Chronic Stress & Hormones
While writing last weeks post I wanted to share more about what huge a role stress can play in causing our hormone function to become unbalanced so I decided ‘Stress’ needed a post of its own.
When I am showing clients how to create a healthy and balanced lifestyle I always cover Rest & Recovery, one of the 4 pillars of health and wellness.
A stressful situation is easy to identify and our bodies are built to cope with this but how do we cope with chronic stress? How do we recognise if we are even suffering from it?
What is Stress?
Stress is our bodies way of protecting us. As discussed last week, in Stoneage times, our fight or flight response helped us access energy quickly to run away and heal from any wounds sustained.
These days it can help us avoid a car accident by spurring us to slam on the breaks or help us act automatically in an emergency, it can also give us the motivation to meet deadlines and perform at our best.
The trouble starts when this natural stress reaction turns into Chronic Stress and we are unable to shut it off.
Signs & Symptoms of Chronic Stress
The long term activation of the stress response system can over expose us to stress hormones such as Adrenaline and Cortisol.
Chronic stress can disrupt our immune function, digestive system, reproductive system and metabolism.
It can cause heart attacks and strokes and speed up the ageing process.
Do you suffer from any of these symptoms of stress?
- Anxiety or Depression
- Weight issues
- Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
- Skin conditions
- Constipation or diarrhoea
- Headaches
- Inability to concentrate
- Procrastinating or lack of motivation
- Nervous habits
- Using alcohol, cigarettes or drugs to relax
If so, chances are you have stress in your life that needs to be dealt with.
Do you know what causes your stress?
Everyone is different.
Different life events affect people in different ways and 2020 has provided us with enough uncertainty to cause even the most relaxed person some stress.
The most common causes of stress are:
- Workplace/school
- Home & family pressure
- Relationships
- Death of a loved one
- Money
- Illness
- Job loss
Not all stress is from negative events though,
- marriage
- moving house
- a growing family, even going on holiday can cause stress.
Dealing with your stress
First you need to identify what stresses you and why and then what your unhealthy response to it is.
To relieve the ‘pain’ of stress we can turn to food, alcohol, smoking and other unhealthy behaviours. These cause a release of neurotransmitters in the brain which make you feel good, albeit momentarily, then you repeat this behaviour, again and again, looking for the same feel-good result.
Creating healthy habits and routines using the 4 Pillars of Health and Wellness is how I show my clients how to reduce stress in their lives, these are:
- Good nutrition
- Exercise
- Rest & Relaxation
- Emotional/self-care
Some stressors are much bigger than just needing to create a routine for.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help, talk through a situation with someone and make a plan to deal with it, this action alone can help reduce stress.
My story
About 8 years ago my body was showing symptoms such as rapid weight loss, rapid heart rate and tremors, after a simple blood test I was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism, all of these symptoms were causing great stress on my body that I didn’t even realise. This stress was releasing too much cortisol which can affect the thyroid hormone, vicious circle!
I now control my Thyroid through a healthy balanced lifestyle – most of the time! I reduce daily stress by reducing decision fatigue. Having the following in place helps me to do this:
- Morning routine
- Evening routine
- Weekly meal plan
- Cleaning routine
Routines may seem boring and mundane but they actually give your FREEDOM!
Freedom from stress, freedom to control your hormone function and freedom to have FUN!
More on this next week 🙂
With love
Sue x
If you would like to chat with me about your unique menopause transition, book a Wild Well-Being call and come away inspired and motivated to begin your journey to optimal health.