We’ve all heard the lyrics
“So please
Baby please
Open your eyes
And catch my disease”
Catchy – ironic isn’t it?
In a world where technology is rapidly progressing, transport and movement are easily accessible and daily life spins fast – it’s easy to get caught up singing the same song. We may be so completely intertwined with our daily lives, yet utterly disconnected from the world around us at the same time. By world, we mean the environment that we as humans are in constant communication with. It’s the oxygen we breathe and the soil that nourishes our food – it is also the viruses and bacteria we build our lives in conjunction with.
Our bodies are cleverly designed for this, and for the most part these viruses and bacteria pose no threat – in fact, the opposite! They are key building blocks to developing a mature and responsive immune system. They provide us with opportunities to build our systems in harmony with the environment we live in, and they do so by challenging this system in a way similar to strengthening a muscle.
Think of a child who has begun to move around on the floor, they roll, they reach, they… put everything in their mouth. To say our bodies plan ahead is an understatement, this innate behaviour is the window by which a child is able to test and be exposed to their environment. They are sampling the viruses and bacteria around them, and intuitively building a diverse, adaptable and resilient immune system to respond with.
Health Expressions
Sometimes this results in a health expression. For example, a fever to cook off any excess of bugs, a runny nose to carry them out of the body or a tummy bug to flush out any imbalance in bacteria. We are all born with an inherent ability to heal, recover and regulate ourselves internally – how we show up in daily life will determine how well this ability is expressed.
Just like brain plasticity, the immune system is constantly learning and it has the ability to change. Changes are triggered based upon the information our brains perceive from our environment – what have I been exposed to? What is a potential threat? Am I safe? Do I need to prioritise survival, or am I safe to rest and digest? When our immune system receives new information from bacteria or virus exposure, it learns.
Sometimes, when we are out of balance, under significant stress or experiencing a change in our life – we may not process these learnings with as much ease as usual. Our defences are down and we are sailing uncharted waters. This is excellent news for new and invading viruses and bacteria, they have a landscape to thrive in and an easily accessible host! So they move on in, set up camp and make their presence known. Cue a health expression.
When the body is expressing itself as it was innately designed to do, we celebrate this in chiropractic. We acknowledge it is time to rest, rebuild and keep up your adjustments so that you have the best opportunity for a successful recovery. It is a time to support our bodies as they create new pathways, flush out old ones and build stronger, more resilient immune systems.