J.11/ Overcoming Stress
Feeling stressed and anxious can be overwhelming and it’s important to know when to ask for help and get the support you need. Stress can interfere with our daily lives and disrupt our health so it’s important to get on top it.
For many stress is apart of our daily lives, we’re stressed at work, driving to and from work, raising children, financial stress, health stressors or family matters. Stress can become an issue if it starts to impact our daily life, if we’re too nervous about leaving the house, getting ill frequently, gaining weight, trouble sleeping or isolating ourselves from our loved ones. It’s important to recognise within yourself when you may need some extra support and help to get back to feeling like yourself again.
There are lifestyle and diet changes you can make to help your body cope with stressors in life. Exercise and getting outdoors can make a huge difference to our mood and how we deal with the impact of stress, getting daily movement is ideal for good mental health. Making sure you have a great support network and can reach out to them regularly will also help your ability to cope with outside stressors. You can also help your mood by the foods you’re eating, decreasing the amount of processed foods and sugar will have a huge impact on your mental health. It’s best to eat nourishing foods such as seasonal fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, good quality protein sources and healthy fats. This will ensure your body is getting the right nutrients to make your neurotransmitters which help with mood. Eating a diet with less sugars and caffeine will also help to make sure you don’t have sugar lows or caffeine withdrawals.
Of course you can be doing these lifestyle and diet changes already and might still find you need more support, that’s where I come in. A Naturopath can help support you with medicinal herbs and nutrients that are specific to you as an individual. Some nutrients I usually prescribe are Magnesium as this helps to relax your mind and body, B Vitamins because they will help with energy and Vitamin C because that will feed your adrenal glands. Your adrenal glands are responsible for making cortisol which is released in response to stress. The herbs I give out are very much personalised to the client, some patients are very fatigued but anxious, some are wired and struggle to switch off. It’s best to have an in-depth consultation so we can personalise the treatment plan just for you.
Using natural medicine can make a huge difference to how your body responds to stress and can help you improve your health. There are also other ways such as counselling, mediation, massage, acupuncture, it’s important to find out what works for you and get the health outcome you deserve. Although stress is apart of our daily lives it doesn’t have to affect our health and wellbeing. By improving your mental health you’ll also be improving the way your body reacts to stress and the way you deal with stressors in your life.
