LABOR DAY 2019
Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer (despite the latest heat wave!) and back to work, back to school, which means
BACK TO STRESS!
(though for many of us, the stress never left!)
For those of you old enough to remember, there was an aspirin commercial years ago with the tag line,
“Stress creates tension, puts pressure on sensitive nerves, so take _____”
I remember being a brand new chiropractor and yelling at the TV, “Just take the pressure off the sensitive nerves!!!”
That, my friends, is how simple and powerful chiropractic is.
Chiropractic treats the cause (bone out of place pinching a nerve) and not the symptom (pain).
TREAT THE CAUSE AND THE SYMPTOM GETS BETTER!
BUT WHAT CAUSES THE CAUSE?
There are, of course, injuries, work stress, poor posture, consequences of aging, but today I would like to explore the psycho-social causes (commonly known as emotional stress).
The pinched nerves caused by emotional stress can cause:
Headaches
Neck pain with possible numbness in arms and hands
Mid back pain which can cause difficulty breathing
Lower back pain which can cause numb or burning leg pain
Fatigue
I have likened the vertebrae as dimmer switches on 24 light bulbs (vertebrae). Pinched nerves have the effect of turning down those dimmer switches so the body is not putting out as much energy of which it is capable.
I simply “turn up” those dimmer switches so the body can put out as much energy as possible.
My theme for today and one of my themes in general is:
BE NICE! Remember when your parents taught you that if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything?
In this increasingly polarized, self centered, self absorbed, narcissistic, uncaring world,( so tell me how you really feel, Claude!), kindness, empathy, and my favorite word of late, civility, has taken a back seat.
A 2016 study by Michigan State University found that incivility spreads in the workplace. Researchers discovered that individuals who were subjected to snarky behavior, like sarcasm and put-downs, wasted their mental energy trying to interpret the individual’s intentions.
They grew mentally fatigued and had greater difficulty managing their impulses and regulating their emotions. Consequently, they were more likely to lash out because they lacked the energy to suppress their impatience.
“But you don’t understand,” they tell me. “You have no idea how difficult my life is.”
And yet, there are people who are in horrendous situations who acknowledge and accept their challenges and CHOOSE to find what’s good rather than what is not good yet.
As Dan Harris from 10% Happier says, I cannot change another person, only my REACTION to another person. RESPOND NOT REACT.
This rant of mine is because not only are these people sucking the energy out of others (energy vampires!), pushing everyone out of their lives, there are some serious health consequences.
Dr. Julie Chen writes:
In medicine, when we talk about the “nocebo effect,” what we are referring to is the concept that adverse health or clinical events can be produced or influenced by negative expectations.
This effect is now widely recognized in medicine, and we know that negative presentation of a clinical event or therapy can potentially lead to more negative outcomes.
So as the JAMA article suggests, the “nocebo effect” should be taken into consideration in clinical situations… But as most epidemiological studies that support optimism as a way to a healthier life suggest, we could all take the concept of “nocebo effect” into everyday life and envelop ourselves and others with a positive perspective and light instead of a negative one. This way, maybe we can all see more positive outcomes, not just in clinical environments, but throughout out all aspects of our lives as well.
Bottom line – “stress creates tension, puts pressure on sensitive nerves.”
Allow me contribute to your health by taking the pressure off those sensitive nerves.
A spinal examination will give me all the information I need to find and correct the vertebrae that are pinching those sensitive nerves.
