13 Benefits Of Upper Cervical Care: Part 3

#3 Less Stress

Research studies have shown that people perceive their stress levels to be quite varied. On a scale of one to ten, respondents run the full range for what they believe their stress levels to be. Sadly most people see themselves in the higher ranges rather than the lower ones. Why is there such a wide variation and more importantly, why is it that most people perceive their stress levels to be high? Is it the economy? The world situation? Life in general? We really have no way of comparing the stresses of life today with 100 or 200 years ago.

It has been suggested that stress is not caused by the events or circumstances of life but by how an individual responds to those circumstances. Unpleasant events and circumstances have been described as adversities which when not dealt with result in stress. Hans Seyle, PhD, a world famous neurologist who did work in this area over a generation ago, described adversity as stress and the inability to handle that adversity as distress. He theorized that stress was good. We all need some adversity in our life in order to grow, to adapt, to be able to handle greater adversities as they occur. In the area of health, developing permanent immunity is merely a matter of handling the adversity of a disease so the body can learn to fight off the microorganism every time it comes in contact with it in the future. Permanent immunity makes you a stronger person. (Perhaps artificial immune procedures, while often making one immune to that disease, weakens the overall function of the body’s immune system by not subjecting it to adversity.) Lifting weights is a stress but if done properly with the right amount, this adversity can make a person stronger. Even emotional stress, if overcome, often makes us stronger. People even say, “Well if it doesn’t kill me, I’ll be stronger for it.”

We realize that certain adversities just cannot be overcome. They are just too overwhelming. Whether it is emotional, physical or chemical, if any given adversity is too great it will result in stress and that stress will reduce the quality of your life. Yet between insurmountable adversity and that which no one would even give a second thought to are the vast array of circumstances, events, and situations in life that cause tremendous stress in some people and do not affect others. From that we must conclude that there is a factor or factors inside of people that makes one person better able to handle adversity and not allow it to become stress and others less able to handle it.

One of those factors is head/neck misalignment. How well you adapt to all types of stress is dependent upon the proper function of your nerve system and head/neck misalignment not only may reduce the ability of the nerve system to work as well as it should but it is another stress upon the body compounding the stresses that you already have. In this day and age when people are constantly faced with adversity and potential, stress-causing factors, why would you want anything else like that which can reduce you body’s ability to handle the adversities of life? Further, if you do have nerve interference would it not be wise to have it corrected as soon as possible? That is why periodic upper cervical care is so important.

So, You've Got Stress

Your boss is getting on your nerves; you have to get a project finished but the phone keeps ringing; you still have not met the right person to marry to have the children you want so badly or you have children that are so bad you hardly want them; your car breaks down; your bills are piling up; your in-laws are coming to dinner; your mother says she never sees you anymore; you are overwhelmed by your cholesterol count, your sodium intake, your sugar intake and your fat intake; you or someone you know has cancer or AIDS and YOU’VE GOT STRESS!!!

There is simply no escaping it. Our lives and the world we live in are loaded with stress. More than 66% of all visits to a primary-care physician are for stress-related disorders. Every week 112 million people take medication for stress-related disorders. Job stress costs American industry more than 150 billion dollars yearly in absenteeism, lost productivity, accidents and medical insurance. It is worth noting that some stress may be good. Many people are more alert, more productive and consequently happier and healthier with a certain amount of stress. Beyond that, however, it stops contributing to your ability to function and starts inhibiting it.

Stress is a double-edged sword. Things going wrong produce stress and it causes things to go wrong. Stress over an extended period of time can make you quit your job, can lead you to depression or to drugs and alcohol. All of these can and will certainly affect your ability to perform, your ability to earn money and your quality of life.

We all need to do more to combat stress, we have to learn to find a balance in our work and personal lives. Certainly there are some things that you simply cannot do anything about, for example, the unexpected death of a loved one, natural disasters and accidents. However, everyone can and should carefully examine their lives and make an honest attempt to reduce the stress-producing circumstances that make unnecessary demands upon them. Determine which things you can do something about, concentrate your time and energy on them and try to avoid the obvious ones. We should emphasize wellness, focus on the positive and relaxation, whatever the circumstance.

Upper Cervical Care should also play an important role in your stress management. When a stress-inducing event occurs, muscles contract, breathing becomes faster and deeper, heartbeat increases and digestion is halted. This all occurs as a response to a nervous impulse. Continually contracted muscles can contribute to head/neck misalignment and this can lower your ability to deal with stress. Of course, just as different situations produce varying amounts of stress for different people, different stress management techniques will have varying degrees of effectiveness. Some may benefit from exercise while others respond to meditation, deep breathing or spending time on an enjoyable hobby. Upper Cervical Care, however, can work for everyone because it removes nerve interference and interrupts the contracted muscle/increased stress cycle.

Upper Cervical Care coupled with positive thinking and other stress management techniques can create a sense of well-being and a zest for life and lead to a longer, more productive, happier and healthier life.

Reminder For The New Year

It is never too early or too late to get into good health habits. As a doctor, I see patient after patient come into my office with the “baggage” from years of neglect. This amazes me sometimes because we are supposed to be living in a health conscious society. Health officials constantly give us advice on how to avoid health problems. Americans just don’t heed the warning. Let’s face it, we think that as long as we feel okay, nothing could possibly go wrong – we’re healthy. Although at the same time we think we’re healthy, most of us are abusing ourselves with the standard high fat, high sodium American diet along with the ever-strenuous daily remote control workout regime.

So, to help make sure YOU are healthy, the following steps are recommended:

1. Eat a healthy diet. Watch those saturated fats and low quality carbohydrates. If you are already overweight, decide today that you and your family are worth the effort to lose weight. Remember, strokes, heart attacks and high blood pressure happen to people just like you everyday.

2. Exercise. You know why. I don’t have to tell you. Just Do It!

3. Rest well. We live incredibly busy lives. Be sure your sleep habits are consistent and your sleep surface is adequate to support your spine and limbs properly.

4. Eliminate unnecessary stress from your life. Some stress is good. It challenges and helps us to grow. Worrying, however, robs not only the quality of your life but also the quantity of your life. Negative people die young. They have nothing to live for. (Smile).

5. And last but not least…. (I saved the best for last): MAINTAIN YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM AND SPINE. Did you know the nervous system controls the function of virtually every cell, tissue, organ, and system of your body? Upper Cervical Care concerns itself with the relationship between the nervous system and the function of the body (i.e. your health).

Remember, life is not a dress rehearsal. Choose abundant health in the new year!