Don’t let stress make you sick

Did you know that if you have a very stressful experience, it raises your adrenalin levels and leaves you like a raw nerve for up to three and a half hours?

In those three hours you are more susceptible to find stress in other places, starting the cycle all over again.

How would you like it if stress no longer ruled your life? What would that feel like for you? Is stress robbing your vitality and taking you away from valuable family time and simple relaxation. You are not alone. We all have stress in some shape or form, and a small level can even be beneficial to our focus and working abilities. However in some people, excessive stress can lead to all sorts of illness, exhaustion, aging and burn out.

Ask yourself if you feel like you have had long periods of struggle and stress in your life. Do you ever feel like a truck on the highway and unable to stop but you are running on very little fuel?

Possibly you just have too much work to do. Maybe you have no time to yourself. Perhaps you take vitamins to reduce the stress and potentially you just don’t know what to do. Relax as there are solutions and I am going to share them with you.

First let’s take a look at the markers for adrenal fatigue.  Your adrenal glands which sit on top of your kidneys release hormones in response to your stress. Hormones adrenaline and cortisol race through the body. This is the fight or fight feeling. Blood rushes to your muscles and gets you ready to move fast. Everything now becomes tight as your body goes into a hyper state. The problem is we may find ourselves in this state much of the time. Over time we may then experience the following:

Your eyes become sensitive to sunlight and bright light
Your voice rises to a high pitch or is lost during stress
You are easily shaken up or startled from a loud noise.
You crave salt
You are known as a perfectionist and set high standards for yourself
Things left undone cause unusual concern i.e. you are not able to leave your house a mess
You may feel inferior and tend to be negative

Physically you may have trouble with your bowels, your sleep is disturbed and you will find that you want to eat more or eat less. You may find your heart racing, feel tightness in your chest, and suffer from nervousness, pain exhaustion, headaches, restlessness, high blood pressure and holding tightness anywhere in your body. You are now in a constrictive state.

Much to our surprise here is what truly is happening in our bodies during stress. Your heart pounds faster and faster and harder increasing your blood pressure. Extra blood is needed to be sent to the brain, muscles, lungs and your  heart has  to work faster while those for digestion and other organs not needed for the fight slow down.  The problem is the effects of stress can be long lasting.

Tense muscles, headaches stomach cramps, teeth clenching, exhaustion, and lumps in your throat. Depression may set in, panic attacks and emotional outburst can take over.

When we’re emotionally stressed, we’re stressing and aging our body.

Over time your immune system becomes weakened increasing your vulnerability to all kinds of illness. Ultimately long term stress plays a major role in chronic illnesses, heart disease and even cancer.

There are simple things you can do for yourself right now that can reduce your stress. Go on a long walk in nature. Carve out one hour a day just for you. Reduce your caffeine. Avoid consuming C.R.A.P.  Carbonated beverages, refined foods, addictive foods and processed foods as they deplete you. Take a holiday and learn how to say no!

Being grateful for the joys in your life can also help reduce stress. Upon waking up and going to sleep each day, think of any three things that you are grateful for and carry on. Over time this exercise will make you happier, more calm, and have a better ability to see the joy in all of life’s interactions.

Deep breathing or meditation exercises can also help us lower our blood pressure and preventing our stress from getting to us. Meditation has been shown to help many people alleviate cardiovascular issues.

As a Psychosomatic Energy Medicine coach my favorite stress reducers are Rubimeds. These are homeopathics that in seconds calm the body down leaving you felling grounded, safe and relaxed. They work on the central nervous system, the brain and the spine. The Rubimeds remedy called An-X-Vita is used in cases of anxiety and nervous tension. It works to prevent anxiety and provide immediate relief during acute states of anxiety or panic attacks. Think of a duck on the water. It appears that it is just swimming along gracefully but when you look below the surface its legs are moving a mile a minute. So we may appear calm on the outside but there is a tidal wave on the inside.

Lastly be kind to yourself. Life is a journey, one step at a time.