HOW STRESS SABOTAGES YOUR HEALTH & WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
Oh mama. I understand stress. Sometimes you just can’t get away from it.
The baby won’t stop crying!
The dog tore up my couch.
My car broke down.
My boss is being unreasonable.
My mother-in-law is making me bonkers (my mother-in-law is wonderful btw.).
The kids are so loud!
What are we having for dinner?
The laundry just exploded!
My hubby and I got in a fight.
I can’t get everything done!
WHAT STRESS DOES TO YOUR HEALTH
Cortisol- the stress hormone.
According to Melissa Hartwig in her book, It Starts with Food, “Stress, which causes chronically elevated cortisol levels, increase blood sugar levels and contributes to insulin resistance.” (pg. 53) Stress can make you gain weight as it sends your hormone levels into outer space!
Cortisol is “the stress hormone.” It is important to blood sugar and your immune system’s function. Cortisol also helps your body determine when to wake up and decreases during to day to help you rest well at night. Have you ever been up all night because you were too stressed to fall asleep? Blame cortisol.
Stress makes you want to eat more.
Have you ever found yourself stress eating? So it shouldn’t surprise us that stress makes us crave salty, fatty food and makes it harder for us to resist these cravings! What we are really craving is dopamine (the feel good hormone), so when we satisfy the craving we actually do feel good.
However, when we get in the habit of training our brains to feel better with junk food, we turn to junk food even when we DON’T feel stressed. Thirty pounds later, we’re wondering “What happened?”
Stress makes you sick.
Stress kills your immune system and your body’s natural ability to fight off disease. According to the American Physiological Association, Suzanne Segerstrom, PhD, of the University of Kentucky, and Gregory Miller, PhD, of the University of British Columbia, had nearly 300 studies on stress and health to review. Their meta-analysis discerned intriguing patterns. Lab studies that stressed people for a few minutes found a burst of one type of “first responder” activity mixed with other signs of weakening. For stress of any significant duration – from a few days to a few months or years, as happens in real life – all aspects of immunity went downhill. Thus long-term or chronic stress, through too much wear and tear, can ravage the immune system.
Ask for help. This is especially important if you have kids. Sometimes as moms we feel like we need to be supermom, but sometimes we need help. If your kids are out of control and you feel like they are running over you, talk to your spouse, grandparents, reach out to friends. Find solutions to the things in your home that are causing you stress.
3. Practice self-care. Self-Care is one of the most loving things you can do for yourself and those around you. See my post What Millennials Can Teach Moms.
4. Delegate. Do you really HAVE to do everything? Can your kid do the laundry or make dinner? Can you squeeze ordering pizza in your budget every so often to give you a break? Find ways you can release some of your responsibilities. If you are on the control-freak side like myself, well, that’s a whole ‘nother blog post!
5. Just Say No. Back to you don’t have to everything. Even if it’s a good thing. You’re going to have plenty of opportunities to do good things, but sometimes the BEST thing is taking care of your sanity! Learn to say no, lovingly 
6. Go Hippy-ish. Turn on that salt lamp. Use essential oils. Diffusing and using oils & supplements has been really helpful for my stress levels. When I wake up to kids fighting, I diffuse Young Living’s Peace and Calming. I apply Young Living’s Stress Away to my body when I know I have a busy day ahead. I take Immupro and Inner Defense every day to keep my immune system up. Young Living’s products have been a game changer for me. If you are interested in Essential oils, check them out here.
7. Make like Elsa and LET IT GO. Your house doesn’t look like Martha Stewart’s. You’re eating on paper plates tonight. Your kids don’t know Latin. So what? Sometimes we expect too much from ourselves and others and letting that go will take down the stress levels.
Take care of yourself! Let me know how you handle stress in your life!
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