THE specific BLOG

THE specific BLOG

The Chronic Adrenaline Rush

I hate scary movies.

I don’t like how loud the music is when something jumps out, I don’t like the plots that all seem the same, I don’t like being scared!

It’s like an adrenaline rush for me, but it lasts the entire movie!

Why would anyone want to watch these kinds of movies for fun?

I mean, at the same time, I do like doing things that are somewhat dangerous like ride motorcycles, jump dirt bikes, and those sorts of things….so I guess it’s somewhat similar for people that like scary movies. 

I think everyone has experienced a “fun” adrenaline rush in their lifetimes at least once.

Whether it was riding a roller coaster, tubing behind a boat, sledding, skiing, make a big play during a game…all of these cause somewhat of an adrenaline rush effect in the body. 

What exactly is an adrenaline rush though?

Neurotransmitters are the cause!

Okay what are those you might be asking?

They are chemicals inside of our body. Epinephrine and norepinephrine are what cause the sensation of an adrenaline rush. They are actually a very primitive part of our body. This reaction takes place when the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated indicating that we are in some sort of danger. That’s why this part of the nervous system is called the “fight or flight” portion. 

Often when you experience an adrenaline rush you’ll notice your heart beats faster, you breathe faster, you feel stronger and faster….this is all so that if there is a danger to us, we are able to fight it off, or escape as best as we can.

Now once we get to a safe place or the danger isn’t there anymore we should go back to “normal.” The same goes for when you’re watching a scary movie, in the middle of it all you have somewhat of an adrenaline rush, then when the movie is over you come down from that stimulation. 

That is how the system is supposed to work, it’s never supposed to be on all the time. Imagine if that were the case, how weird you’d feel?

Wellllll, what we find at The Specific Chiropractic Centers is that system oftentimes is on all the time. 

Usually it’s not on to the fullest extent, it’s almost like a dimmer switch for a lightbulb. Instead of the light being at the right brightness, it’s cranked up a little too bright. This is something that is somewhat minor but can make a huge difference, especially when we are talking about the human body. 

What’s The Big Deal?

Okay, so what that this fight or flight system is turned up a little bit, that probably doesn’t mean much to you. It probably just means that maybe you feel a little on edge and with how society is nowadays everyone pretty much feels that way.

That is a correct thought but having this system on for a long time can have some pretty drastic effects on your health as a whole. This fight or flight response is part of the autonomic nervous system, or what I like to call the autonomic nervous system. It controls your heart rate, breathing rate, digestion, sensation, sleep, and many more. 

Here are some of the things that you may experience if you’re having this dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system:

  • dizziness and fainting upon standing up, or orthostatic hypotension
  • an inability to alter heart rate with exercise, or exercise intolerance
  • sweating abnormalities, which could alternate between sweating too much and not sweating enough
  • digestive difficulties, such as a loss of appetite, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, or difficulty swallowing
  • urinary problems, such as difficulty starting urination, incontinence, and incomplete emptying of the bladder
  • vision problems, such as blurry vision or an inability of the pupils to react to light quickly
  • difficulty in getting to sleep or staying asleep
  • headaches and migraines
  • depression and anxiety, as well as add/adhd

We see people all the time in the office who have their systems stuck in this fight or flight reaction. It’s not as simple as just dimming the switch a little bit, it does take some time for people to fully recover and start seeing results from what we do in the office. 

The good news is that we are able to help people who do struggle with being stuck in this fight or flight state. 

At The Specific Chiropractic Centers we focus on the nervous system and test it at every visit. We can actually see if everything is working correctly or incorrectly in regards to the nervous system and if the body is stuck in a state of fight or flight. The top 2 bones of the neck is what we work with directly. This may seem weird, especially if the symptoms you’re experiencing aren’t in the area of your neck but hear me out for a second. 

Have you ever been inside your house and then suddenly some lights and outlets won’t work in a certain room? What do you do? Do you call an electrician? No….you usually go down to the basement or to a separate closet and check the fuse box. You make sure that all the switches are switched to on and if one isn’t then you switch it back to on. The human body works in a similar fashion with the area by the top 2 bones in the neck, the brainstem, being the fusebox to the body. This is also where the nervous system and that fight or flight system originates, which is why we work with that area exclusively. If you think that you struggle with this constant, slight adrenaline rush/fight or flight feeling then reach out to us. No one should be living with this and it’s something that we help out with at the office on a daily basis. Simply give us a call or fill out our submission form on our website here and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!

Learn more.

Here are a few more posts on how chiropractic care can help those who suffer from headaches and/or migraines.

Thanks for reading the specific blog.