J.35/ Improve your Stress Response
Stress is apart of all our lives, but sometimes it can become too much and our body doesn’t know how to cope with such frequent stress stimuli. In some situations our body is always in a stress reaction and can’t recognise when it can relax again.
Stress can effect us all differently, some clients I have report feeling stressed every day, all day and it effects their daily life. Other clients on the other hand say they don’t feel stressed, literally never. Every one feels things differently and every one has different experiences in life. Therefore our body responds differently to stress even if it’s the same stressor. And if you’re a woman your cycle and hormones will also be a factor into how your body responds to stress. There are things you can put in place to help how your body copes and responds to stress, if you haven’t already I’d highly recommend speaking with a psychologist or a therapist who can help give you the tools to navigate your feelings. There are also lots of lifestyle, diet and supplement adjustments you can try as well.
Your diet plays a huge role in not only your physical health but also your mental wellbeing as well, eating a diet full of wholesome fresh food will be the best thing to aim for. Include all your food groups such as plant foods, protein, complex carbohydrates and good fats. It’s also important not only to eat healthy but make your food enjoyable that you enjoy eating, it’s much easier to eat a well balanced diet if you really enjoy what your eating. Usually when we’re feeling stressed we often turn to foods that are processed with high sugar or high fat content. This is because these foods hit our dopamine ‘feel good hormone’ so it’s really important we create satisfying food that is nutrient dense.
Getting outdoors and enjoying daily movement is so important for our mental health! Simply sitting out in the morning sun whilst eating breakfast is a great reset for your cortisol, it’s also a nice time to think about what your grateful for as well, these practices can be really helpful with helping our body cope with daily stress. Exercise can be a huge factor for your mental wellbeing, aim for a little bit every day of something you enjoy, this can be a walk in nature, swimming, running, a gym session, yoga, whatever takes your fancy! It can be hard to get into the rhythm of daily movement but you’ll notice a huge difference with your stress levels and also your mood.
Supplements can also be really useful with stress, anxiety, general mental wellbeing and improving your mood, it’s important to get advice from a qualified Naturopath first before starting on supplements, this will ensure you’re getting the right supplement for you at the correct dosage. Supplements such a medicinal herbs are great, I also like to accompany these with nutrients as well. You can think of nutrients as building blocks for our neurotransmitters (mood hormones).
Although this is all general information, starting to put these in practice will be super helpful for your mental health but if you’re needing more specific support please reach to myself or a health professional to you on to the right plan for your health.
