As the holiday season rolls around, ideas of jingle bells, presents, and perfectly-decorated trees might be dancing in your head. But, if you’re like many Americans this holiday season, anxiety and stress over the holiday season might be filling your mind instead.

And if you’re dealing with holiday stress, trying to shop for everyone on your gift list, organizing your holiday family reunions, and cooking and baking for dinners and parties, you might be experiencing physical manifestations of that pain – aching, strained, and tight feelings, headaches, and more.

You might be in holiday survival mode, popping Advil or ignoring the pain and anxiety – just trying to make it past Jan 1st without forgetting anyone’s gift or ruining your final holiday party. Yikes.

When is the last time you stopped and took the time aware of yourself and your stress levels? The holidays should be afun and joy-filled time, but if you’re walking around in a stress-fueled,pained, zombie-like state, odds are you’re probably not enjoying this Christmasseason.

Did you know that heavy stress and anxiety can actually create an imbalance in your nervous system and cause your body to activate an inflammatory response which can cause illness, disease, and pain?

In case you couldn’t tell, we do NOT recommend holiday survival mode. In fact, all that unpleasant anxiety and pain you’reexperiencing is your body’s way of trying to tell you to JUST SLOW DOWN.

The holidays are great times to connect with family and friends in a special way — instead of stressing about the perfect gifts, spend some time focusing on friends and family, no matter how imperfect the meal or decorations are. Use this festive season as a catalyst for changing your attitude toward life — bring more of whatever gives you and your family joy into your life during this season.

At McKinley Family Chiropractic, we offer chiropractic adjustments to help with anxiety, rebalance your nervous system, and eliminate the pain you experience because of your body’s inflammatory response.

So, this holiday season, listen to your body and take the time you need to take care of yourself and enjoy this festive time with your family and friends!