Final Thought of 2025: Stress, Emotions & Your Brain — The Shockwave Effect on IQ and Well-BeingBy Dr. Masoud Shamaeizadeh, DC

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As 2025 comes to a close, it’s worth pausing to reflect on one of the most pervasive challenges of modern life: stress in all its forms — anger, sadness, anxiety, depression, and emotional overload. We often talk about stress in psychological or emotional terms, but research increasingly shows the toll it takes on your body and your brain’s cognitive capacity — including measurable drops in cognitive performance and IQ when you're emotionally dysregulated.
Let’s unpack what science has revealed this year — and every year — about stress, emotions, and cognitive health. Then we’ll explore one of the most overlooked yet powerful ways to combat stress: maintaining an aligned spine.

🔥 Stress, Anger & Sadness Aren’t Just Feelings — They Impact Your BrainWhen you’re angry or emotionally charged, your nervous system activates the fight or flight response — increasing heart rate, muscle tension, and stress hormones while temporarily reducing the activity of rational, higher-order brain regions. This isn’t just anecdotal — prolonged anger and stress can actually make decision-making and logical thinking harder in the moment. (Verywell Mind)
Scientific studies show that:

• Stress correlates negatively with emotional intelligence (EI) — the better you regulate emotions, the stronger your emotional and cognitive performance. Conversely, high stress — especially anger — is linked with poorer emotional regulation, which correlates with lower IQ test performance. (PMC)
• Sadness and depressive symptoms are associated with declines in cognitive functions such as memory and executive processing. Research following adults over years found that higher levels of anxiety and depression are linked to declines in key cognitive domains as people age. (PMC)

The takeaway? Your emotional health is directly tied to your cognitive functioning — including areas of the brain involved in reasoning, memory, and attention. Chronic stress doesn’t just feel bad — it makes your brain work harder and less efficiently.

🧠 Why High Emotional Charges (Anger, Depression & Sadness) Hit Your IQWhen your body perceives threat — even psychological threat — the amygdala (your emotional alarm center) lights up. At the same time, the prefrontal cortex (responsible for planning and reasoning) becomes less active. This shift isn’t just temporary; if triggered often, it becomes a pattern that makes clear thinking harder and decreases working memory and problem-solving skills. (Verywell Mind)
In simpler words:
👉 The more frequently you’re angry, frustrated, sad, or depressed, the harder your brain has to work — and the more your IQ performance can drop during those episodes. (PMC)
The good news? You can influence this — with habits, mindfulness, lifestyle, and yes — with better physical alignment.

🌀 Stress Isn’t Just in Your Head — It Shows Up in Your BodyLook at stress as a whole-body phenomenon. Chronic emotional stress activates your sympathetic nervous system (“fight or flight”), raising cortisol and tension throughout your body — especially in your neck, back, shoulders, and pelvis. That physical tension feeds back into your nervous system and exacerbates emotional stress. This creates a loop that strengthens stress patterns — mentally, physically, and emotionally.

oscience points in this post!

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Why an Aligned Spine Helps You Manage Stress — And Your Brain
Most people think of chiropractic care as back pain treatment. But your spine is so much more:
1. A Better-Aligned Spine Improves Nervous System FunctionYour spine houses and protects your spinal cord — the main communication highway between your brain and body. Misalignments can interfere with nerve signals that regulate stress responses. Chiropractic adjustments help restore smooth communication and balance between the sympathetic (“stress”) and parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) systems. (Dr. Narson)
2. Spinal Care Can Reduce Stress Hormones Studies show spinal adjustments may:

• Reduce cortisol, a key marker of chronic stress
• Increase neurotrophic factors like BDNF (which supports brain health and neuroplasticity)
• Influence neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which regulate mood. (PMC)

3. Improved Posture = Reduced StressPoor posture doesn’t just strain your muscles; it sends stress signals to your brain. Upright posture and alignment boost confidence, improve breathing, and decrease muscle tension — all of which promote calmer emotional states. (Chiropractic Fitness)
4. Enhanced Emotional Resilience Patients often report:
✔ Less emotional reactivity
✔ Better sleep
✔ Improved focus
✔ Reduced muscle tension and headaches
— all of which support emotional regulation and clearer thinking. (Rodgers Stein Chiropractic)

✅ A Simple Truth for 2026: You Are Not Just Your Mind — You Are Your Body, TooIn 2025, science is clear:

• Stress affects your brain and body — not just your mood.
• Anger, prolonged sadness, and emotional overload can lower cognitive performance. (PMC)
• Your physical alignment matters for emotional balance and cognitive health.

Taking care of your spine isn’t just about pain relief — it’s about strengthening your nervous system resilience and supporting your mental and emotional well-being.

Your Next Step If stress, emotional overwhelm, or decreased mental clarity has been holding you back:
👉 Schedule a spinal alignment assessment with a trusted chiropractor.
👉 Pair spinal care with lifestyle strategies like mindful movement, sleep hygiene, and emotional awareness practices.
👉 Invest in your nervous system — from the inside out.
Let 2026 be the year you take control of stress — not just in your mind, but in your body and brain as a whole.

Presented by
Dr. Masoud Shamaeizadeh, DC
Optimizing Spine, Nervous System & Cognitive Health