Stress Is The Cause Of All "Dis-Ease"
Sickness and disease stem from stress on the body. Where a healthy body is free of stress and able to function normally, a sick body is under attack from any of three different kinds of stress. In my office, I joke about M.E.N. being the cause of all stress. What I am referring to are the 3 types of stress that we deal with every day. These would be:
Mechanical Stress - Injury to joints, muscles, and bones. Wear and tear on the structural components of the body over time.
Emotional Stress - Day to day pressures; job, family, relationship, finances, time demands, health concerns, etc.
Nutritional Stress - What we eat and drink, how our body utilizes nutrients from our food, and the effect on our ability to fight back.
If true healing is the goal, then it is imperative that we evaluate all three types of stress and offer proper treatment. Otherwise, the body will struggle to return to it's natural healthy state of balance, or homeostasis. At C4NH, our #1 goal is to determine where your body is spending its energy and valuable resources in its' fight to stay healthy. Once identified, we work together to suppress and reverse the stressors responsible for your acute or chronic conditions.
“When it’s all said and done...if you are failing to respond to your current treatment, then may I confidently suggest that your healthcare provider has not located the source of your stress.”
7 Phases Of Stress - Where Do You Fall?
Like the warning lights on the dashboard of your car that signal a problem, our bodies work much the same way when under stress. Below are the 7 phases of stress. Where do you believe you are in this journey to find health? Do you see yourself falling into one of the categories listed below?
Normal
Our bodies start out feeling normal, without pain or discomfort. We sleep well, feel mentally alert, living an active, vibrant life. Along comes the stressors of life! It could start with a simple fall or acute trauma. If not treated, your body will resist this initial stress by creating muscle contraction in an effort to restore "normal." This leads to new injuries, mild pain, and a host of other discomforts.
alarm phase
You've entered the alarm phase. This can go on for a year or less with moderate symptoms. However, if the causes of stress are not removed, eventually, the body can no longer compensate, hence the next phase...
compensation phase
The body has been suffering for decades. It is trying to resist the stress but the body has simply run out of resources and lacks the energy to fight back. Body tissue is failing as the body tries too hard to adapt.
exhaustion
At this point, the body enters the exhaustion phase, bringing with it a host of noticeable symptoms ranging from hormonal imbalances, inflammation, and ulcers to depression, insomnia, and more.
What's unique about the exhaustion phase is that no pathology is yet present, which means your physician lacks sufficient evidence to diagnose the condition and sends you home without options. No x-ray, CAT scan, or MRI can help. It's just too soon for a mainstream medical doctor to diagnose, which means you move further down the Stress Pathway.
disease
Left untreated, exhaustion gives way to disease. Your body could no longer resist the stressors and now have become diseased. It is here where the body has been forced to permanently compensate and change in ways that are much less perfect. All standard medical tests are no effective in demonstrating how badly things are damaged. Symptoms quickly become chronic in nature and never seem to resolve, despite the ever-growing list of prescription medications in your cupboard. This page of stress results in need for medication to effectively treat the disease.
Degeneration
As time goes by (or symptoms are masked by prescription medications) the disease state becomes degeneration, as the cells of the body start to die off and fail to function.
death
Desperately avoiding the final stage -- death -- the body has slid down a steep slope and must be stabilized and taken out of immediate danger first before corrective restorative care can be of any use.
Over time, stressors can cause our body to move further away from perfect health, as we become more susceptible to disease and degeneration. The good news is that even in these states, many times if the stressors can be found and eliminated, the body can re-establish more appropriate function and return to a higher level of stability and balance, eventually leading to significantly improved health.
If you would like to learn more, you can schedule a free 15-minute consultation with Dr. Griffin below.