Emotional Vulnerability: Take care of your body to take care of your mind

Unmitigated stress can hurt your health

Our mind, body, and soul are all interconnected. How we treat our bodies has a major impact on our minds and our soul, and vice versa. It’s important to know how we are contributing to our emotional vulnerability. Life is hard. Emotions are raw and real. It’s important to understand how you may be contributing to your emotional vulnerability.

What is vulnerability?

Vulnerability is the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally. In other words, when we leave a vulnerability unattended, we are opening the door to being physically and emotionally harmed.

Often when we feel emotionally vulnerable, we are in a state of mind called “Emotion Mind”. Emotion Mind is when our emotions run rampant, we engage in mood-dependent behavior and our “emotions get the best of us.” Emotional distress can be reduced by decreasing factors that make us more vulnerable to negative emotions and moods.

To increase your emotional resilience to negative or undesired emotions, think PLEASE.

PL: Treat PhysicaL Illness- Being sick lowers your resistance to negative emotions. The healthier you are, the more likely you’ll be able to regulate your emotions. When you are injured, observe the urge to “just wait it out.” Often times we may think, “I should be able to power through this,” or “it’ll get better on it’s own.” See a doctor, chiropractor, dermatologist, or a specialist when needed. Reflect on what interferes with you attending to your physical illness and work toward problem solving the barriers.

E: Balanced Eating- Focus on eating balanced meals that make you feel good and avoid eating foods that upset your stomach or make you feel lethargic. Be mindful about urges to engage in emotional eating or eating out of boredom. Both eating too much and excessive dieting can increase your vulnerability to Emotion Mind. Research indicates that “self-imposed diets” show negative effects of eating too little. In other words, the more you restrict your food intake, the more likely you are to binge eat or having psychological problems (preoccupation with food/eating, increased emotionality and dysphoria, and distractibility). When you eat balanced and nutritional foods, you are less likely to have emotional control.

A: Avoid Mood Altering Substances: Alcohol and other substances, like certain foods, can lower resistance to negative emotions. Stay off illicit drugs and use alcohol in moderation. All substances, including caffeine and nicotine, increases our emotional vulnerability. Some of us may not feel an increase in emotional vulnerability while under the influence, rather experience Emotion Mind the days after.

S: Balanced Sleep: An increasing amount of research indicates that lack of sleep is related to a wide variety of emotional difficulties. Sleep is often undervalued in our culture. As a society, we are busy and constantly getting things done that we tend to slack on getting to bed at a decent hour. For people who work long hours, are single parents, are taking care of their loved ones, we tend to put sleep on the backburner. Maybe 11pm at night is the only “me” time you have, and you really want to catch up on the show. The thing about sleep is, we can’t “catch up” on it. There is no “making up for lost sleep.” Making sure you get the amount of sleep that feels right for you and your body is one of the most important variables to overall emotional well-being. Some people need 7 hours and other people know 10 hours. It’s also important to maintain a sleep routine, especially if you have difficulty sleeping. How much sleep do you need?

E: Get Exercise: Aerobic exercise, done consistently, is an antidepressant. Not only is exercise great for our our physical health, it’s great for our emotional well-being. Try and get some type of exercise every day. 20-30 minutes of cardio a day can increase emotional resilience. When your body is strong and healthy, you are less likely to slip into Emotion Mind and will feel less vulnerability overall. If you are new to exercising, build mastery. Start with 10 minutes and slowly increase the amount of time. Find a workout that is FUN that you WANT to get up and attend. You are more likely going to engage in physical activity if you are doing something that you look forward to. For some of us, that won’t be going to the gym for 1 hour. It may be running outdoors, spin class, yoga, dance classes, and other group classes (group classes are great for meeting people!)

Today’s guest blogger is Marissa Colangelo. Marissa Colangelo is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with Compass Behavioral Health, specializing in treating adolescents and adults with emotion dysregulation, primarily personality disorders, anger, depression, impulsivity, substance abuse, and anxiety.

Are you the CEO of Your Health and how does Chiropractic care fit

Running a results-driven chiropractic office is less about gadgets and more about providing potent corrective care. It’s more about clinical diagnosis and less concerned with e-stim, massage guns, and pulsed compression sleeves for leg recovery. Through my lens we deal with people and their multi-dimensional struggles. 

