Stress is real! How you manage stress is very important to your health and wellbeing. Did you know it is estimated that 75-90% of visits to primary care providers are related to acute or chronic stress. According to Medibank Private Research, the effects of stress are costing the Australian economy approximately $11.6 billion per year.

So what is Stress?

It could be how you are feeling right now! Stress is a normal physical and psychological response to the increasing demands of our fast modern lifestyles.

What causes stress?

Some people deal better with stress than others. Some deal well with stress for years, before noticing their health or behavior is changing. You actually need stress to help motivate and sharpen focus in times when you need to respond to a different or challenging situation. Stress can be caused as a result of one or many events such as:

• Personal issues – health, work, time management, no time to relax
• Family issues – kid’s health, parent’s health, kid’s homework, sporting commitments
• Financial difficulties or unemployment
• Workplace or school issues
• Marital or relationship issues
• Death of a loved one
• Big changes such as changing jobs, moving house
• A combination of lots of big or little things
• Poor dietary choices
• Bullying or peer pressure
• Family history of mental health problems
• Substance abuse
• Personality type

What are the symptoms of Stress?

Typically when people are stressed, they are often unable to identify what is causing them to feel this way. As it builds up, it adversely affects physical and/or emotional health. Symptoms often first appear as:

• Insomnia and poor sleeping patterns
• Poor memory
• Poor concentration
• Lack of energy and fatigue
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Immune suppression and poor health
• Headaches
• Increased PMS symptoms
• Inability to deal with menopause

How does your body cope?

When your body is exposed to long term stress, it releases cortisol in an attempt to stay active and alert so that it can deal with the stress at hand. When the stress is gone things should return to normal. Unfortunately, the non-stop stress of our lifestyles means that your body does not get a chance to shut off,  which uses up large amounts of nutrients and energy. Eventually this causes burn out. When stress becomes chronic it can affect each and every system in your body. This can lead to serious health consequences:

• Headaches and/or migraines
• Depression
• Peptic ulcer
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Asthma
• Dermatitis
• Hormone imbalances
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Cardiovascular disease
• Weakened immune system
• Insulin resistance
• Inflammation

That’s why stress management is so important!

How can I manage my stress?

No matter what has caused your stress, there are various ways to help manage it. These will depend on how long you have been stressed, how severe it is and how it has affected you both emotionally and physically.

Stress management helps to reset your alarm system

How can a Naturopath help you?

• They can help to identify your causes and address the symptoms
• Advise on the most effective nutrients to support your during periods of stress and recovery
• Support healthy mood, memory and brain function
• Provide guidelines to improve diet and lifestyle
• Recommend individual management techniques

What strategies can you use to manage stress?

Appropriate and healthy dietary and lifestyle choices can improve health, balance and vitality to help manage and recover from the effects of chronic stress. Identifying the best natural supplements such as B vitamins, magnesium and the right herbs can help to restore energy and support the nervous system. Supporting the individual symptoms of stress can help to provide short term relief and help deal with the causes that are driving chronic stress.

Do you want to find out more about Stress Management?

Introducing our new FREE workshop

How to Manage and Reduce Your Stress

Join our Naturopath Janne Ramsay as she takes you through the basics of stress and how to best manage it. Find out more and book in to attend a free workshop here Janne Ramsay Naturopath Janne Ramsay is a Naturopath and Nutritionist. She has experience in assessing how stress is effecting your health and providing appropriate and individual nutritional, dietary and lifestyle recommendations so that you can deal with the causes and symptoms of stress and get back to a healthier you. Find out more about Janne here