With the holidays in our midst, here are some tips for how chiropractic and simple activities can help make your holidays more of a pleasure and less of a headache.
Anxiety and stress frequently attack the weak spots of the spine, and it is the spine that can cause general muscular tension, headaches, migraine, neck pain and back pain. This pain can then aggravate the stress and anxiety and so chiropractic treatment is aimed at relieving any physical complaints which will in turn help with the mental conditions.
Since the central nervous system is so vital, the body has wisely built in a system of protection. Around the brain we have the skull, or cranial vault, and around the spinal cord is a system of protection for the spine — 24 moveable segments which have the dual role of protecting the central nervous system and providing the axis for the entire musculo-skeletal system. The very thing that is designed to protect the spinal cord can actually interfere with it, due to misalignment of the spine, or vertebral subluxation.
All subluxations are caused by stress that overwhelms the body’s resilience and coping ability. Physical stress can occur as the result of a car accident or slipping on an icy sidewalk, improper posture, occupational trauma, or birth trauma. Emotional stress can be the result of significant emotional trauma or the inability to adapt to a stressful situation. Chemical trauma can result from the use of prescription or illicit drugs, inadequate nutrition, or environmental toxins. By interfering with the central nervous system, vertebral subluxations interfere with normal function, reducing your body’s ability to self-regulate, adapt, and heal
Health, then, is truly an inside-out phenomenon. Most therapeutic interventions are designed to speed up or slow down function. The chiropractic goal is to normalize function. By correcting vertebral subluxations, the chiropractor removes a significant impediment to nature’s inborn ability to heal.
The key to beating holiday stress is to prevent it from happening in the first place by being realistic about what to expect.
Methods of breathing to reduce anxiety:
1. Breathe in slowly to a count of four.
2. Hold the breath for a count of four.
3. Exhale slowly through pursed lips to a count of four.
4. Rest for a count of four (without taking any breaths).
5. Take two normal breaths.
6. Start over again with number one.
Easy Holiday stress reducing ideas:
• Each morning/evening, write down what you are grateful for.
• Take time for yourself.
• Make to-do lists.
• Order gifts online.
• Set a budget for gifts.
• Cater or get takeout items for large meals.
• Learn to say no.
• Stop smoking.
• Have realistic expectations.
• Ask family or friends for help.
• Meditate.
• Chiropractic adjustment.
• Listen to your favorite music.
• Laugh really hard at least once a day.