Whilst it is easy to chalk up almost any condition to stress these days, stress is qualified by a particular physiological response experienced by your body. This is due to the secretion of stress hormones in response to a traumatic situation. In fact, specific, pathological stress can be experienced in response to a traumatic event such as a death in the family or divorce, but is also commonly experienced by people in response to accidents, long-term illness, or times of physiological change, such as menopause

What happens in your body when you're stressed...

During a stressful event, your body responds physiologically by secreting a cocktail of stress hormones designed to place your body in a state of high alert.

The Benefits of Adrenalin

Secreted by the adrenal glands, Adrenalin is one of the first hormones to affect your body during a time of stress. Aimed to protect your body from attack by supplying your brain and muscles with extra oxygen, Adrenalin allows your nervous system and heart to function at their absolute peak. This means that during the initial onset of stress, you are able to ‘fight’ an attacker using sheer force, or ‘flee’ (or take ‘flight’) from an attacker using your wile and wit.

Too much Adrenalin?

Whilst beneficial if you are escaping a marauding mob or threat of harm, the problem with this stress mediated response is that in modern life, stressors that cannot be out-run or out-punched affect us. Financial pressures, home pressures, work pressures and emotional pressures mean many people are constantly secreting stress hormones leading to eventual exhaustion or dis-ease.

The side effects of stress

During times of stress, your body can be physiologically and emotionally affected in a number of differing ways; some people suffer fatigue, others insomnia and mood changes, some experience immune changes meaning they are more likely to catch a cold or flu, others yet experience digestive disturbances including nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhoea.

Enter the Adaptogens

The first of these is a class of herbal medicines known as adaptogens, which work to treat the cause of stress in order to correct or change the severity of symptoms. This class of remedies work to help your body adapt to stress and have a sparing affect on your adrenal glands, leading to a normalisation of other organs affected by stress, including your heart and digestive system.

Withania somnifera (Withania, Ashwagandha)

One of the most trusted and researched of these herbs is a traditional Ayurvedic herb Withania somnifera - known traditionally as ‘Ashwagandha’, this herb is identified in most modern western herbal medicine traditions as simply ‘Withania’. By working to normalise physiological processes during times of stress, Withania is an adaptogenic herb that has been used for centuries to help your body resist the psychological and physical effects of stress. Known to tone, normalise and revitalise bodily functions, Withania is traditionally used for exhausted states and as a specific tonic during times of convalescence from times of physiological change, illness or accident. It is also used to treat exhaustion in people of all ages, due to its calming, restorative action.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

Lemon Balm has been used in Western Herbal Medicine tradition for its calming effect on both your body and mind. Specifically indicated by its action in reducing digestive issues related to stress, Lemon Balm is a gentle, restorative herb used to reduce spasmodic tension and strain caused by nervous worry.

Mr Vitamins recommends

Nutra-Life Magnesium Calm

Formulated with a concentrated extract of the adaptogenic herb Withania, as well as the traditionally calming and restorative herb Lemon Balm, Nutra-Life Magnesium Calm is an easy to take powder suitable for reducing digestive and nervous system tension associated with stress. Find our more about Nutra-Life Magnesium Calm here