If you have suffered an injury we can look at it on three levels. The external level, which equates to the pain, soreness, and the physical extension of the issue. The second part is the internal component. How has this injury manifested from an emotional standpoint? Are you scared, frustrated, anxious, or even apathetic? Lastly philosophically speaking what does it mean to you? Are you dumbfounded that this has happened to you? Do you think you deserve to be aligned and healthy? Are you in a position to look after yourself?

Patients often look to their D.C.s as a primary source of healthcare when helping their children with sports-related injuries. Equally pertinent, are the high number of patients that look to chiropractic treatments after all other avenues have proved ineffective. It’s why taking a thorough history on every new patient and performing an in-depth evaluation is a critical component for any clinician working on neuromuscular issues.

Patient’s present across a spectrum from simple injuries to complex polygenic illness.

At a time where:

2/3 of American adults are overweight,

7/10 Americans take at least one prescription drug,

45 % of the population have at least 1 chronic disease

35 % of Americans are inactive (no regular physical activity),

44% admit to feelings of increased stress over the last 5 years

4/5 Americans are  undiagnosed pre-diabetic or diabetic (insulin resistant)

The large majority has no idea how to tailor eating to optimize their health

The bodies natural ability to function and  heal is being suppressed. Chiropractic is grounded in this idea of lifestyle based medicine. As a clinician it’s my goal to help boost a patient’s wherewithal to look after themselves. In addition to adjusting the joints we act as guides providing accountability when it comes to exercise, reexamining a patient’s eating habits, or informing them on the efficacy of cryotherapy, use of CBD, or other relevant research

Speaking of research, here are two interesting  summaries on new literature that provide additional insights into the nervous system

SCIATICA

• More than 5 million cases of sciatica are seen annually in the US
• Animal studies have uncovered activation of the immune system linking it to neuro-inflammation beyond the brain
• A combination of diagnostic imaging (MR and PET) in a human study shows increased inflammation in the brain, spinal cord, and nerve roots that correspond with the effected leg.
• One of the first human studies to demonstrate evidence of an inflammatory process happening at the nerve root.
  (Journal reference #1)

LEG EXERCISE

• Groundbreaking research shows that neurological health depends as much on signals sent by the body's large, leg muscles to the brain as it does on signals from the brain to the muscle. The brain is receiving direct input from the muscles throughout the body.
• In animal studies, it was demonstrated that limiting the physical activity, specifically the hind legs, led to a 70% decrease in neural stem cells compared to a control group in mice.
• Cutting back on exercise makes it difficult for the body to produce new nerve cells -- some of the very building blocks that allow us to handle stress and adapt to challenge in our lives.

• Quote from Lead researcher
  "It is no accident that we are meant to be active: to walk, run, crouch to sit, and use our leg muscles to lift things," says Adami. "Neurological health is not a one-way street with the brain telling the muscles 'lift,' 'walk,' and so on." -Dr. Raffaella Adami 

(Journal Reference # 2)

REFERENCES

1. Daniel S. Albrecht, Shihab U. Ahmed, Norman W. Kettner, Ronald J.H. Borra, Julien Cohen-Adad, Hao Deng, Timothy T. Houle, Arissa Opalacz, Sarah A. Roth, Marcos F. Vidal Melo, Lucy Chen, Jianren Mao, Jacob M. Hooker, Marco L. Loggia, Yi Zhang. Neuroinflammation of the spinal cord and nerve roots in chronic radicular pain patients. PAIN, 2018; 159 (5): 968 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001171

2. Raffaella Adami, Jessica Pagano, Michela Colombo, Natalia Platonova, Deborah Recchia, Raffaella Chiaramonte, Roberto Bottinelli, Monica Canepari, Daniele Bottai. Reduction of Movement in Neurological Diseases: Effects on Neural Stem Cells Characteristics. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2018; 12 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00336

Long term activation of stress disrupts all of the body's processes

This video is Part 3 of a discussion on stress reduction. If you want additional context please follow us on Instagram @spineandjointoc.

