Fight or Flight: What You Can do to Support Your Nervous System
If you’ve ever felt “stuck” in stress mode — wired but tired, anxious for no reason, or always feeling like you’re running on empty — you’re not alone.
The truth is, your nervous system might be trapped in fight or flight — that survival state your body was designed to use for short bursts of danger, not for the daily stressors of modern life.
And here’s the thing: you can’t just will your body out of that state. Deep breathing, meditation, and a walk outside all help — but if your body’s physical wiring is off, your nervous system can’t fully shift back into rest and repair.
Understanding Fight or Flight
Your nervous system has two main modes:
Sympathetic (Fight or Flight) — your alert, stress, survival mode
Parasympathetic (Rest and Digest) — your recovery and healing mode
When life feels constantly “on,” your sympathetic system can dominate. Hormones like cortisol stay high, muscles stay tense, digestion slows, and sleep quality drops. Over time, your body forgets how to turn off that stress response — and that’s when health starts to suffer.
Why You Can’t Do It All on Your Own
Even with the best self-care habits, your nervous system can remain stuck if there’s a deeper physical imbalance.
Think of your brain and body like a two-way communication network. Your brain sends messages through your spine, down every nerve, to control every organ, muscle, and cell. If that signal gets distorted — even slightly — your body stays on high alert.
That’s where chiropractic care plays a unique role.
How Chiropractic Helps Rebalance the Nervous System
At Foresight Wellness, our approach focuses on the Atlas Orthogonal (AO) technique — a gentle, precise adjustment at the top of your spine that directly influences your brainstem, the control center for your nervous system.
When your atlas (the top vertebra) is misaligned, it can cause interference in that brain-body communication, keeping your body stuck in fight or flight. AO adjustments help restore balance, so your system can finally shift into a calmer, more regulated state.
Better sleep quality
Fewer headaches or tension
More energy and mental clarity
Improved digestion and recovery
Because when your nervous system can communicate clearly, your whole body works better.
Supporting Your Nervous System Beyond Adjustments
While chiropractic helps reset the foundation, long-term healing also involves supporting your body between visits.
Simple daily practices that reinforce calm and balance include:
Breathe deeply — Try slow, 4-second inhales and 6-second exhales
Get sunlight early in the day — It helps regulate cortisol and melatonin
Eat whole, nourishing foods — Blood sugar swings amplify stress responses
Move gently — Stretching, walking, or light exercise helps regulate tension
Healing your nervous system isn’t about doing everything perfectly — it’s about creating safety in your body again.
The Takeaway
You can’t think your way out of fight or flight — but you can retrain your body to find calm again.
Chiropractic care helps open that communication pathway so your nervous system can finally do what it was designed to: adapt, recover, and thrive.
Ready to experience the difference?
Contact us to schedule a nervous system evaluation and see how Atlas Orthogonal care could help you feel and function your best.
Call (480) 325-6977 to schedule a free consultation with a Board-Certified Atlas Orthogonal Upper Cervical Specialist. Our care is natural, non-invasive, and highly precise—with no twisting, popping, or cracking involved.
To help our new patients get a head start on their health journey, our doctors host New Patient Wellness Workshops weekly. These workshops are designed to help you get better quicker and stay better longer. Call today to reserve your seats!
If you’ve been struggling with chronic symptoms and nothing seems to help, your atlas could be the missing link.