HEALTH WATCH

Stress can have many lasting effects

by Susanna Massey, D.C.

Learning more about stress and how it affects our lives as lesbian and gay people is extremely important. It can allow us to keep ourselves, our lovers, and community healthy, as well as allowing greater health and healing if illness is present. Stress has become some intangible, invisible aggressor that seems to wreak havoc with our bodies. Stress has been named the leading cause of disease, and "managing" stress is a common part of treatment for many ail-

ments.

We commonly identify stress as any situation that causes us to feel the typical stress symptoms; tight neck and shoulder muscles, headaches, stomach problems, sleeping difficulties, anxiety, and irritability, to name a few.

The actual definition of stress is as follows: Stress is any stimulus or perception which your body takes in and must manage. Smelling arose is a stress, but usually doesn't push us over the line into symptoms.

So what is the link? How do situations in our environment affect our bodies and even our perceived reality? The connection between stress and our health is the nervous system-the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. The stress (input, stimulus, perception) is carried to the brain, the brain acts, and a response is sent out over the nerve path-

ways.

The nervous system is designed to handle stress, and does a phenomenal job if it is working properly. Unfortunately, when these nerve circuits aren't performing at their optimum, the body's ability to handle stress effectively is compromised and stress-overload can occur. Or, the body can be struggling with stress over an extended period of time and the altered nerve flow can affect vital organs at the ends of the nerves, resulting in disease.

Most imperative, how can the nervous system be enabled to work at its optimum, or even heal if it is already hindered? I've discovered network chiropractic.

Chiropractic has always aligned the spinal bones to allow the spinal cord and the nerves within it to function properly. Network takes this one step further. By using light contacts or touches in a specific sequence, blockages to your nerve flow caused by tension held from past stresses can be reduced or eliminated. This "stored" stress has commonly been referred to as "old baggage," and can be caused by past emotional, mental, chemical, or physical stress memories held in the nervous system itself. Stress can build up as a result of things like homophobia, relationship or family stress, alco-

holism, medications, a difficult birth, or a car accident.

As this tension is let go, a feeling of ease consumes the body. Alignment is found. Alignment is when an individual lives and works to his or her fullest capacity, and feels in sync physically, emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually. Everything seems to come together on cue, though completely unplanned. One can be at their most productive, dynamic, and creative level of performance when their nervous system is flowing smoothly.

This type of holistic health care can be used as preventative maintenance to keep your body's communications open, or it can help the majority of present-day ailments. Barring traumatic injuries and birth defects, the inhibited nervous system is a primary or associated factor in all disease processes. When the proper nerve flow is restored, the body's innate healing ability can again control the functioning of the diseased parts. Healing on a deep, fundamental level can begin.

It is vital to realize that lack of symptoms does not equal "health." Your body could be affected by past and current stresses for years before you might notice signs. It is encouraged that you see a chiropractor (ideally a network chiropractor) and allow your body to keep itself healthy, without drugs and surgery.

There is an intelligence within our highly organized bodies. When it is enabled to work properly, the healing ability is great. New cells are constantly replacing old. If this is done with proper guidance, wellness can be restored instead of replacing ill-affected cells, victims of the past stresses, with similar cells, thus propagating the disease process. Is your body going to replace itself normally or abnormally?

Keep your nervous system flexible, supple, and adaptable. This permits better and clear perceptions of reality, greater capacity to adapt and recover from stress, better individual expression and greater overall health and well-being.

In summary, we all have suffered from stresses in the past, and these stresses have been found to have lasting effects. Again, they affect your body's ability to handle new stresses. This could initiate an unfortunate spiral into dis-ease, but there is help. A little fine-tuning or preventative maintenance to your nervous system can enable you to live a happier, healthier and clearer life, naturally.

Suzanna Massey, D.C., is a Cleveland chiropractor specializing in network chiropractic and traditional adjusting.

MARCH 10, 1995 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 13

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