you do, but modern life is super
stressful in even the tiniest ways.
Listening to the same children’s song
on repeat while sitting in traffic is
stressful; digesting less than average
food is stressful; trying to conceive
is stressful; carrying unresolved grief
or emotional turmoil is stressful; over
exercising is stressful. As you can
see from these everyday examples,
stress is so much more than having a
heavy workload.THE EFFECT ON OUR HEALTH
Stress is upsetting our hormone
balance and this is disastrous for our
health. When you consider that our
hormones are responsible for all of
our body functions – these are the
messengers that ensure your body
systems communicate effectively –
you start to understand the magnitude
of the problem.
But once we can admit that we
are stressed, we can then use this
knowledge to create change and
take steps towards reclaiming our
health. Once we’ve developed more
awareness and are in tune with our
bodies, implementing some simple
strategies can make the world
of difference.SIMPLE SOLUTIONS
I love talking about stress so much
that I created an entire e-course
around it. My course, Debunking
Stress (debunkingstress.com) fast
became a resource worldwide
because it not only helps you
identify your stressors but gives
you tangible tools – both simple
and in depth – on how you can take
control of your stress. Here are some
of my favourites from the course:S
tress is the modern-day health
epidemic. The simple fact is that
we’re not designed to work and live
in a 24/7 world. The result? It’s making
us sick, overweight, tired, hormonally
challenged, infertile and depressed.
With new health research constantly
emerging, we’re now able to acknowledge
the feeling of stress, although we’re still
not equipped with the tools to assist
us in reducing our everyday stressors.
So, what if we learnt to channel our
stress in productive ways? What if stress
became our superpower? The trick is in
understanding exactly what stress is, how
it shows up in our bodies, and managing it
to help you get what you want out of life.
DETERMINE YOUR STRESSORS
So, how do you really know if you are
stressed? First up, identify where it’s really
having its way with your life. Thankfully,
your body serves you up some pretty
obvious signs and symptoms every day
that may be indicators of your stress-
meter. There are a few key things I like to
help patients look out for when trying to
identify stress.
STILL THINK YOU’RE
NOT STRESSED?
Maybe you’re reading this and
recognising some – or all – of these
symptoms, but you’re still kidding
yourself thinking, ‘I’m not stressed’ or
‘I’ve got this’. I have no doubt that
Rest in the tub: Research shows that
the warmth and fluidity of the water
helps to release serotonin – the feel-
good hormone. This helps to dial down
the stress hormones, cortisol and
adrenalin, plus it’s simple, easy and
effective. If you don’t have a tub, a
shower can have a similar result.
Eat with purpose: Eating fast foods
places unnecessary load on your
digestive system, which adds stress to
your body. By fuelling your body with
antioxidant-rich foods – think bright,
colourful vegies – you help the body to
mop up damage from environmental
toxins. If our bodies don’t have
adequate vitamins and minerals, they
can’t run well. Food is either of benefit
or deficit – there is no in between.
Laugh it out: Get out more, spend
time with friends and be social. Getting
your giggle on has been proven to
reduce cortisol by almost 40 per
cent. It also helps to release serotonin
and increases blood flow, which helps
to deliver more nutrients and oxygen
to your insides. Oh, and it’s also an
immune booster, too!
Get it out: Writing down your thoughts,
planning and journalling are all great
ways of getting worries, thoughts and
ideas out of your head. Making lists is
another great way to ensure you can
calm down the mind a little too.These are just a few super-simple
solutions that can be immediately
implemented into your lifestyle.
Obviously, there are some cases of
‘serious stressors’, but it’s important
for anyone facing any kind of
pressure to keep things as simple
and realistic as possible. Everybody
will benefit from lightening things up
a little and learning some powerful
skills in stress management.
It’s important we really understand
what’s going on with stress and not
push it aside and use it to manifest the
life we were born to enjoy.EVERYBODY WILL
BENEFIT FROM
LIGHTENING
THINGS UP A LITTLE
AND LEARNING
SOME POWERFUL
SKILLS IN STRESS
MANAGEMENT.COMMON SIGNS
OF STRESS
đ Recurrent illness: colds,
coughs and infections
đ Digestive upset
đ Gaining weight easily
đ Common insomnia
đ Continual bodily aches or pains
đ Frequent headaches
đ Recurrent eye pain
đ Non-existent or irregular
menstrual cycles
đ Feeling very tired
These are just some of warning
signs you will notice when falling
prey to the grips of stress.STRESS RELIEVERS
naturalhealthmag.com.au AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HEALTH | 37