According to HealthDirect, “Everyone feels stress. It’s a normal response to challenging or dangerous situations. A small amount of stress can be a good thing and increase energy and motivation. But too much stress can make people feel overwhelmed. As a result, it can affect your quality of life and cause physical and mental health problems; that is why, for good health, it is important to learn stress management techniques

So a good first step is to understand how stress affects you so you can deal with it.

What Are the Signs of Stress?

Recognizing the signs and symptoms of stress will help you figure out coping methods and save you from adopting unhealthy ways to cope, such as drinking alcohol or smoking.

Signs that you may be stressed include:

• muscle tension and headaches
• poor sleep — or sleeping too much
• being irritable or moody
• not having motivation
• not being able to concentrate
• relying on alcohol or drugs to cope
• feeling overwhelmed or anxious or unable to cope with day to day tasks

Stress Management Techniques

Prolonged stress can harm you physically. According to MaxLiving, “Chronic stress increases chronic inflammation, a driver for numerous diseases. In fact, researchers connect 75 – 90 percent of human diseases with chronic stress.”

Abnormalities in the spine’s alignment and ability to move are called subluxations. These slips, misalignments, and restrictions affect nerves (either pain, sensory, or motor function) that adversely impact your spine and overall health. Stress is one of the most common causes of misalignments in the spine that chiropractors treat daily. Typically, we carry stress as tension in the neck and back and, over time, it can cause your spine to shift, leading to reduced nerve flow and many health problems.

Although stress falls into specific categories, such as physical, chemical, and emotional, they all similarly impact the body. Therefore, managing stress becomes crucial to maintaining health and happiness, and chiropractic care provide an effective method for helping to manage stress.

One study for men who implemented chiropractic care found numerous improvements, including lower stress levels and better quality of life. In fact, visiting a chiropractor is often the simplest change you can make to remove the interferences — in this case, constant stressors — that impact your health and happiness in so many ways.

Chiropractors also focus on personalized patient care and can help you manage stress levels uniquely and provide you with an individualized protocol that best suits you.

To a healthier you!