Anxiety

According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, published by the CDC, 1 in 6 children aged 2-8 years has a mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder An estimated 20 million children in the US suffer from ADHD, Anxiety, Behavioral Problems, or Depression.  While this reality is staggering to most of us, the harsh truth is that it’s a growing problem!

The process of being anxious is a good thing.  Anxiety, though not generally looked at this way, is a natural neurophysiological response to various stimuli from our surroundings.  It serves to keep us safe, healthy, and ALIVE… all good things, right?  However, as is often the case, too much of a good thing can be detrimental or damaging.

We could present a potentially unending list of triggers and causes of Anxiety.  Reports from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Harvard report some of the more common categories of causes being linked to physical, chemical, or emotional traumas.  This is STRESS, and this is what Chiropractic had been “preaching” for over one hundred years.  We map it out this way:

1.      Chemical – toxicity or deficiency.  This could be in the foods we eat or do not eat, as well as in the environment, air, and/or chemicals we are surrounded by.  Essentially this is our body either getting too much “bad” and not enough “good” into it.

2.      Physical – macro or micro trauma.  Various physical traumas such as birth trauma or car accidents (macro) to poor posture, excessive sitting, and lack of adequate movement (micro) impact our body’s reserve and efficiency to manage stress.

3.      Emotional – Our mindset and “outlook” on life has been shown to directly influence our hormones, which are supposed to help us process through stressful situation.

The effects of stress are compounding and cumulative.  Our bodies should be resilient enough to manage, adapt, and appropriately respond to stress.  However, with stress being overlaid upon stress, the body becomes maladaptive, and sadly for some, becomes unable to adapt and thus overwhelmed and potentially controlled by emotional centers of the brain not designed to run daily operations of life.

This repeated stress triggers a response from our Central Nervous System, demanding a response and adaptation to the stimuli or situation.  This is a STRESS response, driven from the Sympathetic Division of the Nervous System, and is frequently referred to a Fight, Flight, or Freeze response.  Again, this is a good, natural, and necessary response that helps protect and keep us and our kiddos safe.  The problem is that is the stimuli is not removed or dealt with (out-run, distracted, or disposed of) this response builds new synapses, rewiring our neurology and programing this response into the patterns of how we function.  This is call habituation.  This “occasional, only as necessary” becomes our new norm, and our body’s function and we live our life as though everything is a threat – sensory defensiveness, lack of focus, changed mental outlook, etc.

Is there a Chemical Imbalance?

Yes.

Our bodies are chemical, and therefore function on chemical reactions driven and guided by the function of the nervous system.  This includes normal-regular processed like sleep and digestion, as well as the responses to stress we are focusing on here in this article.

Stressful situations trigger the hypothalamus and initiate the release of stress hormones, like Cortisol, into the bloodstream, thus triggering the Sympathetic (i.e. fight/flight/freeze) Response.  Once triggered, this response causes your heart rate and blood pressure to rise as blood moves from you internal organs (stomach, etc.) out to your extremities to ready a response.  Endorphins and Neurotransmitters are also sent into the mix which will heighten awareness by increasing sight, hearing, and special awareness.

This cascade of chemical influences the Cerebral Cortex as well, specifically the Amygdala and Brainstem which are believed to control thoughts and behaviors, reflexes, emotion reaction, and involuntary responses.

In the absence or removal of the Stress initiator, the body should be able to calm down and regulate via the Parasympathetic (i.e. rest/digest) division of the Nervous System.

But, what if the accumulation of stress is too great or the root cause of the stress is not addressed or dealt with?  Well, then the body will stay Stuck in the Sympathetic Stress Response mode, shifting all of our Systems to function in survival mode.  This will suppress normal regulatory function, often leading to susceptibility of other issues, such as, but not limited to, decreased immune function, asthma, colic, high blood pressure, sensory processing issues, impulsive behavior focus concerns, and a whole lot of other possible consequences.

So, where does Chiropractic fit in?

First off, while we have had HUNDREDS of cases at Straightahead where patients have reported life changing results in the area of Anxiety, Depression, and Behavior, we need to clarify that Chiropractic Care is not a means of treatment for such conditions or concerns.  The purpose of Chiropractic, in fact, is not to “treat” these conditions at all.  Chiropractic, at its core, seeks to optimize the body’s ability to adapt and respond to its’ surroundings.

Science shows, and we have found, that tension in the spine changes the way in which it functions.  There is a domino effect of change triggered by this, leading to a Sympathetic Stress Response.  More-over, as tension and stress accumulate in the spine, they repattern local and then more global neurology, causing this stress response to become STUCK on.  This is problematic in that is it alters the way in which we perceive, interpret, and therefore RESPOND to our environment.

Chiropractic then fits into the equation of helping to stop the cycle of Aberrant, Afferent Neuro-Sensory information by restoring the Proprioceptive Loop on the communication highway between the body and brain, and vice versa.  Stated more plainly – Tension on the Spine will cause tension on the Nervous System, causing that person to stay in a heightened state of stress and survival mode.  If this is the case, the symptoms will show us as some or all of the characteristics of STRESS (short-fused, weakened immune system, poor focus, impulsive, withdrawn, etc.), and Chiropractic is the only means by with the neurology can be fully and properly restored through reducing Spinal tension.

I understand this article is “weighty” and I appreciate you sticking with it to the end.  The reality of this matter is that this a complicated and deep discussion, which this article hardly even scratched the surface of.  Should you have questions or would like more information on this topic of Chiropractic in general, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.  We are here to help you find answers and to be a resource as best we can.

And lastly, we by no means take this topic, or any for that matter, lightly.  We are fully aware that the best approach to care in most cases is a team approach.  We understand that each person has unique and individual needs, some requiring medication, some not.  So as stated previously, please do not read, hear, or think Chiropractic is a cure for “xyz”.  Chiropractic helps our bodies work more efficiently and therefore adapt better to the environment, and when that happens, normalcy can be restored and people begin to function better.