Below I provide a summary that highlights the types of dysfunction one may experience due to overexposure to stress. If you watched the clip, I corrected a slip of the tongue. I replaced sleep deprived with sleep de-fried and I own that folly. Now for the comparison.

Overexposure to Cortisol

Normal Cortisol Release

Medically Reliant

Sleep-Deprived

Immunity Suppression (vulnerable
to disease)

Increase in sympathetic activity


Diminished Self-Regulation

Chronic Inflammation

Brain Atrophy

Physiologic Imbalance

Hormonal Imbalance (i.e. decrease in Thyroid hormone)

Weight gain/obesity

Weakened Bones

Healthy State

Rested and Recovered

Increased Immunity


Increase in Parasympathetic activity

Stress Tolerance

Acute Inflammation

Neurogenesis

Homeostasis

Hormonal/Circadian balance


Normal biostatistics

Strong Bones

Up at 1 am

Let me start off by emphasizing that this post is not medical advice, but sharing something that I have found to be reenergizing and out of the norm.

It started off as an accident. My wife and I have a bedtime routine for our son. Now this routine includes reading in our bed and remaining in the bed after the lights go off. We escape once we have confirmation from the land of nod. On one particular occasion, I fell asleep (I believe it was around 9 pm) only to awake at 1 am feeling rather purposeful.  The next 5 hours were productive and therapeutic in a way that I have not experienced in a while. 

Upon review I realized that I had ample rest, no distractions, unmatched quiet (no calls, no social media, no strategic planning, no domestic responsibilities), and a sense of freedom. I began with

·      10 minute stretch/yoga/mobility routine

·      Wrote an article for my blog

·      Caught up with one podcast and discovered another

·      Did a deep dive into some research papers

·      Drafted a few emails (some personal and other business related)

·      Wrote some content for my IG account

·      Did some meditation (breathwork)

·      Trip to the Gym (30 minute workout followed by 15 minute in the sauna)

Afterwards, riding the super-achiever high, I thought to myself “ perhaps I should do this every Saturday. As the endorphins wore down, I realized that I might want some of those evenings to kick back with the wife. I decided that 1-2 per month would be a more realistic option.

Now I admit, this does not fall into the realm of orthodox productivity suggestions. However, it provided an outlet, or even better, a way to unplug. The first time was a fluke, but the 2nd and 3rd times were an exercise in simple discipline and delayed gratification.  Most people have a lot on their mind day-to-day and if your trying to be present you can't prioritize everything.  I’m going to continue the practice for now as I’m grateful for the space it creates.

My Technology Runs Well, but my Body Needs an Upgrade.

Somewhere along the line technology transformed from tool to necessity. In some cases it has climbed to the top of the food chain highjacking our reward centers and demanding outright priority. I've seen the toll that it can take on the spine when left unchecked over a continued duration.

Technology feels like an extension of one's self. I wondered "do I have a technology obsession?" I definitely have my moments, but overall I have a healthy relationship. It did get me thinking. As a society we upgrade our cameras, computers, phones and other electronics with each improvement or killer feature. We cringe and pushdown anxiety when our computer's speed wanes or wifi signals are poor. If we're not careful we'll check our social media more times than not. We've all experienced the phantom pocket vibration (right or am I alone), yet many people struggle to perform a legitimate body weight squat. Moreover, studies show that out every 100 employees:

• 29 have obesity
• 21 have hypertension
• 17 have high cholestrol
• 9 have high blood glucose (this seems low to me)

As our tech acumen rises our necks stiffen (without intervention). We rely on our laptops at the cost of our spines and hips. Some have said that technology allows us to experience a sort of increased acceleration towards certain aspects of our lives that can come easy and it becomes obsessive.

What would change if we looked at our physical and mental health with the same enthusiasm for which we regard our technology? Better technology has a way about it. It's always upending its predecessor. However, our physical body seems to be on a path of deconditioning without investing time and energy to care for it. Believe it or not, overall health can improve, if not maintain as we age.

Inherently, people understand that we need to eat less, move more, and choose a healthy lifestyle. Which brings me back to this idea of an upgrade. Perhaps if we start to think about our health differently (as a tool or an asset) we can rework the approach and redefine expectations. A healthy high functioning body may be the best upgrade of all.