What a hot topic – who isn’t stressed these days?
There are three main stresses that the body encounters – structural, chemical and mental. Everyone suffers from one or more of these stressors and this adds up to one unhealthy nation. For over 10 years I have been developing different techniques in my office to counterbalance all three.
Structural Stress
First of all let me provide a brief example of all three stresses. Structural stress occurs when the muscles or joints are not functioning properly. This could be caused by sitting at a desk all day at work, which may cause body stiffness, getting into a car wreck, or just by playing sports. In order to counterbalance this stress, one should see a chiropractor. Through numerous studies performed by governments worldwide have proved that chiropractic care is by far the most cost effective, least invasive and most importantly safest way to deal with structural stress. Chiropractors are not limited to spinal adjustments. If you have any muscle or joint pain or discomfort anywhere in your body chiropractic care is your best choice for this stress management.
Chemical Stress
Chemical stress is caused by what we ingest through food, water and air. There are over 10,000 chemical additives in our food supply. The average American ingests 14 pounds of additives, 158 pounds of sugar, and 8 pounds of salt per year! This is way more than the body’s organs were designed to handle. We are constantly ingesting heavy metals such as mercury, lead, arsenic, and many more everyday again through the air we breath, water we drink and food we eat. At the Functional Medicine & Wellness Center, we have specially-designed programs to help patients rid their bodies of these toxins, also known as detoxification. (Please do not attempt to detox on your own seek the help of a trained Physician as detoxing can be extremely dangerous if not done correctly.) A stress management technique you can do at home is eat as much raw organic fruits and vegetables as possible. Eat organic free-range chicken, beef and fish when possible. Drink reverse osmosis purified water and eliminate your intake of all soda, diet soda and heavily processed foods.
Mental/Emotional Stress
Mental/Emotional stress is the most common of all three stresses Mental/emotional stress stems from issues dealing with family, romance, work, and/or finance. Many of use often think that because this stress is not physical that it has no bearing on our bodies. In a recent study, it was been proven that the same receptor sites for the neurotransmitters in the brain are on your immune system as well. Meaning that the thoughts you think have a direct impact on your health and your immune system. This is why someone who has a huge mental burden, such as the loss of a loved one, can become ill within a very short period of time. These people really need stress management.
Another example is that of sports psychology and mental imaging study where they attached electrodes to an Olympic athlete and mapped the muscles that fire when they are actually doing an event. While mentally imagining this event with the electrodes attached, they noticed that the exact same muscles fired at the exact same time. In my clinical experience this mental/emotional stress component left unaddressed can be the most debilitating and disease causing of all the stresses. In our office we have developed specific techniques to counterbalance the negative effects of this stress that may include acupressure with mental focusing along with homeopathic supplementation when necessary.