Can Chiropractic Play a Role in Emotional Wellness? You’ll Be Surprised!
Emotional wellness helps you stay balanced and handle life’s ups and downs. It can also improve your relationships with family and friends. More about that later.
How Does Chiropractic Care Contribute to the Discussion of Emotional Wellness?
You might not think of a Chiropractor when you’re considering ways to improve your emotional wellness, but Chiropractic care can actually play a big role. While we are known for helping with neck pain, back pain and other spinal issues, Chiropractic can also benefit your mental health.
Pain and loss of function is isolating. Some of the things that you need or want to do simply can’t get done in the same way (or at all) anymore. Pain robs you of enjoyment doing the things you love, either alone or with friends and family.
How Chiropractic Care Helps with Stress Relief
- Improving Nervous System Function: Your nervous system controls virtually everything in your body, including how you feel and respond to stress. If your spine is not properly aligned, it can put extra pressure on your nerves and affect how your brain communicates with the rest of your body. Chiropractic adjustments help to align your spine correctly, which can improve nervous system function and help you feel more relaxed.
- Reducing Muscle Tension: Stress often causes muscle tension, especially in areas like your neck and shoulders. This tension can make you feel even more stressed or lead to pain. Chiropractors use techniques like spinal adjustments to relieve this muscle tension, helping you feel more comfortable and less stressed.
- Enhancing Sleep Quality: Good sleep is crucial for emotional wellness. When you’re well-rested, you can handle stress better and your mood improves. Poor spinal alignment can lead to discomfort and disturb your sleep. By improving spinal alignment, Chiropractic care can help you get a better night’s sleep.
- Boosting Mood: Some studies suggest that Chiropractic adjustments can help boost your mood. When your spine is aligned correctly, your body functions better, which can lead to an improved sense of well-being. Additionally, the physical relief you feel from adjustments can lead to a more positive mental state.
For me emotional wellness isn’t just a trend. I’ll share a very real and unexpected encounter I had with a patient that rocked me and challenged me in a way I had never experienced before.
Some tips to improve your emotional wellness
But before I share that story, let me say that besides seeing a Chiropractor, there are other things you can do to support your emotional wellness. Here are some tips:
- Practice Mindfulness: Take a few moments each day to focus on your breathing and stay present in the moment. Mindfulness can help you manage stress and keep a positive outlook.
- Stay Active: Regular exercise releases chemicals in your brain that improve your mood and reduce stress. Find an activity you enjoy, whether it’s walking, swimming, or dancing.
- Connect with Others: Talking to friends and family can help you feel supported and understood. Building strong relationships is important for emotional wellness.
- Get Enough Sleep: Make sure you’re getting quality sleep each night. A good sleep routine can help you feel more balanced and less stressed.
- Eat a Balanced Diet: Eating nutritious foods helps your body and mind stay healthy. A Mediterranean diet is the most widely recommended style of eating and is connected to both good health and longevity.
Emotional wellness is a key part of living a happy and healthy life. Managing your feelings, dealing with stress, and maintaining positive relationships are critical. Chiropractic care can be a helpful tool in supporting your emotional wellness by improving nervous system function, reducing muscle tension, enhancing sleep, and boosting your mood.
By combining Chiropractic care with other healthy habits like mindfulness, regular exercise, good sleep, and a balanced diet, you can take a big step toward better emotional wellness.
Let Me Yell You About Janet…
As a busy Chiropractor in Tampa, I see many patients each week. While I have had 10’s of thousands of patient encounters, I pride myself on remembering details from each of my patient’s lives.
Janet’s story is easy to remember. I met Janet in our lobby on a sunny Florida afternoon in May. I shook her hand and brought her back to the exam room to get to know her a little better and figure out what symptoms she wanted me to treat. She shared with me that she worked for a company she loved, was proud of her work, and loved spending time with her family. At least it used to be that way.
Like many people I see, once she started reporting her symptoms, and the list began to grow, I could see the weight of her stress pressing down on her. She “didn’t love anything anymore.” She had nagging neck pain that she just couldn’t shake. It would lead to headaches. It was there every day when she was trying to concentrate at work and when she wanted to relax with family and friends. She told me the pain wasn’t severe; it just… wouldn’t… go… away. As she stared at the floor she said, “I just can’t take this anymore.”
My first reaction was that she was being ‘colorful.’ But as she continued, there was no doubt of her resolve. Her eyes moved up to meet mine and she said, “You are my last hope, then I’m done.
I don’t want to live anymore, if it has to be like this.” My training told me to ask her if she had specific plans. To my relief, she did not. After her examination that day, she left with a number to call if she felt more hopeless and my promise that I would stand on my head to help her get better.
Janet’s treatment with us helped improve the alignment of her neck bones over the following 12 weeks. Her headaches and neck pain melted away. I was gratified to see her spine improve, but it is difficult to describe how I felt as I saw her smiling and telling me little stories about the weekend or funny things that happened at work. We met more than 10 years ago, but I still love to see her come in for tune-up adjustments with that smile on her face.
Mental health needs everyone’s attention. It needs to be a part of every “big picture” discussion of health and longevity. I am not a mental health expert, but every day I see the effects of poor mental health in our patients and wish for greater awareness. I hope my story helps your journey and inspires you to look into how chiropractic care can help your overall health – physical, mental and emotional.
