Stress

It is impossible to avoid stress. Everything alive is under stress; it is it not necessarily bad for you. All activities cause stress. While one person under stress can get sick, another person will feel it as invigorating! (1)

Good and Bad Stress

Have you ever been bored to tears? These are times of too little stress. But on the opposite end, you can have so much stress that you develop a physical or emotional disease. When handled properly, stress is interpreted as a life challenge with all the corresponding growth and excitement. Times of great stress can be times of great insight, accomplishment, creativity and growth. Many a famous artist, explorer, and scientist’s biography have revealed such patterns. If stress does not cultivate a time to grow, thrive and renew it can result in dullness and disease.

Haven’t you heard that stress is the one of the most destructive elements in our daily lives? That is not exactly true. This is the truth -- the way we react to stress is much more important than the existence of stress itself. (2)

What Happens when you face stress?

Our bodies react to stress with a complicated process of chemical and nerve impulses that creates the general adaptation syndrome or G.A.S. These are the three stages:

1. The alarm reaction. Your brain conducts a fight or flight response by
   sending messages to your endocrine (your hormones) system. When and if the
   stress stops, you revert to normal.
2. Continued Stress. You body will enter a stage of resistance as it tries to adapt
   to the stress. As you run or fight your threat, the body tenses, raises your
   temperature and attempts to win. If the stress stops, you revert to normal.
3. If stress continues you may enter the exhaustion stage. At this stage your
   systems are very likely to experience ill health. (3)

Chronic Stress

Long ago, we would stress about a bear or tiger chasing us. You would have run away or fought and killed it causing your stress to disappear.

Today’s stress usually has less to do with life and death. More so today people find themselves having to cope with stresses like making a living, fighting with a spouse, or paying bills. Since these stressors are not something you kill or run away from, it causes chronic, unresolved stress.

Living with chronic stress means you never completely relax, you are drained of energy, and your mind and body are fatigued. This makes you more susceptible to colds, high blood pressure, arthritis, heart disease, digestive troubles, ulcers, infections, and premature aging.

How can we deal with chronic stress?

We are likely to have a weakened immune system under chronic stress.(4) Companionship and having ‘a shoulder to cry on’ helps you deal with stress. Relationships have been shown to increase life expectancy and help fight diseases, including cancer.(5>6) Pets can also be great companions because their support is unconditional. In a study, elderly pet owners had less visits to their doctors compared to those who did not own pets.(7)

Another stress reliever is prayer and meditation. In a study of 2,000 individuals who practiced meditation their ailments were significantly reduced, in particular tumors and infectious diseases.(8) Another study examines writing and how it can have a powerful healing effect. Those who wrote in journals reduced their symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.(9)

Chiropractic and Stress

One simple way to reduce your stress is to have periodic chiropractic spinal adjustments. The vertebral subluxation complex, a severe, and destructive chronic stress, is often painless. It distorts your body, effecting your nerves and spine and stresses you out, both physically and emotionally.

Subluxations can be in your body for years and without your conscious knowledge they undermine your health. What can be affected? Your energy level drops, you age faster, disease develops and subluxations will increase the wear and tear on your body. This can be compared to a house with termites… no apparent damage until the floor collapses.

Doctors of chiropractic are specialists in correction of the vertebral subluxation complex. Chiropractic care removes the stress of subluxations, thus freeing the body, improving nervous system function. Without the addition of internal stress you are better able to cope with the physical and emotional stress of daily life. In addition, you will heal better from disease, your body will function at an optimal level and your enjoyment of life will increase. (10>13)

Is chronic stress interrupting your enjoyment of life and health? What about your loved ones? Have a spinal check up to find out.

1 Selye H. The Stress of Life. NY: McGraw-Hill. 1984:xv.
2 Siegal B. Love, Medicine and Miracles. NY: Harper & Row. 1986:70.
3 Selye H. The Stress of Life. NY: McGraw-Hill. 1984:79.
4 Cohen S, et al. Psychological stress and susceptibility to the common cold. N. Engl. J Med.
1991;325:606-612.
5 Cohen S, Doyle W, Skoner D. Social ties and susceptibility to the common cold. JAMA. 1997;277(24).
6 Spiegel D, et al. Effect of psychosocial treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer. The Lancet. October 14, 1989.
7 Bower B. Science News. Nov. 2, 1991:285.