People say that stress is part of life. No wonder studies show that about three-quarter of people face varying forms of stress on a daily basis. Whether it’s at home or on the job, stress is something that you have to learn to deal with. But, what exactly is stress? Stress refers to a state of being mentally, physically, or emotionally restrained by a difficult or demanding factor. It’s basically how you respond to the factors, commonly known as stressors.
The stressor can be a financial hardship, health challenge, bad relationship, anxiety or social pressure. You also stress your body if you don’t sleep or eat well. The problem with responding to stress is that your physical body, mind, and heart suffer. Some extreme forms of stress cause very serious health complications. It can also lead to death. The good news though is that there’s a treatment. You just need to talk to a chiropractor.
What’s Stress Like?
Stress comes in different forms and they all affect our lives in one way or another. Here are the general types:
- Environmental Stress
This is caused by environmental stressors like bad weather, noise, and high standards. For example, if you have set high expectations for a particular goal in life and you do not achieve it, it’ll stress you. Other environmental stressors that you should be aware of include:
- Crowding
- Poor air quality
- Social tension (pressure from friends)
- Natural disasters like earthquakes and floods
- Human disasters like war and conflict
- Emotional Stress
Emotional stress is the commonest form of human stress. It’s all about how you respond to things that disturb your mind. For example, criticism and failure are likely to stress you emotionally. Basically, the part affected is the brain but the effects are physically expressed. Some people will manifest stress in the form of mood changes, depression, and anger. The key to distressing, in this case, comes with finding mental relaxation. You have to find something that you can do to help you control your emotions and respond to stress more positively.
- Physical Stress
Physical stress has a physical source. It could be an injury, physical danger or poor nutrition. The stressors strain your physical body and to cope up, the body releases an emergency hormone known as adrenaline. However, the effects of adrenaline wear off after a while when the stress becomes overwhelming. In the end, stress wears your body and the effects are manifested physically. From sleep deprivation to weight loss, the symptoms are clear. Someone could actually tell that you are going through something that’s stressing you.
- Chemical Stress
This is mostly associated with chemical pollutants that exist in the environment. The pollutants not only stress your body but also often lead to health issues like heart disease, hypertension, asthma, and diabetes. The pollutants are many but the main ones are:
- Toxic industrial chemicals
- GMO foods
- Pesticides
- Herbicides
- Pharmaceuticals
- Dyes and stains
A majority of these pollutants get introduces into the body without your knowledge through ingestion or inhalation. It’s a common thing in the industrial job sector.
What Are the General Symptoms?
Generally, stress is characterized by the following symptoms:
- Anxiety and restlessness
- Pain, especially on the lower back and on the chest
- Low sex drive
- Reduced concentration
- Poor appetite
- Lack of personal drive
- Irritability
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Sleeping difficulties
- Body fatigue
- Depression
Chiropractic Treatment and Stress
The whole essence of seeing a chiropractor is not to eliminate stress but to treat its symptoms. Chiropractic treatment will help your body, especially the spine to regain its effectiveness. The point of focus is mostly the spine. Usually, a spinal misalignment or dysfunction interferes with the functioning of the nervous system. So, communication between the systems and the body is affected. A chiropractor is able to treat the misalignments to ensure that effective communication is restored.
The whole idea is to help you cope with the stress that you are going through and to bring the symptoms to a minimum. Overall, a chiropractor does the following to help you reduce stress levels:
- Looks after your spine to ensure that its nervous functions are well controlled
- Identifies issue on your spine which may be stressing it
- Restores the curvature of the spine to improve its general health
- Manage chronic pain, discomfort or tensions on your physical body
- Identify and manage mental stress
Chiropractic Treatment Options for Stress Alleviation
- Readjustment Therapy
Here, a chiropractor performs spinal manipulation on you. The aim of this therapy is to treat spinal misalignments (also known as subluxations). By treating subluxations, the physical stress that’s placed on your spine is minimized. In the end, spinal adjustments bring proper balance to your spine and this means improved nervous coordination.
- Muscle Release
Stress is likely to cause tension in your muscles. Tensed muscles interfere with your way of living. Your life becomes interrupted in a number of ways. For example, sleeping becomes a problem and motor coordination is impaired. By performing muscle release, which is a deep-tissue massage-like therapy, tension is released and you experience a feeling of relaxation.
- Exercise Therapy
Exercises help you to build physical and mental energy. The energy is important in getting rid of muscle tension and helping you relax. A chiropractor will recommend exercises that you can do when stressed. This will help you to have better control of your emotions.
- Relaxation Techniques
The hardest thing for someone when stressed is relaxing. Luckily, a chiropractor can help you do it. For starters, the expert helps you to find the right posture for relaxing. The chiropractor will recommend specific relaxation techniques that’ll improve your posture. Additionally, the expert may make the following recommendations:
- Listening to soothing music
- Observing meditation
- Practicing relaxed breathing
- Nutrition Advice
A chiropractor can also be your nutritionist when it comes to matters affecting your spine. You’ll be advised on the best foods and supplements that you can take to calm your nerves down and to boost spinal health. Of course, the aim is to use nutritional counseling to suppress the symptoms of stress and not entirely to treat the condition.
Closing Thought:
Generally, chiropractic treatment is a holistic approach that you need to manage different forms of stress. The treatment is good both for your physical and mental health. With no doubt, visiting a chiropractor is a good idea the next time you are weighed down by stress.
