Dealing with that pesky "stress" stuff...

In the last post we talked about "excessive" stress, and how this can lead to what I call the "cascade of poor health". The progression starts with stress- greater than we can handle- which then leads to dis-ease, and then to conditions, to symptoms, and finally to disease and death. We know that if we are already experiencing symptoms, we know our stress loads are too great.

So the answer is to pop a pill, and mask the symptoms, right? Not necessarily. It seems we have forgotten about the incredible healing power of the body.

Contrary to what you might believe, there is much we can do to increase our ability to handle stress in our lives. This is vitally important because we know that the body is capable of healing itself as long as the raw goods for good living are present, and there is no interferences within the nervous system. Overloads of stress cause the interference within the nervous system. The answer, or at least a step in the right direction, is to increase our ability to handle the high levels of stress that most of us live with.

It's pretty simple; Eat right and exercise.

I said simple, not easy. We have a lot of poor choices for living surrounding us; Fast foods, prepared foods, television, bars and other diversions. This is what makes it hard. For those of us who want to tap into the healing power of our bodies, our job is to take small steps towards good living. Add some fresh, organic foods into your daily meals. Start with a salad, if you don't normally eat greens. Try spending just a little more money and buy organic if you already are eating fruits and vegetables with at least one of your meals. Try cooking once per week (and make enough so you have left-overs for the following day or two). If you don't take supplements, buy and start taking a decent multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. Buy minimally processed prepared foods (I like Trader Joe's for some good selections in this area). Visit your local "farmers market"; these are becoming very popular, and there are some great little local farms around the Phoenix area, where I live. If you like to eat out, organic restaurants are becoming more popular, and easier to find. You don't have to change your whole lifestyle at once; a little change instituted here and there adds up over the year.

Exercise can be a challenge for a lot of us. However, you don't have to join a gym to start exercising. Walking is the simplest, easiest and cheapest way to begin an exercise program. You say you have bad knees? Try a ride on a bicycle. Don't like to sweat? Try swimming. You like lifting weights? Start light. Its widely know that its best to exercise a minimum of 20 minutes per day, but start with 5-10, and work your way up. My philosophy has always been to stop exercising at a point where you feel you can do more, and not wait until you feel you've done too much. That way, you always feel like you want to go back, rather than have to recover for a couple of days after because of the weekend warrior approach.

If you do already have health conditions then you will want to talk to a professional before you begin, to make sure that you don't hurt or injure yourself.

Take the first step, however big or small you decide. It generally leads to the next. Keep it simple, and share your journey with others. Do these positive changes get rid of the stress in our lives? Hardly. In fact, it doesn't change your stresses at all. However, it most definitely increases your ability to handle what stresses you are given, and it changes your perception of that stress. This is the biggest part of taking control of our health, by taking responsibility for what we do have control over- what we eat, and what activities we participate in.

Excessive stresses!

Lets talk about stress, because this is what causes all of the problems in someones body. Yes, all of the problems. Actually, it's probably more accurate to say "excessive" stress, as we all experience stress on a daily basis. In a nutshell, stress is merely a change from where you are now. When we move, think, laugh, cry, cough, change positions, eat- these are all examples of stress, because we are changing our thoughts, bodies or biochemistries. These are the three areas where we experience stress, also known as the three dimensions of life; the emotional, physical, and biochemical dimension.

Now most of us think of stress as bad, but the reality is that stress is happening to us at all times. As it is merely a change, those changes can be for the good, which is technically termed "eustress" or for the bad, "distress" (Our attitudes or perceptions really determine whether they are bad or good, but that's a topic for another post). Either way, our bodies are stressed. We need stress to grow and survive, and to thrive. Exercise, for example, is a "eustress", but even difficult situations (distress) are often needed for us to learn, and do things differently and for the better.

Our systems are set up to handle a certain amount of stress, and as long as we stay within the boundaries of those limits, we stay healthy. In my line of work, we call that your "adaptive potential". If we stay within those boundaries, but push at the limits, this actually expands our capacity to handle more stress. Again, think exercise- we might not be very good at a sport, and to push ourselves when we first begin training is often exhausting. But with a little time, we gain strength and can easily do what previously was difficult.

However, if we exceed our "adaptive potential" and go beyond our limits of handling stress, we reduce the boundaries of our "adaptive potential". Have you ever had a day where a lot of distress is happening to you? Say it starts in the morning, where you wake up late, get to work late, get an earful from the boss, have a poor day at the office, and then, when you get home, your partner or friend jokingly gives you a little grief, but you take their head off? You know, in your mind, that the comment from your partner or friend normally wouldn't irritate you, but by this point, your ability to handle that little bit of stress has been reduced, as well as your patience.

Our wonderful bodies are capable of healing from these "over stressed" days. Sleep, good food, and exercise are great ways to increase the adaptive capacity again. But severe overloads, like a trauma, or prolonged excessive stress, don't allow our bodies to recover, which then begin to break down. Hans Selye, for anyone who has ever studied psychology or sociology, wrote extensively about stress, and elaborated about our exposure to excessive stressors in his "General Adaptation Syndrome". He observed three stages; Alarm - where the excessive stress is first identified, Resistance- where the stress continues, and the body uses it's resources to cope, and lastly, Exhaustion- where the body no longer has the resources to deal with it, and starts to break down.

The easiest way to determine if you are under excessive stress is if you are experiencing any health concerns, or any symptoms. You would then be in the "exhaustion" phase. However, you don't have to wait until your body breaks down to determine if you are in overload, like within the "resistance" phase. I utilize some very sensitive equipment that measures the levels of stress you might be experiencing, before health concerns begin.

The big issue is that stress, and even excessive stress, is very present in these times. The key to wellness, and lasting good health, is to not only avoid situations that will overload your capacity to deal with stress, but to constantly expand your adaptive potential. We'll talk a little more about how to increase your ability to handle more stress with the next post.

Where did everyone get the idea that chiropractic was only about back pain?

As a physician who specializes in detecting and correcting interferences within the nervous system, I’m always surprised by the number of new patients of mine who come to me with one form or another of back pain. This could be in the form of neck pain, mid back pain, or lower back pain and sciatica. Believe me, I’m grateful for new patients, as that gives me the opportunity to educate more people in what my profession is truly about- restoring the integrity of the nervous system so the body can fully communicate with all parts, and heal itself.

Sure, a large part of our focus is on the spine, the place where the nerves travel down from the brain out to the body. It acts like a fuse box to absorb any increased stresses the body is under. And yes, when these fuses (the spinal joints) “blow”, the local spasms in the area create situations where other parts of the spine and rest of the body compensate for the resulting lack of movement. Indeed this is frequently the cause of back pain. Working with the spine (and other joints) with adjustments and muscle work “resets the fuses”, but it isn’t the work that heals the body. The “reset” restores the normal movement, and the normal communication, and the body goes back to doing what it does best- healing itself.

What surprises me is when other health issues arise, many people don’t think of a chiropractor as someone to help. Perhaps it’s a digestive issue, or an issue with faltering eyesight, or numbness in their hands. Whatever it is, there may be an issue with the spine or other joints that could contribute to the lack of healing. I’m not saying that every health issue can be solved by a chiropractic adjustment, only that if my body isn’t able to heal itself, perhaps that can be partly due to poor communication of the nervous system. Isn’t it worth a check to see if there is interference within your nervous system, if it’s your body that can’t heal, from any health concern, not just back pain? Getting checked is easy, painless, and relatively inexpensive.

Don’t get me started on how important this is in creating real wellness… oops, too late. Stay tuned.