One of the structural problems
addressed by chiropractic care is a "facilitated segment." This is a
section of your spinal cord that is being bombarded by too many nerve signals.
These nerve signals arrive at the wrong times and in too great a quantity.
Physical pain and other diseases and disorders can develop as a result of a
facilitated segment. Stress makes facilitated segments
(and their effects) worse. By aligning your spine this helps to reduce and
resolve these irritated segments of your spinal cord. As a result, the stresses
in your life have a less physiological impact. You can become better at interacting
with people and situations, and even become better able to manage stress.
We
live in stressful times.
The economy is tough, global conflicts rage, severe weather events are
affecting people in every corner of the globe, and our numerous technological
devices don't seem to be making things any easier. Of course, this is nothing
new. Every generation thinks theirs is the best of times and the worst of
times. But the result is that people everywhere have high levels of stress.
Sometimes stress is a positive
thing. Mechanical stress, such as exercise, causes your muscles and bones to
become stronger and your nervous system to become smarter. Taking on a new
assignment at work or taking a challenging class in school may be stressful,
but the effort involved in achieving a successful result can cause you to grow
and develop in ways that you might not have imagined. After all, the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously said "what doesn't kill you makes you
stronger."
Daily chronic physical and
mental stress is NOT good for us! Chronic stress causes real psychological and
physical problems. People undergoing chronic stress may develop anxiety, which
if not managed effectively may lead to depression. Chronic stress may lead to a
variety of disorders and diseases, including arthritis, inflammatory conditions
such as Crohn's disease, gastrointestinal problems, diabetes, high blood
pressure, and even heart attacks or stroke. As we are all subject to numerous
stresses every day, both personal and work-related, it's very important for us
to develop strategies that will be successful in helping us manage ongoing
stresses.
The most important method for
managing stress is to attempt to focus your point-of-view, your frame of
reference, on the present moment. Our minds are constantly in motion, constantly at work
creating new thoughts and new scenarios regarding some potentially stressful
situation, or rehashing old conversations, old conflicts, and old problems.
Many times focusing on problems that we have no influence or control over yet
we stress ourselves out. The
result is that we're almost never at peace. When we try to sit down and relax
for a bit, it's never too long before our minds start bringing up the exact
things we'd like to be able to forget or ignore, at least for a little while.
Most of us can't flip a metaphorical switch and shut off our incessant stream
of mostly negative self-talk. But we can learn to remind ourselves to return to
the present, to come back to this moment, the one that's happening now.
The best way to do this is to
ask yourself, "is this [what I'm thinking about] happening right
now?" If you can see that what's happening now is that you're sitting in a
chair reading the newspaper, you have a good chance of being able to let go of
what your mind is talking to you about. Say to yourself, "I'm right here,
right now, and none of that other stuff is actually happening right now."
This will help you create some
distance from your self-talk, and the self-talk may even recede into the
background for a while. The feeling of calm you might then experience is one
you can build on. The more you practice returning to the moment, the more power
you gain in being able to manage the stress in your life. Join us at our Sacramento,
CA Better Brain Thinking Workshops for strategies to a calmer mind.
(916) 973-1661
1Bener
A, et al: Association between psychological distress and gastrointestinal
symptoms in diabetes mellitus. World J Diabetes 3(6):123-129, 2012
2 van Dijk, AE, et al: The association between prenatal psychosocial stress and blood pressure in the child at age 5-7 years. PLoS One 7(8):e43548, 2012
3 Pereira VH, et al: Stressed brain, diseased heart: A review
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