No matter what you do toward improving your health, don’t ignore the powerful and negative effects of chronic stress on the mind, and body.
The effects of stress can be subtle enough that it can be easy to brush off signs such as stomach issues as indigestion, asthma as a need for an inhaler, back-pain as a need for a chiropractic adjustment, migraines that need to be turned off through pain medication, and a sleeping pill prescription for those commonly reoccurring sleepless nights.
It can lead to doctor visits for depression and anxiety, and effects such as high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, as well as put one at high risk for heart disease over time.
The effects of chronically high levels of cortisol (stress hormone) are many, and the symptoms are different for everybody as far as how they show up.
Once fatigue starts to set in from tired adrenal glands (which are responsible for cortisol production) many start to increase their coffee intake to get their energy, only to make matters worse.
I used to be very disconnected from how much stress my mind and body was under. That was until I hit a wall and became severely ill with stage 3 Adrenal Fatigue.
This forced me to have to look at how I was handling my stress, and to become really aware of how my chronic anxiety was affecting my health.
Mothers (especially stay at home mothers) are at a higher risk for developing adrenal fatigue.
Because we are giving, and putting out so much energy, operating on lack of sleep, solitude, and self care, not to mention the stress of trying to get it all done, it’s especially important for mothers of young children to be aware of the signs. As a mother of 2 school age girls, as well as a teenager, I deal with parenting stress on different levels, with all three of them, continually.
I take care to make sure that I am full from within through being very mindful of what I add to my schedule, what I say yes to, how I expend my energy and time. I am someone who needs and thrives on lots of alone time, and settle into meditation when my brain is literally buzzing from all the noise and stimulation of daily living.
Aside from the day to day living of juggling work, family, and so on, there are also times when life throws us some pretty intense curve balls.
Family and financial crises, marital breakdown and conflict, health issues, job loss, parenting challenges, or a death in the family, to name a few.
During times of intense grief and stress, we need to be even more mindful of taking care of maintaining our internal resources so that we can whether the storm, and come through with our health, job and most important relationships still intact.
Many are struggling with pretty severe stress and it’s taking it’s toll on our health, job performance, families, and marriages.
“There is no such thing as stress, only people thinking stressful thoughts”. – Wayne Dyer
If you are going through a crises, it is essential to keep up with your wellness and stress reduction practices even though you may feel like doing so is impossible. It’s when we feel like we can’t possibly fit in time to take care of ourselves, or when we are feeling our worst, that we need to take action the most, whether we feel like it or not.
It is critical to take care to balance out our stress response by doing things daily to turn on our relaxation response as often as we can. Simply by taking a few deep breaths, re-framing our thinking, and deciding to consciously respond differently to the little things that, in the grand scheme of things, don’t really matter.
If you are experiencing stress, fatigue, overwhelm, and mood imbalance, sign up for the free 5 Day Energize Your Life Challenge!
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