Many of us in the health and wellness field focus on assessing the level and impact of stress on our patient’s health. We all know health is a subjective quality and not merely the absence of disease; however, much of modern medicine is aimed at just managing disease rather than optimising and promoting true health. Stress is one of the current day challenges that mainstream medicine tends to be ill-equipped to manage properly, so it tends to be ignored or overlooked on the one hand or results in the over-prescription of pharmaceuticals such as antidepressants on the other.

So, let us look at stress and its role in the body and define precisely what stress is and how to manage it.

In biological systems, stress refers to what happens when an organism faces or struggles to respond appropriately to any threat. While our modern-day ‘threats’ are, in most cases, more benign and less life-threatening compared to our hunter-gatherer ancestors, the impact can be equally demanding on our bodies. Our brain tends to perceive and respond to any threat to our physical or emotional wellbeing with equal vigour. Of course, we know that some stress can be beneficial and can give us an incentive to accomplish important goals and improve our performance. Science has called this good or positive stress ‘eustress’. In contrast, ‘distress’ is the term given to the more typical negative types of stressors we face. While a little stress in life is quite healthy and can build resilience and adaptability, for many people, stress can reach chronic levels and have harmful consequences. Some of the negative impacts of chronic stress include compromised immune function, poor digestion, weight gain and reproductive issues.

Of course, it is important to mention that how a person perceives stressful situations is variable and based on past experiences and their baseline stress levels. One individual may feel significant stress from a particular situation, whereas another person might rise to the challenge, handle it better and use the event as an opportunity to learn. Hence, emotional stress is very personal and subjective, and while stress makes life difficult for all of us at times, we can still learn to shift our perspective and change our reaction to it. It makes sense that learning how to avoid or better manage our stress is thus an essential component of a healthy life for all of us.

What Happens to Our Body During Stress?

Our inner emotional environment and personal level of stress are just as detrimental to our health as physical disease and our external environmental threats. In either case, when we react to a situation that induces a stress response, a series of reactions take place in the body and mind. Our heart rate increases, our blood pressure rises, our breathing rate and depth changes and we have a tendency to sweat. These are the obvious physical stress reactions, often known as the Fight/Flight response and make us ready for taking action to survive. However, many other physical responses and changes also occur in other parts of our body in response to stress. The three biggest systems of our body that take a hit when we are under stress are our digestive, immune and reproductive systems. For instance, our digestion and metabolism are slowed, and system-wide healing, growth and repair mechanisms are put on hold. Likewise, our immune system is suppressed and can give rise to lowered immunity or autoimmune disease. Reproductive issues and hormonal dysfunction also occur in response to stress. Moreover, the hormones released by the adrenal glands when we are stressed have been shown over prolonged periods to impair brain function, suppress weight loss and induce more rapid ageing.

The good news is that there are many things we can do to manage stress better…

Learning to better manage our day to day stress is super important to reduce the potential negative impact on our bodies. First and foremost, taking an audit of your life and identifying what things are causing stress is essential. Then decide which things can be changed and which things can’t and then plan some simple action steps to create change. Talking to a good friend, a family member or professional health care practitioner or counsellor can sometimes be a helpful way of getting a better perspective and create a roadmap for change.

When dealing with the inevitable or more difficult stressors in life, we often need to learn how to work with our inner mindset and perceptions as these offer an excellent way for tackling the underlying causes of stress. I have found over many years in practice, that in most cases, the root emotional cause of a person’s stress might be further afield than the surface stress, so dealing with the deeper issue has the potential to create a big change.

Many of us also need to learn to prioritise self-care and the importance of simply taking time out to seek more balance and offset the negative impact of stress. Let’s learn more about some of the key practical ways we can manage stress such as exercise, mindfulness, meditation and nature time.

Exercise is one of the best things we can do to reduce stress and help our body adapt. Finding a form of exercise that you love and are happy to do is very important, rather than choosing something you find challenging or boring. Be careful not to overdo exercise, as this can inadvertently add to your physiological stress and might backfire rather than improve things. I always recommend to my patients to get out for a simple walk in nature, at the park or the beach, as research has shown many different benefits of green spaces and nature connection for our health and wellbeing. Taking time out from our busy lives to exercise regularly, even if it is only a brief walk, often helps us to get a better perspective and reframe the situations and issues we find stressful.

Other stress reduction techniques that are excellent include meditation, yoga, and simple breathing exercises. Initially taking a class can help give you the actual tools and techniques to create a regular daily practise that you can sustain over time and reap the benefits. There is so much wonderful research in recent years proving the benefits of these tried and true mind-body techniques. Even just taking time to engage with short periods of stillness and being in the moment with mindfulness in everyday life or practising gratitude can be a game-changer for many of us. Also, simple things like improving time management, planning and being better organised can be an effective tactic in reducing stress in our often hectic lifestyles.

Aside from stress management, some excellent natural remedies can nourish the adrenals and calm the nervous system during times of stress. I love to incorporate nutritional medicine, herbs and flower essences along with lifestyle advice and practical strategies to offset or prevent the negative effects of stress. For example, herbs can work to improve mood, calm the mind, reduce anxiety, promote sleep or support increased energy. I find that it is beneficial and effective to support the physical body with natural medicines at the same time as incorporating practical stress management tools.

Of course, the foundations of good sleep, regular exercise and proper nutrition are also essential for optimal functioning. We all benefit from a healthy nutrient-dense diet, but many of us also need an extra boost of the nutrients that commonly get depleted under stress, such as vitamin C, magnesium and B vitamins. Having a personalised nutritional plan, along with proven clinical supplements that address your unique needs, will ensure the best results. When we support ourselves on all levels – body, mind and spirit – we can reclaim our vitality, health and happiness and beat stress!

If you need more support to manage your stress or the physical issues resulting from it, please consider a consultation with Karen to get a unique and comprehensive plan incorporating dietary, lifestyle, supplements and effective mind-body techniques.