Let’s Talk about Stress, Baby
Let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that stress may be. Let’s talk about stress. :) Okay, okay, silliness aside, stress is something that we all deal with. Some more than others. But for me, and many of the women I know, stress is a regular occurrence. And while some people seem to have very low levels of stress and only experience it occasionally, many of us experience a constant and chronic level of stress. One of my clients had an amazing breakthrough recently and she told me she didn’t even realize before that not being constantly stressed out was even an option for her. Sometimes we get so used to living in that state of stress, we can’t even imagine a life without it!
Stress is a chemical reaction that happens in the body to prepare it to survive a dangerous situation. Your nervous system prepares you to either fight an attack or run away from danger. You’ve probably heard of the fight or flight response before, and that is what stress does. Even if that stress is not something that you need to run from, your body is still dumping in those chemicals that get you ready for the fight of your life. But when that happens over and over due to the daily stress of a fast-paced and demanding life, it negatively impacts our bodies.
Stress is not just an annoyance, it’s serious. It is linked to the six leading causes of death and can manifest in a multitude unwanted physical symptoms. Stress impacts our immune systems, digestive systems, reproductive systems, nervous systems and cardiovascular systems. Common symptoms include weight gain, headaches, digestive problems, low libido, chronic sickness, bloating, painful or irregular periods, infertility, insomnia, fatigue, high blood pressure, skin conditions like acne, and the list goes on and on. Fun right?
I’ve always felt like I experienced high levels of stress. And really, stress is a reaction to a perceived threat. So some people perceive things to be more threatening than other people do, which will make them experience higher levels of stress. In my observation and experience, it seems like people who tend to be more type-A, perfectionist, control-freak types have higher overall levels of stress. The good news is that your stress levels aren’t fixed. There are ways to learn how to reduce stress as it comes, manage the way you experience it, and undo the damage of past stress. As a recovering perfectionist, I can say this has been the case for me. Thank goodness!
This is a story I have shared before, but I’ve always been into health and fitness and was always pretty thin and didn’t worry about my weight or health much. But major stress in my early 20’s caused huge changes in my health. I learned that you can have genes for certain things, like gluten intolerance, for example. Those genes may be turned on or off. Stress is a trigger that can turn genes on. So for most of my life I was able to eat gluten and feel totally fine and not have a reaction. But then when major stress impacted my life, that gene got “turned on” and from that point on, I was unable to eat gluten without having full-body reactions to it. This is just one example of this. But it goes to show the role that stress can play in our health. This stress in my life also caused unexplained and sudden weight gain, acne, hormone imbalance, digestive problems, thyroid issues, and fatigue. As a young health professional and personal trainer, I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me, since I thought I was doing everything right.
Since that time, I’ve done tons of research, consulted with many health professionals, and learned to listen to the most important teacher, my own body. I have come to see that the biggest factor in determining how I feel is how stressed I am. Once I discovered that, it became more important than ever to learn how to reduce stress. Now I use breathing techniques, self-care, adequate sleep, meditation, journaling, and mindset work to keep the stress levels as low as possible. Of course what you eat and getting adequate amounts of movement are important for health too. But if you ask me now, I would say that the mental health piece comes first.
If you can identify with the constant stress and are struggling with your health, weight, energy, or body confidence, I can help. I’ve been through that journey and I want to help you fast-track what took me years to figure out. If you are ready for a breakthrough, let’s have a chat!