Breaking Old Habits
Breaking Old Habits
Adopting a Healthy Attitude of Change
Breaking the cycle of stress can lead to positive changes. But where do you begin? Dr. Jeffrey Donahue explains how changing your attitude could be a good start.
Stress can occur with any change that happens in life. Since we are changing all of the time, we can easily be under some level of stress every day, whether we realize it or not. You may have heard the saying, “stress kills,” but at the very least, stress can cause a multitude of health concerns.
Is it possible to lead a stress free life? Probably not. As an expert in the health industry, I would venture to say, that the only time we wouldn't be in a state of stress is after we've died (I'm not 100 percent certain about that, I am just speculating).
While it is important to try and lead a life where excessive stresses aren't a common occurrence, we do need a little stress to grow and change. We just don't need excessive stress—the kind that can damage the body.
Good nutrition and exercise are key components to keeping stress levels in check. Also, our bodies have built in "fuses" to protect large muscles, organs and glands from damage caused by excessive stress. Resetting the fuses, aka correcting a subluxation, is the domain of the chiropractor.
Chiropractors are experts at finding the "blown" fuse, and then resetting it through "adjustments.” This allows the nervous system to resume better communication between the brain and the cells of the body, as well as expanding our ability to handle stress. As important, but much more subtle, is the attitude needed for positive changes to take place.
But, since we are creatures of habit, making changes to unhealthy habits, for new healthier ones can be extremely challenging. It takes energy to form new neural (brain and nervous system) pathways, and faced with using less or more energy, most of us stray toward the easier path. To become masters of our bodies, we need to expend energy, and move past the "survival" instinct, to more of "thriving".
To break a pattern, you must first understand why or how you do the old habit. For example, in my life, I had learned to run and walk slightly bowlegged. It was a lazy habit, and at least partly reinforced by knowing how much it irritated my father. The forces of this posture on my knees caused pain as I got older.
To change this habit, I had to carefully look at my old pattern of walking. I learned that key muscles weren't working as I would walk or run. By using specific exercises, as well as consciously making the weak muscles work, I started the process of establishing a new, more balanced habit. I'm still in process, but I am now running short distances without any knee discomfort at all.
This is an essential component of making positive changes—adopting the attitude of being fully present and aware. It does take energy, but to thrive, which means to live fully, you will have to push yourself out of old comfort zones.
We don't want to push ourselves to the point of excessive stress, but only enough to expand our "adaptive potential.” By doing this, we are able to handle more stress, including the changes we are working on. After time, the "new" patterns become our new, healthier habits. This works not only on physical issues, but emotional patterns and nutritional habits as well.
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