F., Rosemary Blieszner, and Yasuo Miyazaki. “Curriculum, Practice, and
Diet Predict Health among Experienced Taiji and Qigong Practitioners.” The Journal of
Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 22 no. 2 (February 2016): 154–59,
https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2015.0071.

Niles, Barbara L, DeAnna L Mori, Craig P Polizzi, Anica Pless Kaiser, Annie M Ledoux, and
Chenchen Wang. “Feasibility, Qualitative Findings and Satisfaction of a Brief Tai Chi
Mind–Body Programme for Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms.” BMJ Open,
6 no. 11 (November 2016): 1-10, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012464.

Salleh, Mohd Razali. “Life Event, Stress and Illness.” The Malaysian Journal of Medical
 11

Sciences, 15 no. 4 (2008): 9-18,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3341916/pdf/mjms-15-4-009.pdf.

Sinha, Rajita. “Chronic Stress, Drug Use, and Vulnerability to Addiction.” Annals of the New
York Academy of Sciences, 1141 no. 1 (October 2008): 105–30,
https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1441.030.

Stress In America: The State of Our Nation. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological
Association, 2017. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2017/state-nation.pdf.

Tan, Siang Yong, and A Yip. “Hans Selye (1907–1982): Founder of the Stress Theory.”
Singapore Medical Journal, 59 no. 4 (April 2018): 170–71,
https://doi.org/10.11622/smedj.2018043.

Tow, Don M. “A Call for More Comprehensive, Systematic, and In-Depth Investigation of the
Health Benefits of Taiji and Qigong.” The International Journal of Science in Society, 4
no. 2 (2013): 91-99, https://doi.org/10.18848/1836-6236/cgp/v04i02/51381.

Yeh, Gloria Y., Chenchen Wang, Peter M. Wayne, and Russell S. Phillips. “The Effect of Tai Chi
Exercise on Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review.” Preventive Cardiology, 11 no. 2
(2008): 82-89, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-7141.2008.07565.x.

Zheng, Shuai, Christine Kim, Sara Lal, Peter Meier, David Sibbritt, and Chris Zaslawski. “The
Effects of Twelve Weeks of Tai Chi Practice on Anxiety in Stressed But Healthy People
Compared to Exercise and Wait‐List Groups–A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Journal
of Clinical Psychology, 74 no. 1 (2018): 83-92, https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22482.