J.18/ Regulate your stress levels
Everyone feels stress differently, we all react in different ways to different stress stimuli. There are things you can put in place to help you react differently to stress.
I’ve had to learn how to deal with stress in my life, I am naturally a person who feels stress more than others and will over-react, for me the turning point was having children as I wanted to be a better role model for them and help them through their emotions too. They are things you can put into place so you react differently to stress, some examples are the food you’re consuming or how much exercise you’re getting. Stress can be something that is experienced on a low level daily such as running late for work or it can be something on a bigger scale such as a traumatic experience. This blog is for low level daily stressors and you’re experiencing a traumatic event or long standing stress it’s important to seek help from a psychologist or counsellor.
Stress can cause havoc in our body, it can lower our immune system, reduce our effectiveness of process glucose, creates poor digestion, interrupts our sleep and it can cause fatigue. To help how our body reacts to stress we can eat well, exercise, get outdoors, practice mediation and take appropriate supplements if needed.
Eating a diet high in processed foods, high sugar, lots of caffeine and a lack of nutrients will not be helping how your body responds to stress. Eating a well balanced diet with plenty of seasonal fruit and vegetables will help ensure you’re getting the right nutrients your body needs. In addition making sure you’re eating the right amount of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) for your body is also important, without the right balance of these we can’t regulate our neurotransmitters which help to balance our mood.
Making sure daily you’re getting outdoors and getting some movement in your body will greatly help you cope with stress. In addition practicing yoga, mediation, daily gratitude and mindfulness can help you deal with different stressors during the day. Long stress or not being able to regulate your emotions isn’t good for your health and wellbeing, mentally and physically it will take a toll on you. Finding ways that suit you to regulate how you cope with stress is the key. These are just simple lifestyle tips, for a more in-depth assessment consider an online appointment with me if you’re interested in using Naturopathy to help balance your mood.
