There’s no denying mental illness is more prevalent today than ever before. While anxiety disorders are the most common, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Chiropractic care involves a mind-body approach focused on adjusting your physical body with a goal of improving state of mind. At Network Wellness Center, we take a holistic approach to your mental health, looking at all possible ways to help you feel better.
Symptoms of Depression
While symptoms are unique to each patient, the most common ones we see include
- Fatigue or inability to sleep
- Muscle tension and stiffness
- Headaches or migraines
- Aches and pains throughout the body
- Inability to relax
Physical symptoms, on top of mental symptoms, make it even more difficult to live with depression. Thankfully, chiropractic has been shown to help with the many issues exacerbating physical and mental concerns.
Shifting the Focus
We believe the ultimate solution for depression is to shift the focus from the individual to others. Doing things for others, being of service to others, and giving to others shifts the focus off you. When you focus on yourself, your problems, and things not going the way you want, you’re focused on the problem, instead of the solution.
When the nervous system is overwhelmed, there’s tension on the nerves in the cerebral cortex. It’s not the effects of the physical distress, which is minimal, that we’re concerned with, it’s the decrease in the mental bandwidth that’s a problem.
Our goal is to shift the nervous system from defense and distress to ease; from sympathetic responses (fight-or-flight) to parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) to create a feeling of more safety in the person’s body. This shift often creates the ability for the individual to experience more gratitude and to be able to give to others. Removing the focus from your own challenges and concerns may be just what’s needed to help you shift out of depression.
Solving the Problem
Einstein tells us that “The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.”
COVID has led people to look at life differently. Health care needs to change as well. Continuing to focus on depression (i.e. combating the condition) further focuses the person on themselves and their problems.
It’s important to find a way to increase your resourcefulness, so you’re able to give more and focus on others. That experience of growth and contribution may alleviate depression.