Last week I started a conversation on stress.
I outlined the different levels of stress … Acute, Episodic Acute & Chronic, and then I also explained the 3 different types of stress … Physical, Chemical, Emotional.
As promised, today I’m going to share with you specific ways in which you may unknowingly be causing stress and imbalance in the body.
Firstly let’s look at PHYSICAL stressors…
- Inactivity: Our bodies were designed to move on a daily basis and physical inactivity means that certain bodily systems are not able to perform properly, it also means that you are literally not using your body properly – Just like a machine or car, if you don’t use it, things start to deteriorate and clog up. It goes without saying that being physically inactive dramatically increases your chances of many serious adverse health conditions. We need to move.
- Too much exercise: In contrast, you can use your body too much, causing a higher risk of inflammation and injury. Hence, for example, why you hear of people who have been hugely into running for much of their life needing knee or hip replacements – they’ve literally worn out their joints…. As always, everything in moderation.
- Injury: When you have been injured your body is busy diverting much of it’s attention, energy and all the things that go towards rebuilding and repairing the body – which is why you need to rest whilst you’re recovering and you cannot and should not try to perform to your usual standards.
- Inflammation: When a part of the body is inflamed, as above, your body is essentially injured and a decent share of your finite energy is being used to reduce the inflammation. For example, many people who have inflamed guts or skin will find that they feel a surge in energy once they have healed and they realise they were spending their days surviving on less than 100%.
- Being seated for too long: This is the same as inactivity, however I want to highlight here that being seated for long periods of time causes specific stress on the body. Notably it causes blood to flow more sluggishly around the body which puts more pressure on the heart, raising your chances of stroke, high blood pressure, heart disease and many other adverse health conditions.
- Overeating: This puts a stress on the stomach and digestive system, which may cause bloating and excess gas, over the long term this is highly likely to lead to obesity, which is of course linked to many other serious illnesses.
- Underweight: This could go in any of the categories, however from a physical standpoint the body is not adequately nourished meaning that the immune system may be compromised, healing takes longer, you are ill more frequently, your hair, nails may not grow as quickly and as strong, you may get teeth problems, also chances of osteoporosis are much higher. There are also emotional and chemical stressors which I will outline below.
- Excess weight: It goes without saying that being overweight puts you at risk of many serious health conditions, but physically it also causes inflammation, pressure on the joints and ligaments specifically knees, back and hips, sore feet, fluid retention, stretched skin.
Next we’re looking at CHEMICAL stressors:
- Hormonal Imbalance: This can be caused by any of the above and the below – and it also causes any of the above and the below, so it’s a little bit ‘chicken and egg’. But hormonal imbalance is a reaction to something, it’s a symptom – which therefore means if you can find the root of the problem, you can then heal the imbalance. Types of hormonal imbalance could be and lead to thyroid imbalance, sex drive issues, adrenal fatigue, burnout, fertility issues, skin and hair problems.
- Blood sugar imbalance: Now this is a biggy, and actually the one I most want to highlight because many people do not watch this or even factor it in as part of what might be causing stress. So I’m going to talk about this in a lot more detail next week – stay tuned!
- Toxic chemicals: I’ve written about this before, but if you’re ingesting toxic chemicals, whether that be from processed foods, non organic foods, medications, cosmetics, household cleaning products, smoking, pollution, mould etc. etc. this can have a major effect on the body, leading to physical stressors and symptoms.
- Toxic foods: In addition to the above, I would say too much sugar, caffeine, carbohydrates (as they convert to glucose a.k.a sugar in the body) alcohol, any food you’re adversely reactive to, can be seen as a chemical stressor on the body – thus causing a physical and potentially mental stressor on the system.
- Stress: it’s as simple as it sounds … stress causes your adrenaline and cortisol to spike – this is needed in a real life or death, fight or flight scenario, but too much stress causes in imbalance in these hormones over long periods of time.
EMOTIONAL stressors
- Negative mindset: As per the last chemical stressor above, this causes unnecessary stress and bad feeling, which may lead to a mild or even perhaps extreme fight or flight response in the body if you are expecting the worst case scenario and thinking the worst on a regular basis.
