Stress, something we are all too familiar with. There are few times in our lives that are not plagued by stress whether it’s at home, school, or work. However, in today’s evolving world we have seen stress levels skyrocket. We are turning to medication more and more for ourselves and our children to be able to combat the stress we are facing and the effects of it. So, how can we manage stress in our daily lives to be able to live our healthiest lives? First we have to understand what types of stress we are experiencing: physical, chemical, or emotional.
Let’s break down the 3 types of stress.
The most obvious type of stress is physical. Physical stress can be due to a major trauma such as a car accident, slip and fall, or sport injury. However, physical stress can be caused by minor traumas such as exercising, sitting at a desk for long periods, or poor posture. The repetitive daily motions can start to impact our body over time. These minor traumas build up to eventually equal a major trauma.
Chemical stress, this one we typically have the most control over. Chemical stress is due to foreign substances entering the body such as food, drink, medications, household products, or things we breathe in through the air. This is why organic/non-gmo foods, filtered drinking water, and choosing natural, non-toxic household products are so important. These things found in their most natural state are able to be better digested and absorbed through the body, as well as promote healthy organ function.
The last type of stress is emotional stress. This one is the most challenging. Emotional stress comes in many different forms. Healthy stress could look like planning a wedding or birthday party or getting a promotion at work. Unhealthy stress could look like adrenal fatigue, depression, or anxiety. Although complex, the mind is a very powerful thing. Our thoughts determine our overall well being. If you have a positive outlook on life, you reap the positive benefits; the opposite of this is also true.
Stress is inevitable. All of these forms of stress impact the function of the nervous system. Over time, the addition of all these different stress types build on each other which lead us getting stuck in a sympathetic mode, or what is more commonly known as the “fight or flight” response. Ideally, the body would be in a parasympathetic mode which means that the body feels safe enough to rest, digest, and heal from those stressors. If we are too far into the sympathetic response, our body will not be focused on optimal function but instead, survival. Whenever stress occurs, it’s important to focus on how your body responds to it. If your body and nervous system are already maxed out on stress levels and in that sympathetic response, your body has no more room for any other outside stressors. When you add in small stressors like lack of sleep or hydration, lack of bathroom habits, our body is now too overwhelmed to detox, reset and heal.
It is important to have a balance of these two systems. As neurologically-based chiropractors, we address these forms of stress and create a balance between the two different responses. Our gentle and specific techniques allow us to reduce the amount of nervous system stress in the body and allow your body to enter into the parasympathetics to be able to heal and have normal healthy function again.
Would you like to learn more? At Resilient Chiropractic, we would be honored to be part of your team! Please contact us with any questions at: (225) 242-9882.