Everyone deals with some sort of stress in their life, each varying in degree. We all have those inner battles and things that happen in our life that test our patience and our energy. Whatever we go through in life makes us stronger, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time. But, stress can be either good or bad and some people actually thrive on a moderate level of stress, while it can be too much for others to handle.
The key is though what amount of stress are you carrying with you at any given time? Stress is essential to our health as it does give us the push and motivation we need. It also helps when you are in a dangerous situation as it puts our body into the fight or flight mode.
What is stress?
Stress is defined as a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.
Stress leads to an increase of the hormone cortisol produced in the body. Cortisol is otherwise known as ‘the stress hormone’. When you are under stress, your body triggers the production of Cortisol. Cortisol is the hormone that is involved with your body’s hunger cravings, digestion, blood pressure, sleep/wake patterns, physical activity and the ability to cope with stress. That being said, cortisol is a pretty important hormone. The 3 main jobs of cortisol include:
- Raising blood sugar
- Increasing blood pressure
- Modulate inflammation
Raising Blood Sugar
When under stress, the body releases cortisol and then triggers the release of stored glucose into the blood, therefore raising blood sugar. The methodology behind this is that it provides your body with instant energy to handle whatever threat or stressor is present. That is why when you are scared, you suddenly feel like you can move faster and feel tense and on edge. This is because your body literally has sugar and energy running through your muscles. Think back hundreds of years ago, when we were hunters and had to be more aware of our surroundings. The term fight or flight would be fitting for the sudden arrival of a tiger. The body puts glucose to the muscles so you can fight or run, and it also raises blood pressure so you can get plenty of oxygen to your brain to think more clearly.
There is a fine line between good stress and bad stress. Cortisol is naturally produced in your body in the morning when you wake up. Then again mid day to give you the surge to stay awake.
The problem that most people run into is that our cortisol is running on overdrive. We are putting a lot of our body systems on high alert and constantly producing cortisol throughout the body. This means our blood sugar is constantly high as well as our blood pressure. We are putting our body in fight or flight for the little things in life that aren’t as important.
Think about the coworker who stresses you out every single day? Or how about those deadlines that you can’t seem to keep up with? What about when you come home and stress because you don’t know what to make for dinner? Or when you forgot to pick up the prescription at the drug store.
Life is full of all sorts of stresses, but if we keep alarming our body for every single day for every single thing, it puts physical pressure and stress on our body. Over time, serious health risks can occur such as cardio vascular disease, diabetes, adrenal fatigue, depression, obesity or weight gain, alzheimer’s, delayed wound healing, insomnia, infertility, bone loss in menopausal women, poor immune system, poor digestion, and a variety of other fun symptoms and illnesses.
So, now that I have explained a little bit about the basics of stress and cortisol, the next question is what can we do about it? We know that stress is inevitable, but how can we manage our stress better so that we don’t go into overdrive and produce too much cortisol?
I will share with you a few tips that help manage stress.
Exercise
I cant emphasize this enough. Exercise releases the feel good neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine which all improve our mood and overall wellbeing.
Stay Hydrated
Drinking enough eater throughout the day is important for mental clarity, focus and overall general bodily function. You need about 6-8 glasses of water per day as a minimum.
Eat Nourishing Foods
When you don’t eat enough food, you are naturally putting more stress on your body because it is not receiving the fuel it needs just to maintain normal function.
Avoid Negative People
If you know that certain people stress you out, don’t go out of your way to spend time with them, simple as that. If you are forced to spend time with them, try one or multiple of the other tips to help limit the stress. Sometimes it also helps to just smile often, don’t let them get to you and focus on the positive.
Know When to Say No
It’s okay to know your limits and say no sometimes. You don’t have to say yes to everything especially if you are already under a lot of stress. Just admit that you have a few too many things on your plate right now and that’s it. Most of the time people will appreciate your honesty.
Take Control of Your Life
If you know that shopping around the holidays makes you stressed, why not get your shopping done a bit earlier? Or if you know that watching the news or sports gets you worked up, why not just limit yourself to only a few times a week instead of every day. It’s important we become aware of what makes us stressed
Practice Meditation
This can be a very powerful relaxation tool is used correctly. Try finding a quiet space, grab some headphones if needed and listen to a guided meditation. You can try youtube, Spotify or there are plenty of apps. It helps you to tune out outside noises, focus on your breathing and clear the mind. It takes time and practice but the more you do it, the more beneficial it will be for you
Practice Yoga
This one is similar to meditating, where you focus on your breathing, but you are actually stretching at the same time. To me, yoga is a giant relaxing stretching session. It can be so calming and restorative and once again, youtube is a great source, but there are also lots of apps dedicated to yoga.
Repeat Positive Affirmations
Affirmations are just positive statements that help you to feel better about yourself and counter negative self talk. You can post little stickies on the mirror and reading them every morning. An example could be “I am strong today” that way throughout the day when you feel weak, remember your affirmation of “I am strong today”. Affirmations have been proven to rewire your brain and actually help reduce self-sabotaging and negative thoughts that may arise.
Start a Gratitude Journal
Every morning write down 3 things you are grateful for, 3 things that would make it a great day, and then some positive affirmations about yourself. Try to write different things to be grateful for each day so you don’t find yourself writing the same things every day. This helps us to focus on the things we do have instead of focusing on the things we don’t have. It also helps us start the day on a positive note and with a smile on our face.
So that’s it. I hope you learned a bit about cortisol and the effects of stress on the body and are planning on implementing a few tips on how to manage your own stress a little better. Know that there is a difference between the good stress and the bad stress and become aware when you feel yourself starting to get stressed out and overwhelmed. When you do, don’t get alarmed; just try to incorporate a stress technique right then and there to acknowledge that you are feeling stressed, and breathe through it. Take big deep breaths and if possible walk away. Take a moment to acknowledge where you are and what triggered you to be stressed in that situation.
Know that it gets better and stress doesn’t have to be stressful. You can manage your stress and still be productive and happy. Life wasn’t made to be stressful, so let’s enjoy it while we can.
<3
Heather