Stress Management

There are two main types of stress humans experience. There’s acute stress when you feel stressed for a short period and then it dissipates and you return to homeostasis. Cramming to study for an exam in one night, rushing to get dinner on the table, or burning your skin in a hot oven are all examples of acute stress. Chronic stress is when you feel stress constantly, such as balancing your career and parenting, dealing with job and financial stability, or remaining in a toxic relationship. Both types of stress produce physical, mental, and psychological changes in our bodies. Acute stress is good for us, helping our body’s ability to ebb and flow with life. It’s good that our body can deal with short-term stress and then return to homeostasis – we want that flexibility. Chronic stress is detrimental to our health and wellness, shortens our longevity, and is one of the root causes of much larger health issues, starting in the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome houses the enteric nervous system, intimately connected to our brain health. When our gut health is in a state of dysbiosis due to chronic stress, our brain is also in a state of dysbiosis. This bi-directional relationship can lead to headaches, migraines, brain fog, lack of focus, cognition and recall issues, and dementia.

When the body is chronically stressed, our HPA axis (hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis), which is responsible for managing acute stress, will malfunction and start to shut down other systems in the body it doesn’t need working at the moment so it can amp up the systems we do need to survive – think “flight or fight” response. During acute stress, our body will temporarily shut down our endocrine system, which produces hormones that regulate metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood, among other things. When we are in a chronic state of stress, all these systems are shut down or slowed down long-term. These systems are altered, and as a result, our body cannot return to homeostasis. When this occurs, low-grade chronic inflammation sets in, high blood pressure ensues, digestive issues arise (IBS, reflux, constipation, etc.), autoimmune disorders ensue, and mitochondrial dysfunction and hormonal imbalance occur.

3 Not So Obvious Lifestyle Stressors

1. Undereating – Many people who are on a weight-loss journey turn to restricting calories as a way to shed extra pounds. Yes, it is true that to lose weight, you must be in a caloric deficit, but some people reach their goal weight and continue to restrict calories long-term. Restricting calories long-term will start to have the opposite effect on their body and they will store more fat due to increased cortisol levels. Instead, focus on nutrient-dense foods that nourish and support your health, and consume your maintenance calories every day. If you don’t know how to figure this out, you need to work with someone who can support you.

2. Over-exercising – While exercising is part of the equation for good health, over-exercising can cause chronic stress on your body. Rest and active recovery days are also part of your health and wellness equation. Chronic physical stress on our bodies leads to increased cortisol levels, adrenal fatigue, gut health changes, aches, and pains, which may lead to falling, twisting an ankle, or pulling a ligament. Active rest days are crucial to recover and repair muscle tissue so you are ready to push again. Taking a long walk or a restorative yoga class is great on active rest days.

3. Eating “Healthy” Junk Food – If you’ve ever shopped in a Whole Foods Market or Trader Joe’s grocery store, you have undoubtedly seen packaged snacks and frozen meals marketing their seemingly “healthy” ingredients. Marketing terms like Keto, Low-Carb, No Added Sugar, and Gluten-Free, are all ploys to reel you in. Chips made with chia and flax seeds, raw cookies made with agave syrup sold as “sugar-free”, and frozen gluten-free bread made using starchy flour like cornstarch, tapioca flour, and potato starch are not what they seem to be. These companies spend big dollars on marketing agencies to trick you into thinking you are making a better-for-you, healthy choice. They are processed food products that hide sugars, rancid seed oils, and preservatives that may disrupt your gut microbiome, cause cellular damage, increase your blood glucose levels, and cause hypertension. All of this may lead to low-grade, chronic inflammation, gut dysbiosis (aka. leaky gut), and stress in your body and brain.

Midlife women transitioning through menopause tend to undereat, overexercise, and swap out food choices for seemingly healthier choices to combat menopausal weight gain, body composition changes, stress, anxiety, and depression. Because the gut microbiome does adversely change during perimenopause, these behaviors may lead to gastrointestinal dysbiosis, such as bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, or reflux, which can be considered symptoms of IBS.

Symptoms of Chronic Stress

Managing Chronic Stress

 Learning how to manage acute and chronic stress is vital to good health. If you’ve tried different diets, detoxes, various workout routines, meditation apps, and sleeping aids and still cannot get yourself on a healthier path, then it may be time to move forward in a different direction.  Hiring a health coach may be what you need to jump-start positive lifestyle behavior changes to support your greater health vision. Building a team around you allows you to be held accountable to weekly and monthly health goals and be open to new strategies that you would not have thought of on your own.

This blog is not to be used as medical advice or for making any lifestyle changes to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. Consult your physician for any medical issues that you may be having.