“It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives, but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.” – Charles Darwin, Origin of species
If there is one thing constant in this ever-changing world, then its the presence of stress. Stress happens whenever there is a change in the environment, and all species that live in it are forced to react and adapt in response.
In the past, our hunter-gatherer ancestors experienced stress when facing life-threatening encounters. The stakes are higher, and their best chance of survival lies in how well they adapt to the stressful situation. Unfortunately for those who cannot adapt, they were more likely to be killed by forces of nature or eaten by predators.
Fast forward to today and a lot has changed with our environment. While we now live in a world where it is relatively much safer, that does not mean that we experience lesser stress than our ancestors. In fact, facing stress today can be a lot more challenging.
Our lives are now filled with a seemingly never-ending cycle of stress. Though they are far less serious (compared to being eaten alive), our kind of stress are far more frequent, repetitive and longer lasting. Daily chores, commutes, multi-tasking, prolonged sitting, gadget exposure, dealing with deadlines, financial issues, toxic relationships, pressures from society— the list goes on.
Now imagine encountering all of these stressors every day, and the potential impact of these in your physical and mental health. Is your body resilient enough to withstand these stressors and adapt well to the environment? How do you even know?
One sure way to tell if your body is adapting well, is if your natural self-repair mechanisms of the body can do what they do best – heal the body. This means that whatever life throws at you today, you will be able to bounce and recover from it quickly.
However, when your body reaches its limit to adapt – we begin to see dysfunction, inflammation and disease. You get sick frequently and recovery takes a lot more time. This usually happens as a result of not taking care of your body. When you become used to unhealthy habits like sitting too much, eating processed food and sugary foods, engaging in substance use, not exercising or not getting enough sleep, all that you do is sabotage your ability to adapt to stressful situations. This leaves you highly vulnerable to stressors, which may lead to a poor quality of life in the long run.
Related Article: Adaptive vs Maladaptive: How does your body adapt to your environment?
Chiropractic Improves Adaptability
Stress is always there and will constantly confront your well-being. But most of the time, the true cause of sickness and disease is not STRESS itself– but the body’s inability to recover from a stressful environment. If you or someone you know are suffering symptoms of stress, then chiropractic could be the answer.
Chiropractic care can be a great addition to your health routine whether your body is adapting well or has reached its limit to adapt. That is because chiropractic is centered on balancing your spine and the nervous system which are essential for adapting to everyday stressors. We do spinal adjustments and other chiropractic techniques which will help bring back your healing ability that your body is designed to do. Plus, we will assist you in correcting any negative patterns (like poor posture, spinal misalignments and all the unhealthy habits we mentioned earlier) that are preventing your body from adapting to stress. Contact us today at 022 4031568 to see if we can help.