Depression is a horrible ailment to suffer with. It takes over your life and you just can’t think straight. Time is drifting by and you feel as if you aren’t going anywhere. When counselling isn’t working and your doctor is out of options, where do you turn?
You certainly wouldn’t think of a unique way to use a chiropractor to fight depression. They identify with dealing with physical ailments not mental.
That’s where things are changing, though. Recent studies have shown chiropractors can play a vital role in beating depression.
Healing Physical Pain
Why would healing physical pain impact depression?
It’s a matter of mental clarity. When someone is in crippling pain all the time they can only focus on the pain. Constant physical pain worsens their mental state because what they feel inside is made manifest on the outside.
Mental clarity returns as physical pain dissipates. Ultimately, you get into a situation where you can better take care of those emotional problems.
It doesn’t always work this way. Physical pain is so often only a part of the equation. Mental trauma is something a chiropractor can’t help with. At some point, you’ll have to confront that before you can start to see major improvements.
Breaking the Cycle of Disrupted Sleep
One of the major symptoms of chronic pain is a lack of sleep. A lack of sleep is crucial to whether someone becomes depressed or not because of the mental fog it creates. Someone who isn’t getting enough sleep is more likely to become irritable and pessimistic. Naturally, this creates a vicious cycle that feels impossible to get out of.
When a chiropractor heals this sort of pain, patients find themselves better able to sleep and sleep well. They become healthier and the way they think starts to change.
Over time this can lead to their depression disappearing entirely.
The Power of Touch
Understand that a lot of depression occurs because of loneliness. Someone who doesn’t receive a regular human touch can feel as if they have been completely isolated from society.
Chiropractors have to touch you in order to work their magic. As well as curing any back pain, the use of human touch sends waves throughout the skin and the rest of the body. It releases endorphins and makes us feel better about ourselves. As you can probably guess, this is one way to help lift someone out of depression.
The Reality
Chiropractors are not magic bullets. Curing depression often requires complete lifestyle changes. It’s not enough for someone to cure your back pain through regular adjustments. Depression requires a complex mix of lifestyle change, counselling, and even medication.
Only a medical professional who knows you can decide what course of treatment you need to follow in order to cure yourself.