the stress factor
All organisms are continually subjected to stress. Whether it be stress of fear, stress of pleasure, stress of toxicity, stress of temperature change, stress of emotional change, in fact any experience that we have in life is a stress on our body.
All organisms are continually subjected to stress. Whether it be stress of fear, stress of pleasure, stress of toxicity, stress of temperature change, stress of emotional change, in fact any experience that we have in life is a stress on our body. It therefore would seem reasonable to assume, if one can accept that stress is a normal part of life they should therefore be able to adapt accordingly. Problems only arise when organisms or people are unable to adapt to these stressors. We have all heard of the natural “Fight or Flight” syndrome which presents in times of stress, particularly when in a danger type scenario where you have two choices—to fight or flight.
The nervous system in times like this, will trigger through the pituitary gland, a hormone called adreno-corticotrophic hormone (ACTH). This immediately reacts on the adrenal gland, travels through the blood stream, causing secretion of corticoids and adrenalin. These hormones promote heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, increase blood sugar, and increase muscle function. This all occurs in a very small time frame whilst you decide which of the two choices you will take.
The importance of these processes occurring is that your body has immediately become equipped for increased physical activity. The adrenalin flowing through the blood stream would be utilized by the muscles in the body for quicker production of energy to give a greater degree of function to those particular muscles. Once this reaction has occurred the chemicals produced naturally within the muscles will neutralize the effect of the adrenalin and restore blood chemistry to normal, with disposal of resultant chemical waste through normal processes.
Every minute of every day in our lives, some part of our body is subjected to stress, which through normal channels feed back to the brain causing our hormonal functions to be continually changing and maintaining a condition of homeostasis. Therefore to have a healthy life, nothing must deviate from the norm. If it does, we enter a state of dis-ease which then causes illness, etc. Coming back to the fundamentals of chiropractic—too much or too little will causes sickness. Accumulating excess waste products need to be eliminated, the undue depletion of indispensable ingredients compensated. Dr Gonstead recognized that several disease processes were caused from continued, or significant stress thereby causing imbalance within the body. By ensuring your nervous system is functioning at it’s optimum, you ensure correct production and elimination of hormones and toxins.