Physical Stress V Emotional Stress V Chemical Stress
What is stress? Frequently people make the mistake of assuming stress is only the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with emotional pressures. And whilst this is true, other kinds of stress contribute to our overall health & wellbeing. So, what are these other stressors & how do they impact us?
Emotional Stress
The stress we are most familiar with is our emotional stressors. These can be our everyday stressors, from work responsibilities and family & social obligations to more significant life events like the death of a loved one, loss of a job or chronic illness or injury. Whether the stress is a minor or major incident, it causes a feeling of anxiety and fear and can lead to feelings of depression. It also triggers our fight or flight response in our bodies.
Chemical Stress
Chemical stressors refer to an imbalance of chemicals within our bodies which can affect the natural function of our bodies. This is triggered by our lifestyle choices like poor diet & nutrition, lack of exercise, smoking, prescription medications & excessive alcohol or sugar intake.
Physical Stress
Physical stress is self-explanatory—physical injuries like strains, sprains & broken bones. However, the less apparent injuries but most often, the more serious, come from excessive sitting down & lack of movement. Prolonged sitting down can lead to misalignments in your spine & lack of normal function for your nervous system.
Why is it important to recognise these stressors in your life?
Unfortunately, the normalisation of all 3 of these stressors in our life has led to an epidemic of chronic injuries, unhealthy lifestyles & overworked nervous systems for millions of people. From the impact of chemical stressors like smoking & poor diet, physical strains like sedentary lifestyles & injuries due to long-term desk jobs or working stressful 60+ hour weeks.
Individually these may not immediately lead to chronic injuries & an overworked nervous system. However, over time, these stressors build & interrupt the normal function of the body. That is why chronic injuries can be so hard to recover from, as unlike a break or a strain, chronic injuries are often caused by a backlog of stressors that break down our ability to deal with these stress, unlike a healthy nervous system would.
That is the beauty of Tweed Chiropractic. Our Chiropractors work with you to identify these stressors & throughout your visits, work to restore the normal function of your body, so your nervous system is better equipped to deal with stressors that typically trigger pain!
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