Helping Your Body To Cope With Stress

Most of us women are very good at getting the balance right. We work, see to children, run a home, have a partner and of course also ensure all the animals also get some TLC.

However, as the world around us continues to spin faster and faster there are times when we struggle to stay balanced and on top of everything and become very stressed.

Some people think that stress is just normal and endure years or even a lifetime of stress, but our bodies have not been designed to cope with prolonged stress, only moments of it.

Stress, in fact, is an immune system response to our perception of the world around us. If our perception of a situation is that it is difficult, scary or even challenging, our bodies produce adrenalin. This chemical, as we all know, gives us energy. The problem with prolonged high adrenalin levels is that this chemical begins to literally eat away at the nerve pathways in the body. This in turn causes lack of optimum communication in the body and the long term effect of stress is that the body begins to show signs of illness and disease.

In a way we all know this to some degree or another but we have come to understand the inescapable fact - stress is always going to be a major part of our lives.

So what can we do to manage or even eliminate chronic stress?

For a start, have you noticed that some people are not worried about things that would worry you? They seem relaxed, almost laid back about life and what it has to throw at them. There are those people that remain calm in traffic. Where you would love to shout and hoot, their response is, “there is no need to get upset about a silly thing like that”.

Or what about when you have a deadline looming and you’re running around frustrated that people are not walking or driving at a quick enough pace to suit you. These laid back people realize that you won’t get it done faster or get there any quicker if you keep stressing and raving and, the sad truth is that they’re right.

Even though we may be in a hurry, frustrated or financially pressured, it doesn’t help us on any level in our bodies to become stressed about these things. We all have problems to deal with and it is our perception of these challenges and how we react to them that will determine how we stressed we become, because of it.

So, how do we learn to let go of frustration and stress if it is not in our personality to do so?

Firstly, when adrenalin flows in our bodies, our bodies use Vitamin B to help stabilize our immune system. If we’re consuming a diet filled with a lot of sugar in the form of table sugar, chocolate, cakes, sweets, white bread etc, guess what’s happening to that Vitamin B? Yup, the sugar eats it all up. That’s one reason why children are so moody after eating sweets and chocolates.

It’s vital then that we need to supplement our diets with vast amounts of absorbable and useable Vitamin B and this will be either in organic food or in the form of organic supplements.

Another supplement we need is generous quantities of Omega 3.  This is found in fish oil and is so important because Omega 3 will rebuild the nervous system, improve concentration, improve memory and help with depression. You would need an excellent quality Omega 3 supplement, not one that contains fish that are caught in the local harbor, but rather good game fish or a supplement that has been harvested from fish in a cold, remote part of the sea so that they contain no heavy metals and other toxins. You can also gauge the quality of Omega 3 by how golden the oil is in the capsule, the more golden, the more refined and better the quality.

To this, ad Vitamin C and E. These are antioxidants and are powerful in aiding the body in ridding itself of any toxins such as pollutants or residual adrenalin. Again, get a good quality, organic Vitamin C as it has more antioxidants than any other Vitamin C supplement. If you want to eat fruit containing Vitamin C you must eat at least 2 oranges a day that have been freshly picked off the tree. The longer an orange or a fruit sits in a shop the more the antioxidant levels drop. You can lose up to 100mg of Vitamin C a day while sitting on a shelf. So eat the fruit as quickly as you can.

The last supplement that should be on your list is a Calcium and Magnesium supplement. When the adrenalin is flowing around the body it actually turns the body into an acidic environment and the body compensates by leaching the calcium out of your bones and magnesium out of your tissues to alkaline the effects of the adrenalin. These minerals are absorbed a lot better by your body in the evening so take them just before bed time if possible.

A last beneficial practice we should adopt is to breathe deeply every time we feel we are becoming stressed. Now I know this might seem a little too much after all the no sugar and the supplements, but it is very necessary.

As we become stressed our muscles in our body tense and restrict the blood flow through the, that means the cells are literally starved of oxygen and nutrients. This process also applies to the brain, the muscles in our neck become tense and then it restricts the blood supply to the brain, leaving our brain and body cells dying and unable to repair themselves quick enough to carry on a healthy life. Crazy, perhaps, but true. Deep breathing relaxes the muscles and allows blood flow to rush through the cells, giving them nutrients that help the cells metabolize and deal with the effects of stress.

You'll be amazed at how applying these simple, but powerful, few things will really help you develop a healthy way of dealing with the stress in your everyday life, as you continue to work on getting the balance right.

Source of article -

Louise Olsen  - for more info on Louise, click here ...

Women's Health & Wellness Mentor

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