“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” – Hans Selye

Stress is everywhere. How do you respond to it? Physiological stress, or the stress response, is the body’s reaction to a condition that poses as a physical, chemical or psychological threat or challenge to your wellbeing.

Stressors produce certain negative physiological responses within your body depending upon what type of stress you encounter and can take a toll on the body’s normal state of function. For example:

• Physical stressors like sustained or repeated activities or bad posture can negatively affect cellular and tissue formation
• Chemical stressors like tobacco, alcohol or drugs can negatively affect bio-mechanical processes
• Mental stressors like social or family demands can negatively affect overall mental function and performance.

Endocrinologist Hans Selye pioneered the study of stress with his research on the non-specific biological response to stressors: the stress response. Hans Selye coined the terms good stress “eustress” and bad stress “distress.” Hans studied the system within our body that copes with stress, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis).

The HPA axis is our body’s central stress response system. The HPA axis is a neuroendocrine process of adapting to stress. When stressors trigger the HPA axis, hormones are triggered to signal that the threat requires the body to create biochemical changes to adapt to the stressors.

The HPA axis is our body’s natural inborn adaptor to negative harmful stressors. The body can intelligently produce the right chemical at the right amount and right time to reduce stress when the neuroendocrine process of adapting to stress is functioning optimally. Hans Selye recognized the recuperative power within the body to convert negative stress into positive normal function.

Even though we have the power to adapt to stress, that doesn’t mean we win the battle every time. Stress is everywhere and constantly combats with our body’s ability to function in a normal state. Did you know that stress can cause our need for chiropractic care?

Chiropractic care can help increase your resistance to stress as it can strengthen the body’s ability to adapt to negative stress by removing neurological interference due to the structure-function relationship at the spinal cord level. A chiropractic evaluation which includes a bio-mechanical and neurophysiological evaluation can determine that care is appropriate and safe for you.

Responding to the every day demands of stress is innately built within you. Enhance your inner potential to adapt to stress through proactive choices that are good for your overall wellbeing!