Stress Management For Better Health - How To Manage Stress?

You may have heard the term "stress" thrown around a lot lately. Stress is a big danger to your health and can be managed via a variety of practices.

Stress is not only physical but also mental or emotional.

It can be caused by many factors such as environmental conditions or personal problems.

Stress responses are complex and involve numerous hormones being released in the body, which signal it for one thing- Fight or flight!

In this article series, you'll learn more about stress, what exactly it is and how you can deal with it.

Without further ado, let's get to it!

What Is Stress

Stress can be defined as a mental or physical tension that is felt when facing challenging events.

It's important to know what stress really is, so you better understand how it affects your body and mind in the long term!

The brain interprets emotional and environmental stimuli as threats that activate our fight-or-flight response.

This results in the production of cortisol, a hormone that helps us cope with stress.

However, evolutionarily, the stress response was created to get you out of danger.

For instance, if you were picking berries in the woods and you suddenly heard an animal approaching you quickly, the stress response would instantly kick in.

Once that happens, your heart rate jumps and the body starts pumping blood to your extremities, so you can run away from the danger.

Types Of Stress

It's important to understand there are different types of stress.

For example, acute stress is a short-term exposure to an external stimulus that activates the autonomic nervous system and cortisol secretion.

This allows you to deal with sudden threats or changes in your environment.

HOWEVER...

We live in big cities nowadays and that life-saving stress response has turned into something toxic and chronic, triggered by a variety of factors.

Causes Of Stress

As we mentioned, death by predation is close to impossible in the modern-day, big cities that are generally safe.

However, those same, big, safe cities we live in, cause a LOT of emotional and nutritional stress.

This is due to the dynamic urban lifestyle, as well as the abundance of processed foods that are of little value to the body.

Combine emotional stress and poor nutrition and you're on your way to chronic stress.

Why You SHOULD AVOID Stress

Though many people associate stress with just an emotional or mental burnout, the truth is much deeper.

As previously mentioned, stress causes cortisol to be secreted by the body.

The thing is that cortisol, by nature is very taxing - The stress response SHUTS OFF your immune system, recovery, and growth, and kicks your heart and brain out of harmony.

A chronically disharmonized body is far more susceptible to a variety of diseases, so ultimately, you'd want to manage stress to an extent where it can only be productive for you.

Stress is a normal part of life, and stress can be good for you. Stress prompts us to take action and push ourselves to the limit.

However, too much stress can have adverse effects on our health including headaches, depression, or even high blood pressure.

The stress management tips in this article will help you manage stress by finding peace through mindfulness techniques such as meditation and practicing self-compassion with food choices that nourish your body.

It's All Automatic...

If you have an objective look at your life or that of others, you will come to realize that 95% of the thoughts we have, actions we take, and reactions we use, are... Automatic.

The MAJORITY of your stress is self-induced... But it's not like you chose to do so - It's all a repetitive pattern in your brain.

Becoming Aware

Once you acknowledge what we said above and start observing yourself, you will soon become aware that the stress factors in your life can be easily controlled.

All it takes is to become aware and choose to take conscious action before your REACTION happens.

Whether it's your ex-girlfriend, workplace, or just your friends stressing you out, try and stay distant from the instant, the automatic reaction you have wired in your brain for each situation.

If that reaction does not manifest in your experience, you are basically at idle speed and can use your free will to direct the events in whatever direction you want them to go. (taking conscious action, rather than following the automatic reaction).

Using Adaptogens

Adaptogens are natural plants and botanicals from the planet. They?help your body adjust to physical, chemical, or biological stress. They're thought to stimulate your body's stress-protection response and help its systems return to a balanced state called "homeostasis."

This is why we recommend an adaptogen blend for those who have a high level of stress in their lifestyle.

Reaching The Meditative State

When you stop identifying yourself with your reactions and automatic thoughts, you may feel as if your mind is floating on a cloud.

This signifies that you have successfully taken your body out of a disrupted, stressed-out state and have transitioned to a rather meditative, aware one.

The meditative state is the EXACT opposite of the stressed state.

If stress leads to worsened immunity, growth, recovery, and overall function, then the meditative state is what PRIMES those.

This is also the exact state where you can rationalize everything in your life, even the most stressful factors.

The meditative state allows you to:

1. Observe yourself from a third-person view, to understand emotional and thought patterns
2. Take conscious action and rationalize every event, even the more stressful ones
3. Shift the course of events and minimize the perceived stress down to a minimum

In Breath We Trust

Easier said than done - Going against the automatic patterns of your brain, especially in a stressful, emotionally engaging situation is not easy.

As a matter of fact, most things in the body are automatic - You don't really think about digestion or heart rate regulation.

However, all those automatic functions, including the emotional & mental response to external things, can be regulated via the ONLY automatic function that is controllable consciously - The breath.

Develop the habit of standing still and taking a deep breath when you are face to face with the stress factor.

This simple habit will allow you to rationalize your next move and words, for the better outcome of the situation.

This same, deep, slow breath, when repeated, can turn into a wonderful stress-management, self-reflection practice.

Even just 5 minutes per day can send strong signals to your body that it is time to recover, grow and be in harmony.

Observe yourself.

Be aware.

Choose to respond, rather than react.

You are in control.