10 days of Christmas (...stress management, anyway)
Stress.
Can we avoid it entirely? Not so much.
Can we find ways to reduce it as much as we can? Absolutely.
Anyone else feel it in a BIG way this 2020 Christmas season? So many people to please. Family with mask preferences. Kids already cooped up and missing friends. New food preferences. New ways of cooking to meet our gut healing methods. Missing traditions. SO. Many. THINGS!
The thing with stress is it comes in SO. MANY. FORMS. Stressors can be internal, external, mental, physical, and emotional. Our bodies do not discriminate or behave differently to different stressors. The response is the same. When we are stressed our body kicks into fight-or-flight mode with the number one priority being survival. This is great and super helpful when, say, we are running for our lives from a bear. Not so helpful when our stress is from blood sugar dysregulation because we were too busy to eat breakfast.
When in fight-or-flight mode the adrenal glands increase their output of cortisol and adrenaline, blood pressure increases, our eyes dilate, and we become more alert. Remember, survival is prioritized. If we are not fueled properly (like in the instance you forgot to eat breakfast), our body will put an extra burden on the liver to convert stored glycogen into glucose to circulate as blood sugar. If glycogen stores are low, the liver starts a process called gluconeogenesis or the creation of NEW GLUCOSE from protein and fat (i.e. the breakdown of body tissue for energy).
What is not prioritized when we are stressed?
Digestion
Sex hormone production
Thyroid hormone production and conversion
Reproduction
Detoxification
Muscle repair
Fat burning
It's easy to see how stress can take its toll on our health--both mentally and physically.
Not all is lost on our health when it comes to stress. Even though there are stressors we cannot avoid, there is plenty we can do to reduce and manage our stress load so we can better adapt to the ones out of our control.
10 different ways that stress can show up:
Environmental toxins-- tap water, air pollution, EMFs, radiation
Household toxins-- cleaning products, dryer sheets, makeup, perfume, laundry detergent, hair products
Gut dysbiosis-- bacterial overgrowth, parasites, low stomach acid, leaky gut
Blood sugar dysregulation-- not eating enough, waiting too long in between meals, drinking caffeine on an empty stomach, overconsumption of processed foods
Not getting enough sleep
Over exercising
Emotional stress-- work or family life
Overburdened liver due to blood sugar dysregulation, toxic overload, consuming imbalanced macronutrient ratios (i.e. not enough protein)
Sluggish or low functioning thyroid
Too much screen time
Some of these may be surprising to know the body reacts to as a stressor. Just remember the body is always striving to come into balance. We are resilient beings and we can handle a lot of hard things, but it’s a lot easier when we support our bodies and continually strive to reduce stress wherever we can.
What does stress management or reduction look like?
Using a water filter. Drinking clean water is one of the best things you can do for your health. I love my Berkey water filter-- check it out here.
Swapping out toxic products for nontoxic, environmentally friendly ones. My go-to for all things skincare and makeup is Beauty Counter and for household cleaning products and laundry detergent I use Branch Basics.
Balancing blood sugar by eating breakfast within 30-60 minutes of waking up, consuming coffee after breakfast, eating every 3-4 hours, balancing each meal with a protein, fat, and fiber (carb) source.
Get enough sleep. Aim for 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. Nap if you need to!
Heal any gut dysbiosis. To schedule a clarity call or GI MAP click here.
Ditch the high intensity training (crossfit, orange theory, etc.) for strength training, walking, or yoga.
Support your liver. Castor oil packs, dandelion root tea, beets, and eating enough are great ways to do this.
Reduce screen time, wear blue light blocking glasses, get sunlight or red light exposure every day.
Therapy! Talk to someone if you need to. There is no shame in getting help.
Slow down, say no more, practice deep breathing exercises. In a world of go-go-go and productivity we can get a little lost with trying to keep up.
If you feel overwhelmed and completely stressed to the max…
If you feel like you have no idea where to start…
If you feel like you need to reset and start fresh…
Check out the next round of my Rewind and Reset course coming in the new year. I’ll take you back to the basics, REWIND, and teach you the foundations of health and stress management to RESET and walk forward with renewed confidence in your health. Be the first to know when sign ups are live here.
