Stress. How can we eliminate it from our lives? We can¹t. Stress is inescapable. To be alive is to be under stress. However, stress is not necessarily bad.

Hans Selye, the world¹s foremost stress researcher, explains: No one can live without experiencing some degree of stress all the time. You may think that only serious disease or intensive physical or mental injury can cause stress. This is false. Crossing a busy intersection, exposure to a draft, or even sheer joy are enough to activate the bodies stress mechanism to some extent. Stress is not even necessarily bad for you. It is also the spice of life since any emotion or any activity causes stress. But, of course, your system must be prepared to take it. The same stress which makes one person sick can be an invigorating experience for another. The way we react to stress appears to be more important than the stress itself.

With too little stress we¹d be bored and with too much stress we'd develop emotional and physical disease. Properly handled, however, stress can mean a life of challenge, excitement and growth. For example, the biographies of famous scientists, explorers, artists, writers, entertainers, business people, and reveal that times of intense personal stress are also times of insight, creativity, accomplishment, and personal growth.

A stressor is anything that causes stress. A stressor can be as simple as a speck of dust or pollen or as complex as a first date. It can be as uneventful as going for a walk or as dramatic as exploratory surgery.

A lot of complicated things go on inside of us when we face a stressor. Various chemicals and nerve impulses flow in a predictable way called the General Adaptation Syndrome or G.A.S., which occurs in three stages.

1. In the face of a stressor or stressors, the body quickly prepares itself for confrontation. Messages from the brain cause the hormone system to respond in an alarm reaction known as the fight or flight response. If the stress stops, we revert to normal.

2. If the stress continues, our bodies attempt to adapt and we enter the resistance phase. We fight the stress by tensing our muscles and struggling to maintain normal bodily functions.

3. When stress continues even longer we may pass into a stage of exhaustion since our bodies cannot remain indefinitely primed for action. With chronic stress the body and mind never completely relax-the muscles are tense, energy is drained, and the body is fatigued. We are more susceptible to immune problems, ulcers, digestive problems, high blood pressure, asthma, arthritis, colds, infection, heart disease, and premature aging. This permanent cycle of alarm, resistance and exhaustion can slowly rob one of health and vitality.

An important form of stress is nutritional stress. Reducing the amount of highly refined and processed foods, concentrated sugars and foods grown on depleted soils and replacing them with more natural selections reduces nutritional stress. A healthier body is better able to deal with the stresses of life.
 
Chiropractic adjustments can assist in coping with stress. When stress persists the body becomes tight like a knot. Tight muscles pull on spinal joints which cause the joints to be misaligned. Misaligned joints cause nerve irritation which contributes to symptoms of stress. Chiropractic adjustments can reverse the effects of stress and help to keep the body much healthier and resistant to the stresses of life.

Call us to find out how Chiropractic can benefit you.

Dr. Joseph Gitto, BA, DC, CFMP, FDN, CWC

331 Tilton Road, Northfield, NJ

609-484-9300

 www.drgitto.com