- Constant busy-ness: Your mind and body needs downtime, rest is super important. Not only does your body need to recharge and heal but your nervous system needs some peace and quiet. It’s also likely that constant busy-ness leads to feelings of pressure and overwhelm, leading to stress, therefore potentially causing hormonal imbalance. What is important to know here is that you often have your best insights and visions when resting, so just because you’re not ‘doing’ anything literally, it doesn’t in any way mean that you’re wasting time. It’s a big mindset shift but one with profound results.
- Lack of love: This could be lack of love from people around you, including loneliness and it can also mean lack of love for yourself by yourself. Humans need connection, touch and to feel loved. It is said that a baby can have all it needs to survive but if it doesn’t get affection,cuddles and attention it will die of a lack of love. Isolation is not healthy. Endorphins and feel good hormones and released when we touch, cuddle and are tactile with another human or animal. And it goes without saying that lack of self love can have serious effects on a persons health… in fact it is key!
- Emotional trauma past or present: Past emotional traumas may shape the way we look at and react to the world, sometimes even unknowingly from our subconscious mind. They also often shape the way we view ourselves, which is what can do the most damage and goes back to lack of self love above. This is where self-growth becomes a life’s work because we have all faced some sort of childhood trauma even if to an outsider it doesn’t sound like a big deal, if it was to us in that moment, it may have left a lasting imprint on us. This is another HUGE topic, and one I will cover in a future blog. It is also obvious that dealing with trauma in the present is also going to cause someone significant stress.
- Rushing/Last minute lifestyle: This could also be in ‘chemical stress’ because when you live life in this way you’re essentially causing a fight or flight response every time… Life is a series of mini emergencies on your psyche and thus your body because every time, your adrenaline and cortisol levels are ramped up. Mentally you are also probably continually feeling guilty, ashamed, embarrassed etc. So if you’re someone who feels stressed on a regular basis and you are a last minute person, I highly recommend that you make working on this habit your number one priority – get everywhere early, walk/drive everywhere more slowly and see how your life can transform!
- Dramatic/violent shows/books: I’ve mentioned this before, but this is something a lot of people don’t give weight to – if you’re a stressed person, why would you want to watch or read something that really ramps up your stress levels even further? Again this is also a major chemical stress, because you’re ‘feeling’ what you’re seeing and reading and empathising with the story. This also applies to the news. It’s partly for this reason that I just don’t watch anything scary, thrilling, violent and I don’t watch or read the news. I also advise that my clients do the same.
- Toxic relationships: This one is obvious, but sometimes if we’re disconnected from ourselves and not listening to our bodies we don’t even know the effect these relationships are having on our health and wellbeing. Who you surround yourself with is everything…. The more I do this work with clients and the more I work on myself, the more I see how unbelievably important this is. Again, this is something I will write more on for another time, but for now, I would suggest taking note of how you feel during and after being around certain people. If you feel ‘off’ in anyway on a regular basis this may be a sign the person is toxic.
- Poor work environment: This is also connected to being around toxic people, but also a company culture can be unhealthy and toxic. Leaving a job can be tricky when you have bills to pay and obligations, but staying in a unhealthy stressful environment will takes it’s toll on your health – mentally, physically and emotionally, and your health is your most important asset.
- Lack of sleep: This one could actually have gone in all sections here because it really does effect every one of the three bodily stressors. It’s also another chicken and egg scenario because any of the stressors outlined above could lead to poor sleep. But if your environment means that you are not sleeping well, know that continual poor quality sleep can really effect your mood, stress levels and physical health, so it’s super important that you do whatever you can to make your sleeping environment safe, quiet, comfortable and free of disturbances.
Of course there is a lot more I could say on each of these points, but I hope {!firstname_fix} that these have given you some food for thought, maybe you’ve even had a new insight or a-ha moment?
Next week I’ll be specifically talking more about blood sugar imbalance because most people don’t really pay attention to this or know much about it, however it is where I see so many people going wrong and this leads to many, many health issues and mood problems.
Here’s to your best health,
Love,
Kate x
