Stress, Depression and Anxiety
Stress - A Modern Epidemic
Everyone experiences stress - in our busy modern world, stress is unavoidable; luckily the serious negative health effects of stress can be avoided, but the first step to recovery is recognising what our stressors are. Because everyone has a different experience of ‘stress’ it is important to note anything in your life that may be causing or contributing to stress.
If left unchecked, stress can lead to numerous more serious illnesses, and so it is important to take your stress levels seriously, and remove, or amend any areas of your life that are causing you stress.
Common causes of stress include:
Major life events - e.g. births, deaths, marriage, divorce, moving house, changing jobs, trauma
Personal relationships - e.g. conflict, deception, bullying
Work/study - e.g. exams, deadlines, responsibilities
Health issues - e.g. pain, chronic illness
Dietary and lifestyle issues - e.g. lack of sleep, poor diet, smoking, excessive intake of alcohol.
As you can see, stress is not just a ‘mental’ issue. A stressor that affects your body (such as long-term pain), is just as detrimental to your overall health and well-being as the stress of your job, home life, or the traffic you were stuck in this morning.
Symptoms of stress:
Stress may be the underlying factor behind a number of chronic illnesses.
Symptoms can include:
Low energy
Difficulty sleeping/ insomnia
Poor memory and concentration.
Anxiety
Depression
Panic attacks
Digestive disturbances.
Long-term stress may lead to hormonal and thyroid imbalances, obesity, and a weakened immune system which may lead to recurrent infections or coughs/colds.
that won’t go away. A good example of this is the hundred-day cough. You probably know of someone who has had this!
Stress can deplete the body of nutrients, so in effect is a physical problem – just like a sore muscle. Because it affects our nerves, it often gets stigmatised. But nourishing your nerves with the appropriate nutrients may enable them to cope more effectively with whatever life throws at you: with
Strategies and tools to assist with stress
Natural Medicine can help a long way towards managing your stress. Certain nutrients and herbs will be very helpful in managing symptoms and even helping you cope better long term.
But please remember – there are so many appalling supplements out there – some of which will likely do you more than good. Please talk to one of our practitioners to ensure you are taking the right supplements for you and your symtoms.
Below is some of the key food, supplements and lifestyle supports we can help you with:
Your Food: nutritional deficiencies as well as intolerances can exacerbate your body’s experience of stress. Caffeine and sugar can even increase your body’s stress hormones.
Magnesium: stress reduces your stores of magnesium and a low level of this mineral in the body can actually make the effects of stress worse! You need to replenish your magnesium levels to support a healthy nervous system.
B Vitamins: They help support your stress levels by enhancing the production of neurotransmitters (they keep you in a good mood). B vitamins may also improve your energy levels.
Essential fatty acids: They are important building blocks of the brain and nervous system and can help support a healthy mood. They are also anti-inflammatory. The body cannot make essential fatty acids, so you must get them through your diet, or from a supplement proved by your health care practitioner.
Herbal Medicine: Herbal medicines are second to none for helping you cope with stress. Herbs provide a wide range of relief from your mood or stress symptoms. Some are calming, some help your body ‘adapt’ to your stressor, and some may even calm your adrenal glands which leads to a better capacity to cope with stress long term.
Counselling - Learn how to rewire your body’s perception of stress and teach it to react and respond differently.
