The Stress Circuit
Stress doesn’t just affect how we feel. It changes how the nervous system functions, can influence pain, and can have effects throughout the body. These three classes trace that story from brain to body and explore why it matters in chiropractic practice.
$48
$62
All three classes, one price — 33% less than enrolling individually at $24 each.
Grounded by Research
Every practice member has a version of the stress story — the tight shoulders, the bad sleep, the “I know it’s probably stress” shrug. Most chiropractors can repeat the sentiment. Few can explain the mechanism.
This bundle, built on modern research, yet presented in easy to understand language by Dr Heidi Haavik, gives you the actual neuroscience: what stress and trauma do to the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, how the autonomic nervous system and immune system respond, and where physical trauma, subluxation, and chronic pain intersect. 193 minutes across three classes.
01
NS1.30 – 61 Mins
The Neurobiology of Stress and Trauma
Anatomy of a Stress Response
Before you can explain stress to a patient, you need the timeline. This class lays out what actually happens in the nervous system from the first stressor to chronic exposure — how the autonomic nervous system and immune system react, and why the body responds differently at the short-, medium-, and long-term stage. It’s the physiology reference the other two classes build on.
- The core neurobiology of the stress response, stage by stage
- How the autonomic nervous system and immune system react under stress
- What changes physiologically as stress moves from acute to chronic exposure
- The distinct short, medium and long-term effects of stress on the body
Autonomic Nervous System
Immune Response
Chronic Exposure
02
BS2.05 – 71 Mins
Impact of Stress on Brain and Health
The Brain’s Off Switch
This class covers the research showing exactly how stress and traumatic experience suppress prefrontal cortex function, why that makes it arguably the brain region most responsible for “who a patient is,” and how adjusting subluxations reopens that processing. You’ll also learn to recognize chronic stress in practice members before it’s buried in a dozen unrelated complaints.
- Why the prefrontal cortex functions as the brain’s master regulator
- Research showing how stress and trauma suppress prefrontal cortex function
- Its direct line to movement control, pain processing, immunity, and inflammation
- How correcting subluxations reopens prefrontal cortex processing
- Practical signs of chronic stress to watch for in practice members
Prefrontal Cortex
Chronic Disease
Subluxation
03
BS2.09 – 61 Mins
Connection between Stress, Pain, Sleep and Mental Health
The Weight of 1,000 Straws
This class traces how physiological and psychological stress feed the maladaptive neural processes behind chronic pain — and how adverse childhood experiences reshape a patient’s stress response decades later. It also covers how physical trauma changes the small deep paraspinal muscles that stabilize the spine, the mechanical link between trauma and subluxation, plus the “1,000 straws on the camel’s back” analogy for explaining accumulated stress.
- How pain-related changes in the amygdala drive the brain’s stress neuromatrix
- The three-way link between chronic pain, sleep problems, and mental health
- How adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) shape adult stress physiology
- Why physical trauma affects the small deep paraspinal muscles — and its link to subluxation
- A patient-ready way to explain cumulative stress load
Amygdala
Chronic Pain
ACEs
BS2.05 The Impact of Stress on the Brain and Health
71 minutes – How stress and traumatic experiences negatively impact our brain function and health.
BS2.09 Connection between Stress, Pain, Sleep and Mental Health
61 minutes – how stress plays a major role in the development of chronic pain.
NS1.30 The Neurobiology of Stress and Trauma
61 minutes – understand the impact of stress and trauma on the human brain and body.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to take the classes in order?
No. Each class is self-contained and independently quizzed with a completion certificate upon successfully passing the final quiz.
What’s included besides the videos?
A quiz after every section, a final quiz for each class, a downloadable handout, and certificate on completion of each class..
$48
$62
All three classes, one price — 33% less than enrolling individually at $24 each.
