What stress does to the body..

Stress is the number one cause of all disease now in Western society, most of us know and feel this deeply but don’t know what to do about it. Let’s explore how stress impacts us and what we can do to change it.

Do you regularly suffer with these symptoms or have they become so normalised in your body that you dismiss these warning signals?

• Heart palpitations
• Consistent worry
• Digestive issues
• Trouble sleeping
• Restlessness and an inability to concentrate
• Tension in the shoulders and neck

It might even escalate to some or more of the following:

• Panic attacks
• Chronic pain
• Avoidance of social situations
• Substance abuse
• Chronic inflammation – leading to disease

There is actually a lot you can to support feelings of stress in the body but sometimes we need a little reminder because in those moments, the feeling can be overwhelming.

I’m only going to cover a few of my quick hacks, (maybe I’ll do a follow on with some more) but bear in mind that nutrients are one of the most important requirements for stress because stress quickly depletes B vitamins, Magnesium and Vitamin C so it’s a good idea to add some of these to your supplements.

Earthing

This is a way of connecting your body to the magnetic energy of the Earth, sound a bit woo woo? Well, it’s actually steeped in science and makes sense with how we evolved to walk this Earth. Studies like this one, showed that by sleeping on a grounding sheet, (this is a sheet that mimics the Earth’s connection, that you have on your bed) cortisol, your stress hormone greatly reduced and sleep improved. You can buy grounding sheets from this company.

Emotional Freedom Technique

This is a tapping technique that calms the central nervous system, it is well studied, very easy to do and highly effective. In this study of 500 people, 90% of patients saw a long-term affect over 5 years and it fared better than cognitive behavioural therapy. You can watch a simple quick demo on my Instagram here.

Adaptogens

There are lots of adaptogens (herbs that support the body to adapt hormonal responses to stressors) that can be used but one of the most popular is Ashwaganda also known as Indian Ginseng and has been used for thousands of years in ancient cultures. Studies show this herb has a significant impact on stress reduction. The easiest way to take this is in supplemental form.

Diffusing Essential Oils

Don’t underestimate what essential oils can do to support stress. From the direct response of inhalation the oil hits your olfactory bulb in your nose and then your limbic part of your brain, which controls your mood so within seconds you can change how you feel!

This study showed that after 7 days of inhalation of lavender oil, subjects reported significant reduction in stress and depression. Frankincense oil is also highly affective at reducing stress as shown here.

Quality does matter with oils because if you are using adulterated oils (added synthetics), you often won’t get the same benefits. The only oils I trust are doTERRA because of their third-party testing, assuring 100% pure, therapeutic-potency. If you’d like to get some, you can purchase them through here and as always let me know if you have questions and I can support you.