Anxiety and Depression
Is your mental health allowing you to realise your human potential?
Your ability to enjoy time with family and friends, to be productive in the work place or even just engage in life, is very much dependent on your mental health.
As human beings, we are not meant to be happy all the time. A fulfilled life is one where we experience a whole range of emotions including anxiety, grief, sorrow, anger, melancholy and depression. To understand and connect with all emotional states gives us depth and enriches our soul.
The problem is when you cannot ‘let go’ and become trapped in an emotional round about, or when your emotional responses are no longer appropriate for the situation you are experiencing. This is when anxiety and depression go from being a temporary emotion state, into a disorder that requires management and professional treatment.
At Simply Health, we recognise that mental health is intimately connected with your physical well-being and overall health condition.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a feeling of angst or worry that has both physiological and psychological manifestations. To feel anxiety before sitting an exam, making a public presentation or asking a girl out on a first date would be considered normal. Anxiety in these situations may help the body cope with the stressor.
When anxiety becomes overwhelming or continues well after the stressor has gone, may be classified as an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders include Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Phobias, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
Depression
Depression is a state of low mood and may include feelings of apathy, anxiousness, hopelessness and irritability. Depressed people often withdraw from social interaction or activities that they once enjoyed; have loss of appetite or over-eat; insomnia or excessive sleeping, fatigue, digestive disorders and various musculoskeletal complaints such as back pain.
Like anxiety, it is normal to feel depressed in response to life events. Clinical Depression (also known as Major Depressive Disorder or MDD) involves a group of symptoms, the main one being severe and recurrent depression and low self-esteem. People with MDD may commit or attempt to commit suicide.
A psychiatrist or clinical psychologist should evaluate people with an anxiety or depressive disorder.
How can Chiropractic help?
While not being a treatment for anxiety or depression, many people find that they benefit from the positive effect chiropractic has on improving muscle tone. Physically feeling better in the body is an important initial step to feeling better in the mind. Improved physical well-being also makes it easier for individuals to feel good about exercise and other activities, which can eventually help their mental state.
In many cases, we work closely with counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists to help achieve the best results.
For more information see the Beyond Blue website at http://www.beyondblue.org.au
Want to know more about how Chiropractic can help?
We welcome any question you may have on anxiety and depression. Book an appointment with Simply Health to schedule a consultation with our chiropractors who may be able to recommend an appropriate course of action. You are also invited to take our Free Spinal Check to understand how your spine may be affecting your health and whether chiropractic is a suitable treatment for your condition.