Being stressed out shouldn’t become the norm
No-one would argue that stress is a big issue for a lot of people in today’s world. We can all recall times when we felt stressed and how that affected us.
Stress is a natural and necessary part of life. It’s what drives our enthusiasm and our motivation. It can help us be more focused and productive.
It can make us more resilient when dealing with difficult situations. When we overcome a stressful situation, we feel more equipped to tackle difficulties in the future.
These are all benefits of short-term stress. The problem comes when we stay in a stressed state for longer periods of time.
Stress hormones
Adrenalin and cortisol are the two key stress hormones. They’re produced by the adrenal glands which sit on top of your kidneys.
If your body senses fear or a threatening situation, your brain sends messages to your endocrine (hormone) system instructing the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline.
This raises your heart rate, blood pressure and gives you more energy by flooding your cells with glucose (sugar).
Adrenaline is produced within seconds and that’s way you might feel an adrenalin rush when you experience a strong emotion such as fear, anger or excitement. Adrenaline can make you feel good in the short term.
Once adrenaline levels start to fall, your body begins to produce cortisol. Cortisol also increases blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
It builds up more slowly in the body than adrenaline but takes a long time to go back to normal. You need cortisol and adrenaline levels to go back to normal to feel calm and at ease.
If you’re constantly in situations where you need adrenaline – having to cope with a stressful work environment for example - your levels of cortisol stay high.
You may find yourself in a bit of a vicious circle where stress hormone levels don’t come down and your body never gets the chance to recover properly.
Short-term stress can become the long-term norm.
The effect of too much cortisol
Stress hormones aren’t meant to be activated all the time. Cortisol has its own natural rhythm – it should be at its lowest at midnight to help you fall asleep, and at its highest in the morning to help you wake up.
If your cortisol levels are out of balance you might feel:
overwhelmed
irritable – you have a short fuse!
anxious
panicky
exhausted, especially in the morning
unable to switch off at bedtime – it’s as if you’re constantly on high alert
foggy-headed
indecisive
One of the effects of cortisol is to suppress processes in the body that aren’t immediately essential – mainly the digestive system and the reproductive system.
This can lead to digestive problems such as heartburn, constipation or diarrhoea.
For women, the menstrual cycle can be affected when the body has to prioritise cortisol production over other hormones – your periods may disappear completely or become more erratic.
There’s a link between cortisol and progesterone that can worsen the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome and infertility.
In the longer term, stress can lead to diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and cancer.
How you can help yourself
It’s not easy to break the vicious circle of stress hormones, particularly if you’ve been living in a stressed state for a while.
Stress can be a bit addictive too – if you’re doing work that is inspiring and rewarding, it can be hard to switch off.
It’s easy to wear stress as a badge of honour as it can make us feel we’re successful.
It’s important to give your body time to rest properly so that being stressed doesn’t become your norm.
For me this involves doing two things:
Reducing stress in your life
Increasing relaxation in your life
5 ways to reduce stress
Learn to recognise the signs your body gives you that you’re stressed. This could be prickly skin or a tight jaw. My signpost is a twitchy ear!
When you get the cue, create space for yourself – this could be by breathing deeply, walking away from the trigger (for example a person or an email) or moving your body.
Reach out for help – connecting with others triggers the production of oxytocin which helps balance out the negative effects of cortisol.
Try to reduce alcohol and caffeine as they stimulate cortisol.
Have a good sleep routine and try to avoid exercising late in the evening as this can raise cortisol levels
5 ways to increase relaxation
Splash cold water on your face – good for calming down in a stressful moment
Practise deep breathing every day – exhale for longer than you inhale
Honour your need for either solitude or company
Think about how to create small pockets of joy in your day
Make a conscious choice about when you look at your phone (and consider toning down your notifications)
Reducing stress and increasing relaxation will help reduce the level of stress hormones in your body and allow the adrenals glands to repair.
Stress affects each of us in different ways and we all have different triggers.
Homeopathy can help rebalance your adrenal glands to reduce the impact of stress on your health.
Feeling stressed all the time shouldn’t be the norm for anyone.
I can help you make sense of how stress is affecting your health. Book a free discovery call with me to find out more:
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