It’s no surprise that the pandemic has made people of all ages feel more stressed than ever before. Constant mask-wearing, social distancing, isolation, juggling work and family demands. The list goes on and on, and so does the stress.
When someone is going through a stressful situation, the body’s normal reaction is to shift the nervous system toward the sympathetic state. Most people call it a fight or flight state where you feel that rush of adrenaline.
The Importance of Rest and Digest
You need that boost of energy to get your body to what it deems a safe place. Then, however, it can shut that response off and repair the damages. Ultimately, your body shifts toward the other state, which is called parasympathetic, or rest and digest.
When your body is in this state, it heals and repairs, and allows you to get sound sleep. It’s also where you can experience those wonderful emotions in life, like joy, happiness and fulfillment.
Locked into a Stressful State
What we’re starting to observe as a result of this pandemic is that people have been locked into a stressed, fearful state for so long that their bodies initially recognize that there’s a dangerous threat. Let’s respond to the dangerous threat. Now, we’re starting to notice the drain on people’s systems, from young children to senior citizens and everyone in between.
This is a massive health problem, because so many diseases, illnesses, and challenges are connected to the body’s inability to cope well with stress.
How Physical & Mental Health Is Affected
We’re seeing a lot of kids, teens and adults who are coming into the practice with issues that include the following:
- Anxiety
- Back and neck pain
- Constipation
- Depression
- Digestive problems
- Disengagement
- Fatigue and exhaustion
- Loss of appetite
These issues are being experienced because of interference in the nervous system. If that nervous system is interfered with, stressed or not functioning well, it doesn’t allow you to be as healthy as possible. And it doesn’t allow you to experience that earlier mentioned happiness, joy and fulfillment.
How Chiropractic Can Help
The good news is that when your nervous system functions properly, the rest of your body can. That’s because the nervous system controls your entire body’s function and how you experience the world.
So even though the pandemic and its associated stressors haven’t disappeared completely, chiropractic care can help with stress management. If you’ve been locked in fight-or-flight mode for these last 18-plus months, we can help you take your foot off the gas pedal.
We’ve helped many struggling patients heal their nervous system so they can live the abundant life they deserve.