It is so common in the LGBTQ community to experience feelings of overwhelm, stress, and anxiety - in fact, symptoms of anxiety are felt by more than 50% of LGBTQ people. Stress has become a part of our daily routines in the form of media, work, lifestyle habits, and even relationships. But did you know that Chiropractic Care is known for its ability to reduce the feelings of stress in your body and assist in regulating an anxious system? 

Take it from me, your “woo-woo” friend and Denver’s LGBTQ Chiropractor, adjustments are a GREAT addition to maintaining a healthy connection between your body and mind.

Stress & Anxiety in the LGBTQ Community

Stress and Anxiety are not just the feeling of overwhelm or the thought of wanting to pull your hair out. Both stress and anxiety are functions of our nervous system that are designed to keep us safe - ironic because they usually make us feel horribly unsafe when they are at their worst. The Trevor Project’s most up-to-date statistic shows that 67% of LGBTQ people surveyed experience at least some symptoms of anxiety regularly. As it relates to stress, 74% of people reported feeling so stressed they could not cope at least once in the past year. Those statistics may seem exceptionally high, but they are both directly linked to social pressure and stigmatization. They are also both heavily tied to our feelings of safety and community. 

But what even is Stress? 

You might be thinking of a person who looks frazzled or maybe someone who is overbooked for weeks on end. But, in reality, stress is a physiologic occurrence that happens at a cellular level in your body. In human development, stress was what allowed us to escape predators - think a cave person who is being chased by a lion. When that person’s body initialized that they were in danger, a cascade of responses kicked off inside their body. Cortisol and adrenaline, the stress hormones, were released which sent more blood to muscles, dilated pupils, increased heart rate, and cut off blood supply to things like digestion and reproduction so that they could run faster to escape the danger. 

That is STILL how stress works in your body. Unfortunately, these “lions” are all around us now. They are the traffic on the way to work, the bosses who can’t control their tempers, the notifications on your phone, and numerous other daily encounters that are part of everyday life.

Anxiety is the way that your body learns and adapts to known stressors. Its purpose as a function of human existence is to keep record of things that were unsafe and remember how it handled that stressor before so it can better prepare you for future dangers. This looks like an unconscious log of what worked, didn’t work, or might work for something totally different in the future. 

Stress and Anxiety are both nervous system responses meant to keep you safe from potential threats or danger. They, unfortunately, often combine to feel like an alarm bell that creates a feeling of imminent danger.

What is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is a vitalistic healthcare system that has revolved around the health and flexibility of your nervous system since the 1800’s - long before nervous system regulation was a TikTok worthy content stream. Through adjustments, we remove interference in the nervous system that are known as Subluxations. 

Subluxation translates from Latin to mean “slightly dislocated” or sometimes “less light” and refers to how your bones can move in and out of their normal joint space and create dysfunction on the nerves that travel between them. This dysfunction creates miscommunication or a loss of communication in your nervous system. When we remove these interferences from the system, we restore the balance and connection between your brain and body - and all of its parts. 

For many, these subluxations can relate to pain points they know and feel. For others, these subluxations manifest into something entirely different - loss of restful sleep, inability to focus, increased feelings of stress, GI dysfunction, and even (you guessed it) mental health changes. 

In practice, I often refer to this as the “magical quality” because all I can offer my patients is the removal of subluxation from their system - their body does the rest! With a level of consistency, patients see improvement to such a variety of things through chiropractic care because it is improving the connection and flexibility of their nervous system. 

What can Chiropractic do for Stress & Anxiety? 

Numerous studies have shown a correlation to consistent chiropractic care and overall mental health improvement. How this works can be explained by Polyvagal Theory, an intensely scientific theory about how your Vagus nerve relates to your body and its overall health. Your vagus nerve is closely connected to your upper neck structure and studies suggest that this is how chiropractic influences stress and mental health. 

When we reduce pressure by removing the subluxation from the upper neck structure, the vagus nerve is stimulated. This reduces the cortisol level in your body which allows your nervous system to return to a resting state. Click here to read more about this process! 

In my own household, my partner experiences anxiety and panic attacks that began during COVID. When she experiences these feelings, her go-to solution is to be adjusted because it is an immediate down-regulation of the anxious feelings. I often find that it is this magical quality of the nervous system and of chiropractic care that you have to see to believe.  

Adding Chiropractic To Your Health Routine

The LGBTQ community experiences the highest rate of anxiety and depression of any community it could be compared to. As a member of this community, I became a chiropractor because I wanted my community to experience the magic that I had as a patient from a safe, affirming provider. You deserve to feel safe in your own body and to have gentle, effective solutions to regulate your nervous system. 

With such high rates of anxiety, stress, and depression - you can’t afford to NOT make chiropractic care part of your health routine. While there are many ways to soothe symptoms of stress and anxiety, finding real relief and improvement in your mental health can vastly improve your overall wellness. 

Click here to book your first appointment and see the magic for yourself! 

-Dr. Savannah