Anxiety in Minnetonka?!

Do you ever want to relax and let go but yet end up going over your growing to-do list and getting even more stressed out? Do you have the intention of presence but struggle to calm your thoughts and turn your “be better” voice down? You are not alone, that happens to all of us more than we would like to admit. I think it is safe to say that we have all experienced anxiety at some point in our life and for some, it may be a daily struggle that makes it difficult to let your light shine. According to National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States or 18% of the population every year. Another alarming stat is that anxiety disorders affect 25% of children between 13 and 18 years old. We know that collectively we experience much more stress in our lives which translates into feeling anxious and overwhelmed on a regular basis. Our goal at our Minnetonka MN chiropractic clinic is to empower you with the knowledge that you do not need to feel anxious more than you feel at peace and to provide you with practical tools to help slow down those spinning thoughts.

Before we can do anything to combat that daily anxiety, we first need to understand what anxiety is in the first place and what causes it within our body. Anxiety is a feeling of overwhelm, disorganization, or fear that stems from your nervous system. Your nervous system is constantly at work creating new neural pathways among your brain and body. These neural pathways are either calm, clear, and connected or stressed, chaotic, and disorganized. Which pathways do you think are desirable? The calm, clear and connected ones of course! But, unfortunately, that is not often the case; if you’re feeling anxious, it’s due to your neural pathways being stressed, chaotic, and disorganized.

Think of it this way, if you are trying to find your favorite radio station of
97.1 but you’re on 97.5, what does it sound like? There’s static. That is exactly what’s happening within your brain when it is in a stressed, sympathetic aka fight or flight state; the neural pathways become fuzzy and disorganized which manifests as feelings of anxiety. Whenever you experience an excess of physical, chemical, or emotional stress that your body cannot handle, it shifts into that sympathetic state and causes disorganized neural pathways. This could be happening within you or your child for a long amount of time, causing the disorganized pathways to be your most predominant ones.

Here Are Some Helpful Tips To Calm Your Anxiety In Minnetonka MN

1. Move your body. Movement causes the release of endorphins to make you feel happy and calm.
2. Practice gratitude. Remind yourself daily of the amazing things, people, and opportunities you have in your life.
3. Breathe through a curled tongue - this is a great in-the-moment anxiety tool!
4. Spend more time outside -the natural light helps reset your hormones, specifically your happy hormones!

The tips listed above will help tremendously in the daily struggle with anxiety many are facing but to experience lasting, life-changing results, you need to address and correct the cause of the disorganized nervous system and as a neurological chiropractor, we have the privilege of doing just that. Adjustments decrease the stress and increase the organization within your nervous system. We help your body play the right radio station which allows you to live your life at your full potential.

How??

1. Our gentle low-force adjustments restore the communication between your brain and body and remove the static we described above by unwinding the tension in the spinal cord, which is how your brain and body communicate.
2. Adjustments reduce chronic inflammation that is happening in the body and the brain due to an excess of physical, chemical, and emotional stress. Inflammation is proven to decrease overall brain function.
3. Adjustments shift the body out of the primitive, fight-or-flight part of the nervous system and stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for rest, digestion, and healing.
4. Neurological adjustments activate the prefrontal cortex which is the part of your brain that is responsible for higher-order thinking and emotional regulation.
5. On a deeper level, gentle adjustments bring your body into the present moment and allow you to connect with yourself, and decrease the anxiety brought on by past traumas and worries about the future.