Look To Chiropractic Care To Lead The Way Out Of Addiction And Mental Illness
Anxiety, depression, addiction: All of these mental health issues have skyrocketed since 1990. According to one source, “In 2020, The Journal of Psychiatric Research outlined unprecedented changes in the global burden of depression, stating that from 1990 to 2017 the incident cases worldwide amplified from 172 million to 258 million, representing an increase of 49.8%. The American Psychological Association published that the rate of depression in U.S. adolescents aged 12-17 increased 52% just between the years 2005 to 2017 and between 2009 to 2017, there was a 63% increase in depression seen in young adults aged 18-25.”
Mental Health Issues Are Not Just in Your Head
So, you may wonder, how can chiropractic care help with mental/psychological issues? For starters, the issues of anxiety, depression, and addiction, while considered by many as purely psychological, have very real physical pains associated with them. For many opioid dependent people, their dependency came about because of a physical issue, typically, an accident or back pain. Anxiety and depression, both can manifest as physical pain.
As mentioned in the same article cited above, “Chiropractic care influences the neuromusculoskeletal system to optimize function and reduce joint pain that may accompany depression. A 2020 literature search outlined in Acta Biomedica, concluded that chiropractic and spinal manipulative therapies along with vagal nerve stimulation may be regarded as care options for depression. Several scientific studies have concluded that chiropractic adjustments can increase hormones like oxytocin which aid in feelings of connectedness while also modulating pain.”
It is becoming more widely known and accepted that through chiropractic care, “Maximizing joint function can also affect other physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle pain, balance issues or dizziness. Physiotherapy to relax musculature is available in most chiropractors’ offices to reduce muscle spasm and promote relaxation.”
Technology Is Contributing To Increasing Addictive Behavior And Pain
So, we have the COVID-19 pandemic that pushed anxiety and depression to unprecedented levels. Yet, we haven’t acknowledged what our devices, our smartphones, pads, and computers are doing to add to the problem. The article I am referencing throughout this piece states, “Scientific correlations are linking the mass use of technology in the last 30 years with the upsurge of anxiety and depression that we are seeing across the globe. Specifically, the associations relate back to the unnatural stimulation of dopamine and how it is affecting our biochemistry.” In terms of how chiropractic plays into this aspect of the dilemma, the article states, “The chiropractic profession has long recognized the role of thoughts, trauma, and toxins (the 3T’s) in the realm of health and disease. Technology in this sense has become a toxin that also affects our thoughts and drives behaviors.”
Addiction to smartphones is widespread. In the world today, 6.64 billion people utilize one. That translates to 84% of the world population. As recounted on CNN, a 2016 poll from Common Sense Media stated that 50% of teens self-reported that they felt addicted to their mobile devices. A 2018 Pew Research Report showed that 45% of teens said that they use the Internet ‘almost all the time.’ Yet other polls show the overwhelming number of times people check their phones every day, slaves to every notification, even sleeping next to the devices.”
More To Come
Next month I will continue with even more alarming statistics that point to how technology and the ongoing pandemic are adversely affecting our children and the population at large. To read the entire report you can go to the link below.
