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Stress is an interesting word. Really, stress is the reaction of a system to a “stressor.” Stressors can be an action, event, or situation that causes the bodily system to “react.” Stressors can be physical/structural, such as spinal misalignments. They can be chemical, as in exposure to toxins and pollution. They can be a deficiency in essential nutrients. They can be thermal – as anyone who has experienced prolonged exposure to excessive heat or cold can tell you. They can be electromagnetic, as in exposure to RF and ELF fields. Stressors can be perceptual, as in perceiving some event as terrible, harmful or calamitous. Or they can be as “real” as your neighbor’s Pit Bull chasing your child across the yard. They can be mental, like the fear of the dog, even without its presence. Stressors can even be pleasurable … how many of us have returned from vacation exhausted?
I have covered the role of the adrenals and their reaction to stress, especially as they relate to the specifics of nutrition, toxicity and RF/ELF’s in a past article. However I’d like to take the opportunity to make some added notes on overall stress and its effects on health.
While some of our stressors come from the environment and are things we don’t “obviously” control, like the neighbor’s dog, the vast majority of stressors are things we can make choices about. The toxins we expose ourselves to, the nutrition we place into our body, the alignment of our physical bodies and the level of fitness (exercise) we create are all, to great degree, in our control. Perhaps the biggest factor in our control, which is all-too-often allowed to range “out of control,” is the emotional choices we make.
Why do we choose situations that we know will bring up our stress? Well, we are addicted to our emotions. Remember “The Bleep” wedding scene? This is still one of my favorite scenes in the film (besides the one with me in the train station - haha) because it is such a wonderful example of our emotional addictions. Every day we swing from feeling that we are the victim, to feelings of anger, or maybe outrage, jealousy, and fear. Or perhaps we just limp along from one mild irritation to the next, from traffic jams, to slow checkout clerks, to scorching the rice for dinner.
When do we learn to say “NO!?” How many times do we have to experience the same situation and emotion before we say enough? This even applies to the need to continually feel powerfully “positive” things, like affirmations of worth, effectiveness, intelligence, talent, etc. Those who have known me over the years can attest to my personal accomplishments in many areas. But when does that become an addiction? I know I have gotten so addicted to the chaos of trying to do so much, that overwork itself is the norm for me. But just because it’s the norm doesn’t mean my body can handle it indefinitely. I know I personally need to focus more on less.
Which, I guess, is how I’m going to introduce my readers to the fact that I am going to step away from writing these columns - at least for awhile - so that I may focus on other things. I have loved doing these columns, and I have hated them….er maybe I should say I’ve hated the stress of the deadlines. It’s just been one more thing too many on a plate that already contains too much.
I have a wonderful daughter who is almost three years old, a very, very, busy chiropractic practice, and a beautiful, successful and very busy wife. Then there’s the 20 acres of land we live on to maintain, and live-in parents that we love, but who also need attention. I will be writing my ICAK Diplomate test very soon and have created a course on AK for Licensed Massage Therapists, ( www.drgordie.com [1] ). And then last, but not at all least, there’s my dream of music and the fact that I have a VERY good band called “Croon Ella” (www.croonella.com [2]. www.myspace.com/croonella [3]) that performs regularly and which will soon produce a CD. (But I’m not going to stress over when!)
For a health practitioner, perhaps the most important lesson is to practice good health oneself, and thus be a living example for one’s patients. I have prided myself on always giving my best, and this applies to all the activities of living. Most importantly this includes honoring the Creative Spark that gives us life and applying my understanding of it to make it a living truth and not just philosophy.
I hope that you who have read my articles have benefited from them. For those who have questions, I can be always be reached at my websites listed above. I thank you all for reading my articles and being part of this journey to health.
Sincerely,
Dr. Gordie