Are you feeling anxious for the holidays?
Are you feeling some holiday blues?
Whatever your current emotional state,
stress reduction is right for you!

Excessive or frequent amounts of stress, also known as distress, is unhealthy for overall health and wellness. It is well documented that stress if not addressed, can lead to feeling depressed, severe anxiety, and disease.

Common Stressors:

• Emotional stress
• Lack of exercise
• Poor nutrition
• Spinal stress
• Health struggles
• Financial stress

Stress Warning Signs and Symptoms:

• Memory problems
• Inability to concentrate
• Poor judgment
• Seeing only the negative
• Anxious or racing thoughts
• Constant worrying
• Moodiness
• Irritability or short temper
• Agitation, inability to relax
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Sense of loneliness and isolation
• Feeling Depressed or general unhappiness

Physical and Behavioral Symptoms

• Aches and pains
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Nausea, dizziness
• Chest pain, rapid heartbeat
• Loss of sex drive
• Frequent colds
• Eating more or less
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Isolating yourself from others
• Procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities
• Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
• Nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)

Stress-Related Illnesses

• Migraine headaches
• Muscle tension
• Heart attack
• Cancer
• Insomnia
• Ulcers
• Rheumatoid arthritis

How To Heal From Anxiety & Depression:

1) Seek counseling & support

2) Consistent chiropractic care

The spine consists of 24 vertebrae which carefully encase the most important organ system in the body known as the central nervous system. The central nervous system, familiarly known as the brain and spinal cord, is vital to providing support for every bodily organ system in order to function properly.

These systems include: 

• Digestive
  • Pancreas
  • Colon
  • Esophagus
  • Nutrition
  • Weight
  • Liver
• Urinary
  • Bladder
  • Kidneys
• Musculoskeletal
  • Muscles & Bones
  • Movement
• Integumentary
  • Skin
• Cardiovascular
  • Heart & blood vessels
• Brain 
  • Mental health
  • Memory
  • Emotions
  • Cognition
• Endocrine
  • Thyroid
  • Pituitary
  • Hormones
  • Adrenals
• Lymphatic
  • Lymph nodes
• Respiratory
  • Lungs
• Reproductive
  • Ovaries & testes
• Immune
  • Infection
  • Disease
  • Cells

Each of these systems work together to support the body as a whole. Efficient communication between all bodily systems is required for the body to be healthy and function efficiently.

Message Sent from Brain → Spinal Cord → Nerves → Organs → Body Function

Example ⇩

Brain sends message *Digest Food* by sending information through the → Spinal Cord → which travels to the corresponding nerves → the organ (colon) receives the message → Body successfully digests food

Because the spinal cord extends to each organ system via nerves, if even a single vertebrae is out of line, the slightest pressure placed on a nerve may be enough to compromise the signal from the brain to the spinal cord, and then to the organ system; therefore decreasing efficiency and leading to disease.

Proper and consistent chiropractic care is necessary to maintain proper spinal alignment and reduce bodily stress.

3) Gratitude & Attitude

Whether in terms of enhancing mental health or preventing mental illness, gratitude is one of life’s most vitalizing ingredients. Clinical trials indicate that the practice of gratitude can have dramatic and lasting positive effects in a person’s life. It can lower blood pressure, improve immune function, promote happiness and well-being, and spur acts of helpfulness, generosity, and cooperation. Additionally, gratitude reduces lifetime risk for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders. Whether it stems from the acceptance of another’s kindness, an appreciation for the majesty of nature, or a recognition of the gifts in one’s own life, gratitude enhances nearly all spheres of human experience. Beyond its ability to create tangible benefits, so many people cherish simply feeling grateful for its own sake. Some of the best moments in life are those in which we sense we have been the beneficiary of goodness freely and generously bestowed onto us.

A number of rigorous, controlled experimental trials have examined the benefits of gratitude. Gratitude has one of the strongest links to mental health and satisfaction with life of any personality trait—more so than even optimism, hope, or compassion. Grateful people experience higher levels of positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness, and optimism, and gratitude as a discipline protects us from the destructive impulses of envy, resentment, greed, and bitterness. People who experience gratitude can cope more effectively with everyday stress, show increased resilience in the face of trauma-induced stress, recover more quickly from illness, and enjoy more robust physical health. 1

1. Gratitude Journal
   • Record in a journal, daily, the things you are grateful for 
   • Reflect on them often
2. Mindfulness

One of the first steps in gratitude practice is attention. Attention is noticing and becoming aware of blessings that we normally take for granted. It is tuning into the many reasons for gratitude that already exist in our lives… Focusing techniques that enhance attentiveness (such as mindfulness meditation) will be effective in increasing one’s appreciation for the simple blessings of life and in banishing incompatible thoughts from consciousness.

4) Exercise & Diet

• HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING (HIIT)
  • This type of workout is short and sweet ☺. 
  • People of all ages can participate by following the pattern in the image below:

• FOODS THAT SPEED HEALING & DECREASE INFLAMMATION

1. Lean Meats
2. Turkey
   • Chicken eggs
   • Wild pacific fish
     • Not farm raised fish (it does not contain as many Omega-3 fats which are anti-inflammatory, and instead has inflammatory fats “Omega-6”, colorants, an pesticides
   • Lean, Organic, Grass-Fed Red Meat–Eat sparingly
3. Fresh or Frozen Vegetables
   • Eat a wide variety of colors 
   • Eat sparingly because fruits contain a lot of sugar, which can cause inflammation.
     • Low sugar fruits, such as berries, are better choices
4. Breakfast
   • You MUST eat breakfast
   • Have something every 3 hours that has protein and good fats
     • i.e. Raw nuts, avocados, hard boiled eggs, low glycemic vegetables
5. Water
   • Drink water throughout the day
     • Drink small amounts throughout the day instead of a huge amount all at once
     • Follow this formula specific to your body:
       • Your weight (lbs.) divided by 2 = the amount of water to drink every day (in ounces).
   • Drink enough so that your urine is no darker than light yellow
   • Make sure it is pure
     • We love using 2-6 bottles of Precious water per day
     • You can add a squeeze of lemon or orange to help lower your acidity
6. Unprocessed Foods
   • Imagine what would have been available 10,000 years ago in nature
     • Vegetables, meats, fats (nuts, avocado, coconut, etc.) and fruits in small amounts

5) NeuroFeedback

• Also known as “brain training”
• Non-invasive, technological equipment is used to retrain the brain how to return to proper function and improve both mental and physical health.
• Call the Natural Healing Center office at 674-5454 for more information!

Merry Christmas

Enjoy your holidays stress-free!

1. Emmons, R. A., & Stern, R. (2013). Gratitude as a psychotherapeutic intervention. Journal of clinical psychology, 69(8), 846-855. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54694fa6e4b0eaec4530f99d/t/565f5969e4b05a14ac75ee6c/1449089385801/Gratitude+as+a+Psychotherapeutic+Intervention+2013.pdf