Overwhelm, busy-ness, commitments, social lives, financial stress, careers, families….the list goes on. As women (not saying that men don’t, they sure do!) we go to bed with a constant list of jobs, to-do lists, tomorrows’ agenda and ‘what ifs’ running through our heads. Switching off, rejuvenating and recovery have come to be seen as a waste of time, or something we DON’T HAVE the time for.
This has to change….and the time is now. In our modern day world the rate of chronic disease, hormonal imbalances, autoimmune disease, stomach problems and other health problems are only going up. Kids are suffering higher rates of anxiety, sleeping problems and learning delay as the fast-paced world seems to race by. In my practice I’m seeing first-hand what the modern day overwhelm is doing to the health and quality of life of my patients.
Fight or Flight
The evolutionary instinct of our brains when a threat or stress is presented to us, is to go into a safe ‘fight or flight’ mode, and the neurological cascade of our body responding to the brain and nervous system’s reaction brain can be extensive.
To put it simply, if a tiger came into your kitchen, what do you think would happen to your body as an immediate reaction? You would most likely … take FLIGHT! However to achieve this, you’d need to make subtle changes in how your body operates.
Such changes are:
– your eyes dilating so you’d see the threat more easily
– your hearing becoming ultra-sensitive to hear the threat
– diverting your blood flow and nervous system activation away from organs to your limbs
– dropping your head forward to assume a running position
– tightening your calves and hamstrings to be ready to run
– elevating your adrenaline (the hormone that makes us feel on edge)
… just to name a few.
This adaption of your body to respond to a threat is amazing! However it is only meant to last for hours, maximum day – certainly not years (as I see with patients every day in my practice).
Sympathetic Dominance (SD)
Ongoing compensations of our bodies to an unnecessary fight or flight response is causing many health problems for a lot of people. We have termed this phenomenon SYMPATHETIC (survival/fight or flight) DOMINANCE. Many patients with Sympathetic Dominance (SD) often have symptoms that are all connected. Signs and symptoms of SD can include:
– Tight shoulders
– Headaches (particularly at the base of the skull, worse at the end of the day)
– Lack or energy and persistent fatigue
– Sleep disturbances
– Stomach upsets
– Heavy periods
– Anxiety
– Poor recovery
– Sore joints
If you tick a few of these boxes, you may have some SD going on. Here at Hunter Healthy Spines we take care and look at the whole you – not just your symptoms. In this day and age of stress and busy lives, someone needs to look after you – and we are happy to be that team.
If you have any questions or queries about this blog please call our office on (02) 4933 0588, and look at the SD Protocol website https://www.sdprotocol.com/
Yours in health,
Dr Kelly Beanland
(Chiropractor)