Often when we think of stress we can easily become overwhelmed trying to figure out how to minimize or eliminate it 😳. As in, "I can’t get rid of my kids, or quit my job." In fact, many of my clients do believe that stress is having an impact on their health, but also feel stuck in the belief that there is no way to address it without completely eliminating stress from their lives -which is an overwhelming and impossible venture 🙅🏼♀️.
So to start, I want to help you see that stress encompasses so much more than mental health and exhaustion.
By giving you a complete definition of stress, the goal is NOT that you feel even more overwhelmed. Rather, my goal is always to equip you to be your own health advocate and expert.💥Only when you can identify additional sources of stress in your life and your body, can you truly address them💥
💡Remember from last week’s post, that stress is our body’s response to danger, or threats.
Most stress is triggered by 4 areas:
⚡Perceived & Emotional pressure -(what we think of when we hear the word stress)driven by lifestyle, relationships, responsibilities, mindset, internal demands, perfectionism, novelty, threat, trauma, ...
⚡Circadian disruption -driven by lack of sunlight, EMFs, blue light exposure, poor sleep hygiene, breathing patterns, hormone imbalance, eating patterns and timing, ...
⚡Blood sugar dysregulation -driven by macronutrient balance, under or over fueling, gut dysbiosis, pathogens, hormone imbalance, mineral balance, irregular eating patterns, nutrient poor foods, dehydration, other types of stress,...
⚡Inflammation -driven by excessive or chronic exercise, mitochondrial dysfunction, autoimmunity, toxic burden, oxidative stress, gut dysbiosis, poor sleep,...
In the next few weeks I will dive into each of these, so stay tuned! In the meantime...
⭐What in those lists stands out to you?
⭐Does one input feel heavier than another?
⭐Do you already have a sense that something on that list is affecting your health?
If not, start looking beyond burnout, and consider what other sources of stress you have the power to address 👊🏼