Working with Stress
The body’s stress response and the way that we manage and express this is directly linked to our Adrenal glands - two glands that sit on the top of the kidneys. Although tiny in size the adrenals are massive in the functions that they influence within the body such as blood pressure, weight, blood sugar and immune system aswell as managing the body’s stress response too.
How Stress and the Adrenals are delicately entwined
These tiny glands are responsible for the body’s primary survival due to their involvement with our “FIGHT and FLIGHT'“ response. This means anytime when we are in actual (or perceived) danger they pump cortisol into our blood to awaken our responses, activate our blood sugar for energy production to fuel our muscles, increase our heart rate and respiration so that we can either fight or run away from danger e.g being chased by a tiger..
This response is great but the problem is that this fight and flight mechanism should be short lived, the nervous system should be able to switch back into ‘normal’ mode fairly quickly once any danger has passed or we are in a place of safety.
It is the norm now that we now live our lives in the presence of constant stressors - such as worries about health, money, job security, our children, older parents or family members, this is also on top of all the inner pressures we put upon ourselves such as making sure we are the best mum, be brilliant at our job, eat the perfect diet, make sure we get to the gym or exercise daily to try and be healthy..
Our adrenals get stuck in overdrive in an effort to manage this excessive and unrelenting stress and over time can have a knock on effect with the health of our body..
signs your Adrenals could be in overdrive…
Insomnia or trouble falling asleep, and feeling like you are not rested in the morning.
Your hormones are all over the place and maybe finding it difficult to get pregnant or your libido has just left the building.
Your memory and focus isn’t as sharp as it use to be.
Your immunity is low and keep catching the cold, or becoming unwell more often and just can’t shake it off.
Craving sugar, carbs or salt - or possibly them all!
Find that you cannot get through the day without reaching for either coffee or sugar mid afternoon.
Stubborn weight gain - especially around the middle.
Feeling anxious or down.
Getting irritable or angry really quickly or more often
Your digestion is all over the place.
ways to ease stress and soothe your adrenals out of overdrive-
Relaxation
This is the best way and easiest way - plus it costs nothing - by learning to practice daily relaxation techniques such as mindfulness, meditation, gentle yoga or gentle exercise, infact anything that works for you, this will send the message to your adrenals that you are safe and will allow them to recallibrate.
This doesn’t have to be something big - for me I find just finding 15 minutes to sit in peace with a cup of tea, or even a 15 minute walk in the park/beach or in nature can be a powerful ritual to reduce stress.
Acupuncture
In Chinese Medicine, the adrenals are linked to our Kidney energy, which is considered to be like a ‘savings account’ - this is seen as being the foundation of our health and longevity, and should be conserved with any Kidney Qi being used sparing. Stress drains the body of this energy and our nutritional Qi. Acupuncture can offer a natural way to strengthen Kidney Qi, calm the nervous system, support mental health and foster some emotional resilience.
Sleep
Your body needs around 8 hours of quality sleep at night - good sleep is a lifestyle habit - you don’t have to look too hard to find the evidence that shows you are happier, healthier, more relaxed and perform better with adequate sleep!
Coffee
Do you feel that you are drawn to your cup of coffee first thing in the morning or mid afternoon??
Often we turn towards caffeine to help us to ‘push through’ the day. But by doing this actually means that we are dipping further into our already depleted energy reserves. Over and above this Caffeine also triggers additional stress chemicals and leads to increased cortisol production and adrenal overdrive. Breaking this vicious circle can be really hard, BUT cutting back or even better completely will give you more energy in the longer term.
Exercise
A must everyday because it is great for both physical and mental health but just ‘not too much’. Hard core runners/gym bunnies/yogis can sometimes push this from being a good thing into over exercising which can actively contribute to adrenal fatigue. Some tell tale signs that you are over exercising includes - having difficulty loosing weight despite exercising lots, or falling unwell easily and not being able to shake it off or just burning the candle at both ends and exercising - cutting back just a little can do wonders to restore your overall energy levels.
Sugar
Eating sugary foods causes your blood sugar to spike, and when this drops it acts to triggers your adrenals into thinking that you are starving and in danger. Working with your body to reassure it isn’t in survival mode and is safe means keeping blood sugar levels steady - such as eating high protein breakfasts, and opting towards eating a diet with good quality fats, proteins and vegetable regularly throughout the day.
Skipping meals, living on coffee and reaching out for sugary snacks when you are feeling hungry or tired, means you are dipping into energy reserves and taxing your exhausted adrenals even further.