Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Stress: How It's Hurting You and What To Do About It

Winter Break! The holidays! Family, food, and STRESS!  No matter the planning, no matter the downsizing, it all seems to turn into work and stress in some way.  It may be a natural part of the circumstances, but it definitely impacts your body in a big way.

How It's Hurting You

When your brain starts getting distress signals, it immediately releases a flood of hormones from the adrenal glands (think adrenaline and cortisol) and that's the way it was designed.  The problem arises when we live in a state of distress, running from one thing to the next with anxiety and conflict surrounding many interactions.  This prolonged state of stress wipes out things like B & C vitamins, decreasing your storehouse of energy.  Instead of recovering to a balanced and calm state, those hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol, stay elevated and cause all kinds of havoc - things like depression, hypertension and maybe even some cancers.



From this point, the stress just spreads to other systems of the body.  Digestion and intestinal problems are common with frequent anxiety.  Things like memory loss, fertility issues, risk of heart attack and stroke are all related to stress.  Not to mention how we REACT to the stress - things like anger, overeating or poor food choices, inactivity, and often taking it all out on our family!  What a time for a holiday celebration, huh?

What You Can Do About It

The easy answer is to stop the stress all together, but the majority of us know how unreasonable that is. So, since there will be drama, conflict, and hectic schedules, here are a few options to make it easier on your body.

Take a walk.  Exercise, being outside, getting some sunshine and vitamin D are some of the BEST things to do for your body - no matter the day or the stress!  And with all of the eating we're likely to be doing, it can help your waistline too!

Take your vitamins.  Stress, exhaustion, and a less than normal diet is likely in our future next week and that empties the storehouse of vitamins and minerals in our bodies.  Supplementing with things like Citrus BioflavonoidsNutri-Calm, B-Complex, Super Omega-3 and GreenZone can go along way in counteracting all of the damage being caused by stress.  There are also many herbal formulas that are extremely helpful for stress, depression, and sleep problems.  Contact us for help with those!

Be sure to check NSP's Specials every week.  B-Complex is on special this week!

AnxiousLess -  This new combination from Nature's Sunshine is a non-drowsy, non-habit forming formula that can help replenish your body's stress-coping reserves.  It targets nervousness, worry and tension, while working to improve your mood and energy levels.  This is a great resource to have in those temporary peaks of stress - like when all the family comes home for the day! For more information, go here.

Do less, Relax more.  It sounds silly, but try to think of unnecessary things to cut out or people you can delegate to.  There's always a few 'bored' or 'busy watching television' family members that could use something to do!

Forget perfection.  No matter how much you plan, it won't go exactly as you hope.  And that's ok.  Do good.  Love those around you.  Laugh much.  And enjoy yourself.



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