Anxiety: What Is It?
Anxiety is everywhere!
People we all know and love are experiencing anxiety. They are being diagnosed by the thousands every day around the country...but what is it really?
The definition is: "a nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behavior or panic attacks."
Most people think it is a disorder or disease, but it is not. It is a dysfunction in the nervous system that can happen for many reasons...
Here are a few:
Trauma- Emotional or physical trauma can alter nervous system function and shift it into 'fight or flight' mode in an instant. Childhood trauma is very common and it can set the stage for this nervous system imbalance. The higher your ACE (Adverse Childhood Events score, the higher the probability of experiencing anxiety later on in life.
Take the ACE Quiz here to get your score.
People can develop anxiety from adult trauma as well. Abuse, assault, motor vehicle accidents and many others.
Hormones - Thyroid, Adrenal or sex hormone shifts can create the anxiety state! These hormonal imbalances can happen for many reasons including exposure to toxins, medications, chronic stress, autoimmunity or even a lack of sunlight!
Lack of Physical Stimulation - The brain is an electro-chemical system that relies on nutrients, water, sunlight and stimulation. Exercise stimulates the senses and nerve endings in the body to drive healthy brain function. Many of these receptors are founds in the spine and having regular spinal adjustments plays an important role in maintaining a healthy brain.
Gut Health - In 2007, we began to look at the role of microbes on our health. Americans had a long standing belief that all bacteria was bad, and that killing bacteria with antibiotics, antibacterial soaps and hand lotions was good. As it turns out, the Human Microbiome Project found that we are 1/10th Human and 9/10ths bacteria! We literally have 10x the number of bacterial cells in our bodies than we have human cells.
Recently, 600-800 research papers per day come out on the role of this bacterial colony called the Microbiome on our health. Interestingly, it plays a direct role in how we think and feel.
With so many Americans experiencing chronic gastro issues like GERD, IBS, bloating and constipation, there is always an underlying alteration in the microbiome-body communication. Gut dysfunction -= brain dysfunction and fixing these imbalances is critical to a health brain.
These are a few factors that make us realize that Anxiety is certainly NOT a Xanax deficiency and people who suffer with it can find hope in a functional exam and comprehensive set of lab work that is easily performed.
Check out this amazing lady describe her journey from feeling horrible to feeling great in a few short months! https://youtu.be/3cn0DmFVbmk
I work with an amazing team of psychologists and docs who can cover all the bases and I am very proud to announce that I am heading up a functional doctors alliance for an international mental health non profit organization called SameHere Global! Check it out here.
https://samehereglobal.org/docs-alliance-directory/
If you or someone you know is dealing with Anxiety, I am happy to discuss it with them. I have set up a link to complimentary Zoom meetings during the week that can be found here:
https://calendly.com/the-optimum-u/15?month=2022-09
Yours in Health,
Dr. Mike