Stress 

What exactly does stress do to the body?

 Stress is so ingrained into our everyday lives, that under normal conditions we do not realize that we are placing our bodies under stress, until a health problem become evident.

Simply put, working long hours puts us under stress. Working a full day, then doing housework, preparing the evening meal, shopping, looking after children then collapsing into bed – the norm for most working mothers certainly takes its toll on health. 

Obvious stressors include the mental and emotional strain that we encounter each day, such as battling traffic in peak hour, working in noisy conditions or working to a deadline. Then there are the more obvious ones such as painful divorce, debt, death of a loved one, or relationship problems.

Other factors that cause stress include a poor diet high in refined sugar and fats, chronic pain, inflammation, infection and hormonal imbalance. Over time these factors can have the same effect as mental stress by stimulating the release of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin from the adrenal glands.

Symptoms Caused:

These stress hormones, in excess increases your risk of numerous diseases and can cause the following symptoms:

□       Headaches

□       Restlessness

□       Irritability

□       Muscle pain

□       Sleep disturbance

□       Poor concentration

□       Anxiety

□       Depression

□       Any worsening of a pre-existing health condition

Small amounts of stress can help keep us alert and motivated. The problem begins when the stress is long term or chronic. This will usually lead to an insufficient stress response from the adrenal glands. Commonly the adrenals will first go into an overactive state leaving you feeling anxious, irritable or jittery. You may even experience insomnia and a decrease in appetite.

More Severe Symptoms of Stress:

If the stress is not resolved at this stage the adrenal glands can eventually go into an underactive state and not produce enough adrenalin and cortisol leaving you with symptoms of depression, lethargy, fatigue, or an increased appetite especially for stimulants such as caffeine and sugar. This is what we call Adrenal exhaustion or Adrenal Burnout.

Anxiety

There are many causes of anxiety. They may include unchecked stress, medications, hormonal fluctuations, blood sugar irregularities. These are just a few, but they can lead to a state of anxiety.

There are distinct types of anxiety disorders. You may feel just generally anxious, experience panic attacks, feel particularly anxious in social situations, possibly living with post traumatic stress, finding you have become obsessive-compulsive or developing a specific phobia.

Feelings of being on edge, over stimulated, irritable, nervous in the tummy, nausea, headaches, sighing a lot, feeling confused, lacking concentration, restless, indecisive and fatigue are just some of the possible signs of anxiety.

Feeling anxious is normal, but when it seems excessive in relation to perhaps a stressful event or continues to affect you for no apparent reason it is time to seek treatment. Prolonged anxiety may start to impact your digestion, thyroid, reproductive function and adrenal health. Thorough assessment through questionnaires, relevant diagnostic tools and caring practitioners will have you understanding the effect anxiety is having on your health. Based upon the possible causes of your anxiety, and with the aid of a treatment plan specific to your needs, you may be prescribed natural remedies to improve and help you manage your anxiety as quickly as possible.

Panic Attacks

Acute episodes of anxiety may manifest in your body as a panic attack. They are typically defined as discrete periods of intense fear. Symptoms may include palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, choking, chest pain, nausea, dizziness, hot flushes, feeling of losing control, going crazy or dying.

Panic attacks often strike those who do not realize they have been under such acute stress for a prolonged period of time. A panic attack is a physical sign your nervous system is over stimulated and requires support; if left unchecked panic attacks may become more frequent. Herbal and nutritional treatment is extremely effective in reducing or eradicating panic attacks. Diet and lifestyle assessment will further your recovery and provide you with solutions to preventing such unpleasant episodes occurring again.             

Depression

It is not uncommon for anxiety (see Anxiety above) and depression to co-exist together. You can be anxious and depressed at the same time and there are many factors to consider when determining the cause or causes of depression. You may not realize that insomnia, chronic pain, inflammation within the body, poor blood sugar regulation, inefficient digestion, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal irregularities, heavy metal toxicity and anxiety are just some of the contributing factors when seeking the causes of depression. By considering all physiological, environmental, and emotional influences on your body you will have a clearer understanding of why you are feeling depressed. We provide you with the opportunity to begin healing your body with nutritional and herbal treatments plus the tools to make effective lifestyle changes to support your recovery.    

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia presents as chronic musculoskeletal pain combined with debilitating fatigue and is often accompanied by anxiety and insomnia. It is regarded as non-inflammatory, ie conventional anti inflammatories do not usually provide relief. A hypersensitivity to pain is often experienced. Many with fibromyalgia associate a precipitating event to the development of their condition such as a flu-like illness, prolonged stress, chronic sleep disturbance or physical trauma. The treatments we offer to reduce pain and improve energy target the way our muscles create energy, support adrenal health to reduce fatigue and improve physical health at a cellular level. Insomnia delays recovery and contributes greatly to fatigue so we address the sleep patterns currently being experienced and offer herbal and nutritional formulas to improve deficiencies and relax the body. Supportive diet and lifestyle changes can play a big part in the speed at which improvement is felt.   

At Your Wellness Centre we assess all contributing factors so that we are better able to restore our patients back to good health, and better stress management as quickly as possible.

For More information or to make an appointment ring us on: (03) 9879 9596