It is estimated that 60-90% of health care visits are caused by stress-related problems.
It is natural for everyone to experience stress when faced with certain situations. Stress occurs frequently during a person’s daily activities and is often unavoidable– such as waiting in line, or dealing with an angry customer at work. How stress affects a person’s overall health depends on how they respond to that stress. There are three basic ways to respond to a stressful situation: negatively, positively, or with neutrality. Here is a summary of the stress responses and how they affect your body:
RESPONSE TO STRESSFUL SITUATION
Negative: Stress increases and last longer
Neutral: Stress decreases
Positive: Stress decreases, learn from the situation
Example: Joe is stuck in traffic and he knows he is going to be late for an important event.
1) negative: he gets angry and thinks his day is now ruined
2) neutral: he says to himself “oh well, there’s nothing I can do about it now” and attempts to relax
3) positive: he thinks, “next time I’ll leave a little earlier” or “i’ll try to find a different way tomorrow”
how would you respond?Being aware of how you respond to a stressful situation is the first step in having less every-day stress in your life. Having less stress will improve your mental and physical health!
Chiropractic care is another great way to help manage your stress. Chiropractic care can not only help your body relax, more importantly chiropractic can help your body function better which in turn gives you the ability to manage stress more effectively. Contact your local chiropractor today to discuss how chiropractic care might be able to help you.
