How To Overcome Stress, And How Neurologically Chiropractic Can Help
It's interesting how there are certain books we remember, seemingly forever. One text I read more than 50 years ago in university was "Stress For Life" by Hans Selye, the Canadian-Austrian doctor. The principles he espoused are as valid today as they were in the 1960s.
Selye introduced the concept of the General Adaptative Syndrome, which explains the mechanism of how the body and mind respond to stress. Selye broke down the reaction into three stages: Alarm, Resistance and Exhaustion.
Alarm
This is the initial stress reaction. It can be psychological, emotional or physical. The alarm reaction is a protective mechanism––initially. You are in a forest, and suddenly, 100 feet in front of you, a bear appears, and it sees you. The immediate reaction is "fight or flight". The body releases increased amounts of substances like cortisol and adrenaline.
In this state, the body sets into motion the appropriate physiological changes through the sympathetic nervous system: increased heart rate, increased breathing, dilation of the pupils, and a shutting down of the gut.
A more subtle form of alarm could be when your boss puts a file on your desk that you must summarize and report on in two hours. While your life is not threatened in this scenario, your sympathetic nervous system can react similarly to the bear scenario.
The problem with the alarm phase is if we don't have a threat, but the body behaves as if there is a threat. This is a big issue in the age we live in.
Resistance
In this stage, the body attempts to resist or neutralize the stressor. Since the body has a built-in balance mechanism, it will try to marshal the other half of your autonomous nervous system––the parasympathetic nerves. In this stage, the heart rate and blood pressure are lowered, and digestion is enhanced. Parasympathetic nerves release acetylcholine, which is a neurotransmitter.
The Vagus Nerve is activated, which slows some "fight or flight reactions." During this stage, a person can be irritable and have difficulty concentrating.
Exhaustion
Suppose the stress continues indefinitely and doesn't diminish. In that case, the body becomes exhausted and continues to attempt to alleviate the stress but can't. In time, this can lead to chronic and severe health problems.
Depression, insomnia, anxiety and fatigue can be ongoing symptoms, especially if a person is dealing with constant stress in their lives.
Unfortunately, today, many are suffering from ongoing stress reactions that put their body into a hypervigilant state with a dominant sympathetic nervous system. The solution is to enhance the participation of the parasympathetic nervous system so the body becomes more orderly and balanced.
Enhancing the functioning of the Vagus Nerve is a vital strategy to combat stress.
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