How Resistant Are You to Change? A Network Spinal Perspective on Stress and Adaptation

If you’ve ever found yourself saying, “I know what I should do… I just can’t seem to do it,” you’re not alone. Resistance to change isn’t a character flaw. More often, it’s a nervous system strategy—an intelligent, learned form of protection that once helped you cope, but now quietly limits how much ease, connection, and choice you feel day to day.

In my work at WellWellWell Sydney, I see this all the time: people aren’t “lazy” or “unmotivated.” They’re often adapted to stress—and the body can become so familiar with that state that calm feels unfamiliar, even unsafe.

I’m Dr Euan, and in this article I’ll explore where resistance comes from, what it can do to your body, mind, emotions, and “energy,” and how Network Spinal Sydney care can support your nervous system to shift out of fight/flight and into more calm, clarity, and choice.

Resistance to Change Isn’t Logical… It’s Physiological

Most people think resistance lives in the mind: overthinking, procrastination, fear. But often, resistance is state-based.

When your nervous system is running in survival mode (fight/flight/freeze), it prioritises:

• certainty over possibility

• control over creativity

• scanning for threat over exploring growth

In that state, change can feel like danger—even if it’s “good change.”

The nervous system learns through repetition. If you’ve spent months or years pushing through, bracing, worrying, people-pleasing, or staying on alert, that becomes a form of learned adaptation: your body learns, “This is how we survive.”

Learned Adaptation and the “Addiction” to Stress

Let’s talk about something that surprises people: you can become habitually attached to a stress state.

Not because you enjoy stress—but because stress can become the body’s normal. Over time, you may start to feel “most like yourself” when you’re busy, pressured, hyper-alert, or in problem-solving mode. Calm can feel boring, unsettling, or even emotionally exposing.

This isn’t weakness. It’s conditioning.

The World Health Organization notes that stress can make it harder to relax and can affect concentration, sleep, mood, and physical comfort. World Health Organization When this becomes chronic, your system can start living as if the emergency never ends.

What Resistance Does to the Body

When stress becomes persistent, the body pays a cost.

The American Psychological Association describes how stress impacts multiple body systems (including musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems). American Psychological Association Over time, that “always-on” stress chemistry can contribute to tension patterns, shallow breathing, poor sleep, digestive changes, headaches, and that sense of never fully switching off.

Researchers often describe the “wear and tear” of chronic stress as allostatic load—the cumulative strain on the body from repeated stress activation. A systematic review found allostatic load/overload is associated with poorer health outcomes. PubMed

What Resistance Does to the Mind

In a stress state, the brain becomes a threat-detection machine. You might notice:

• racing thoughts or repetitive looping

• difficulty prioritising

• “busy mind” even when you’re exhausted

• a tendency to expect the worst

That’s not you failing to think positively. That’s your nervous system trying to predict and prevent danger.

And it’s hard to make empowering change when your inner world is running emergency software.

What Resistance Does to Emotions

When we’re chronically stressed, emotions often become less fluid and more “stuck.” Some people feel anxious and irritable. Others go numb, flat, or disconnected.

You may also notice that you know you want change, but feel strangely blocked—because emotionally, change may mean uncertainty, vulnerability, or disappointment.

Resistance often protects old pain.

What Resistance Does to Your Energy

Even if you don’t use the word “energy,” you’ll recognise the experience:

• your battery drains quickly

• you feel wired-but-tired

• you lose your sense of spaciousness

• life feels heavier than it “should”

A nervous system in chronic defence uses a lot of fuel. Over time, it can feel like you’re living with the handbrake slightly on.

A Quick Research Snapshot: Stress, Immunity, and Psychological Health

Chronic stress is strongly linked with changes in immune function and inflammation. Reviews in the scientific literature describe how persistent stress exposure can dysregulate immune responses and contribute to an inflammatory “load,” which is also relevant to mood and anxiety pathways. PMC+1 The APA also notes that chronic stress can suppress aspects of immune function, making recovery harder. American Psychological Association

This is one reason many modern health approaches focus on improving nervous system regulation—not because it magically removes life stressors, but because a more regulated system can buffer stress better, recover faster, and make healthier choices more available.

How Network Spinal Care Helps Reduce Resistance by Changing State

Network Spinal is a gentle, nervous-system–focused chiropractic approach that works with spinal and respiratory patterns, tension holding, and the body’s adaptive strategies. In practice, many people notice that as their nervous system becomes more regulated, they get access to:

• more breath and body awareness

• less bracing and guarding

• an easier shift out of fight/flight

• clearer emotional processing

• more calm and more choices

When your state changes, resistance often softens - not because you forced yourself, but because your body no longer needs to protect you from change in the same way.

At WellWellWell Sydney, we’re not trying to “push” you into transformation. We’re supporting the conditions where change can feel safer inside you.

From Fight/Flight to Calm: Why Choice Returns

Here’s a simple truth: you can’t think your way into safety if your nervous system is still signalling danger.

As regulation improves, people often describe:

• feeling less reactive

• sleeping more deeply

• responding instead of snapping

• having more patience with themselves

• making decisions with less urgency and more clarity

It’s not about becoming a different person. It’s about becoming more you, without the constant ‘stress soundtrack’ in the background.

What Change Can Feel Like When Your Nervous System Is Supported

When resistance eases, change becomes less of a battle and more of a natural unfolding. You may start to notice:

• you do the thing you’ve been avoiding, without drama

• you recover faster after a stressful day

• you feel more present with loved ones

• you have more capacity for exercise, creativity, or rest

• life feels lighter—not perfect, but more workable

That’s the heart of nervous system work: not a forced overhaul, but an increase in ease, adaptability, and resilience.

If you’re searching for Network Spinal Sydney, and you want an approach that’s gentle, embodied, and grounded in the nervous system—this is exactly what we explore at WellWellWell Sydney.

FAQs: Resistance to Change, Stress, and Network Spinal Sydney

1) Why do I resist change even when I want it?

Because resistance often comes from your nervous system, not your logic. If your system is adapted to stress, change can feel like threat, even when it’s positive, so your body defaults to what’s familiar.

2) Can you really become “addicted” to stress?

Rather than addiction, it’s a learned pattern. When the body adapts to ongoing alertness, calm can feel unfamiliar, and the nervous system may keep pulling you back toward stress as a baseline.

3) What does chronic stress do to health and immunity?

Chronic stress is linked with immune changes and increased inflammatory activity, and is associated with broader “wear and tear” (allostatic load) over time. PMC+2PubMed+2

4) How does Network Spinal help with fight/flight?

Network Spinal care is designed to support nervous system regulation through gentle, specific spinal and sensory input, often helping the body shift from protective tension patterns into more breath, ease, and adaptability. Individual results vary, but many people report feeling calmer and more resilient over time.

5) Where can I get Network Spinal in Sydney?

I’m Dr Euan at WellWellWell Sydney, and we offer Network Spinal Sydney care with a focus on regulation, resilience, and helping your system move out of chronic stress patterns into greater ease.

References

• World Health Organization (WHO): Stress Q&A (2023). World Health Organization

• American Psychological Association (APA): Stress effects on the body (2018). American Psychological Association

• American Psychological Association (APA): How stress affects your health (2013). American Psychological Association

• Guidi et al. (2021): Allostatic load and health outcomes (systematic review). PubMed

• Morey et al. (2015): Stress and human immune function (review). PMC

• Ravi et al. (2021): Stress, inflammation, and allostatic load (review). PMC