We all deal with stress from time to time, but when does our stress start negatively manifesting itself in unpleasant daily feelings and symptoms? Stress over schoolwork, our 9-5, stress over bills, money, kids, pets, what may or may not happen in the future… you name it, there’s a good chance you’ve stressed over it. It can be hard to know when stress is becoming too much to handle on your own.
When stress becomes overwhelming, it can start to affect more than just your mind. Stress can manifest itself in physical and mental, or emotional ways! Some signs that stress might have overwhelmed your system are frequent headaches, muscle tension, pain in the chest, stomach, or muscles, hormones, anxiety, skin, and digestive issues.
Those stressful thoughts and emotions impact more than just your mind!! Being aware of how stress impacts your physical well-being is the first step in listening to your body when it’s too much, choosing to take an actionable step in that moment that YOU know supports you in how you praise the stress and manage it. This helps get it under control and bring your body back into balance.
Hormonal stress can show up in many different ways in your life; these hormones cause some that you may not even know!
Brain fog and being confused often result from hormonal imbalances within the body. As the hormones flood your system, it can make it hard to think clearly about anything! Are you experiencing feelings of anxiety, depression, or chronic stress? Do you suddenly break into tears easily? Breaking into tears at the drop of a hat (if it’s not your “norm”) is often caused by your hormones being out of whack, which throws your emotional regulation system offline.
This hormonal stress can also cause intense sugar cravings (this is when this is not your “norm” and you do not feel like you have control over these cravings, but instead they are controlling you) & feeling tired or restless. When the chemicals in your body are disrupted, your body suddenly craves simple sugars. Your body is run on hormones and uses those same chemicals to help you feel awake and ready for the day. When you’re dragging and having a hard time waking up, you might be struggling with a hormone imbalance!
If you experience CHRONIC STRESS & ANXIETY over prolonged periods of time, then you likely have some hormonal imbalance. Now what?
There are a few things you can do to combat stress that creeps into your daily life! These 6 habits are simple and a great place to start incorporating these acts in your day. For example, Water can solve innumerable problems and can help with stress! When you take in enough water, your blood sugar and hormones are balanced, & your body is hydrated.
Making lifestyle changes can be overwhelming, especially when we are overwhelmed in our lives. My suggestion is to start with ONE of the following 6 tips and do that consistently for a few weeks until that becomes just part of your everyday routine. For example, focusing on enjoying 30g of protein to your breakfast in a way that works for your personal needs and preferences is a great place to start. Then add another one of these 6 suggestions.
I hope you find these simple tips helpful as a place to get started. If you suspect you have an hormone imbalance, getting your hormones tested by your GP or ND is a great place to start as well. And if managing Stress & Anxiety and being mindful of how they impact your Gut Health, Hormone Health, and Mental Health (PS- cause they are all connected) is a current goal for you then you are in the right place! Follow along with me to learn more about stress, how it impacts your health, and how hormones play their part!
Xo, JO