Natural Medicine for Stress Relief

These days we are inundated by stress. It is rare to find someone not overwhelmed by work, family, and responsibilities and in today’s uncertain, unsettling times, it’s worse than ever.

The problem is, our daily stressors today affect our bodies just like the stressors of old (lions and saber tooth tigers and bears, oh my!) Yeah, that's right, sitting in traffic on the way to work, dealing with the humdrum of office work, running around to the kids' games, getting to all the social engagements... those things that eat away at us and add to the pressure; they all add on their little layers of stress and our bodies respond just like they are being attacked by the growling lion. So what's the problem with that?

Well, prolonged stress is not kind to the body. In a stress response our bodies' nervous systems switch from the parasympathetic dominant (rest and relaxed) state to the sympathetic (freeze, fight, or flight) state, and often for a prolonged time (like years sometimes). Our modern lives lead to us being in a chronic, stressed out state. The adrenal glands are the hormone glands that help us deal with stressful events. Under this chronic assault these little glands (which sit above the kidneys) secrete a hormone called cortisol. This hormone helps us deal with stress, but it also has the unfortunate side effects of raising our blood sugar (leading to more issues with diabetes and weight gain), raising our blood pressure (leading to hypertension and heart disease issues), it breaks down connective tissues (leading to more pain, joint problems, and gut issues), it makes it difficult for our brain to remember things, it makes it harder to get to sleep and stay asleep (leading to other issues with memory and brain health), and it makes us just feel like giving up. It's true, it becomes difficult to stay motivated and keep up with the daily tasks when we are overwhelmed by the stress of it all. It should come as no surprise that reducing your stress and reducing those cortisol levels can go a long way to improving your brain health, gut health, hormonal regulation, heart health, and more.

So how do we mitigate the damage of our stressful lives?

1) Well, number one is obvious, decrease the amount of stressful activities and events in your life! I know, this seems like, "duh," but really, I implore you to make a real effort to look at your life and all of your responsibilities, and make a genuine assessment of what things are causing you stress and damage, and which are bringing you more fun, joy, and life satisfaction. Eliminate or outsource the things that creating such a heavy burden and start embracing those items that make you feel alive and give you purpose. As you create the intention to move in this direction you will be able to select and eliminate the activities in your life that will create a most fulfilling balance.

2) Use techniques that reduce stress. There are numerous therapies, exercises, and techniques that can help you decrease your stress response, increase the activity of the vagus nerve (the one that calms everything down), and find a beautiful balance in life. Let me go through the best ways to reduce stress in your life:

Deep breathing exercises

• Taking the time for sitting and focusing on your breath can go a long way for slowing your heart rate, reducing blood pressure, and getting into a calm, parasympathetic state. Try sitting in a quiet space while observing yourself breathing in for 6 seconds and out for 6 seconds. Each time filling the belly and chest with air, breathing through the nose, and allowing all of your tension and negative feelings to wash through you, down your legs, and out into the earth.

Do something fun

• Anything you do that you enjoy is likely to tip the balance away from stress. Read a book, go for a walk, play in the lake or on the beach...

Exercise (especially walking in nature)

• The forest is amazing at taking our stress away. Trees secrete chemicals that will make us feel at ease, the views of natural environments takes our stress away, and feeling connected to all things makes us relax and feel a little less self-important. Getting a good hike in, walking through the woods, and otherwise exercising in nature is a great combination. In fact, researchers call it vitamin N (referring to nature) as the benefits are so great.  Exercise itself is well known for managing stress, but combine it with the power of the natural world and you have one of our all-time favorites for healing. We highly recommend everyone who can get into a routine of walking in nature do so starting today.

Journaling

• Writing down your thoughts, observations, intentions, and other musings of the inner mind can be quite powerful. If nothing else, jotting down your thoughts is helpful for processing them and coming to a new understanding. Consider a practice called, "free writing," where you sit with a notebook and pen/pencil and simply write down anything that comes to mind. You will be surprised at just how cathartic this process is.

Laughing

• Luckily there are many avenues to laugh these days. Attend a comedy show, watch a movie, hang out with friends, read some jokes. There are many places to turn for a good laugh. Laughter itself will relax you and get you into a parasympathetic state. It adds so much joy to life.

Enter Silence

• Set aside some time in a place where you can enter the silence and avoid interuptions.  Start by focusing on your breathing allowing it to slowly go deeper.  Then a short prayer of gratitude and guidance such as "God, thank you for this time and space to be in your presence.  Grant me peace of mind and guide me as I sit with you".  Then you can sit, listen, converse and see where it goes.  Or meditate on a scripture passage - enter into the scene - what do you see, smell, hear....read the words slowly - anything catch your attention - ask God to speak to you...  

Music

• Music has an amazing ability to impact our brain, emotions, and experience of life. If you are feeling stressed a bit of relaxing music can really turn things around. Maybe Enya is coming to your mind, but really it can be so many things. Instrumental music, piano, classical guitar, certain types of jazz (such as Art Pepper for some good saxaphone), blue grass, classical music, chillhop, Cello (such as Yo Yo Ma) or other genres that may bring on a relaxing state. Make it a point to listen to what works for you on a regular basis, to unwind from the day, and to add joy to mundane activities.

Reducing caffeine (especially when incorportating into artifiscial drinks such as soda pop or energy drinks)

• Caffeine acts as an adenosine blocker. Adenosine builds up in the brain and nervous system to shut things down. If this chemical is blocked, the brain cannot become quiet and relaxed. Caffeine can also take very long to breakdown. A cup of Coffee in the afternoon is sometimes enough to keep you on edge, anxious, and stressed feeling late into the night, impacting your sleep and general experience of life. Consider reducing the caffeine habit to reduce your stress response.

Saying no

• Sometimes we just take on way too much. If you feel like you are always going from one thing to the next, or you never have time for yourself (or anything for that matter), then you probably need to learn to say no. If you are asked to do something, are invited to another birthday party, are requested to pick up extra hours work, whatever it is... learn to say no. Remember everytime you say yes you are saying no to other things.  So take time to discern what to say yes to and what to say no to. Take things off of your plate. Carve out time in your day to do things that nourish you and create better health (like all the other things we have mentioned in this article). This just might be the most important change you make in your life.

Singing or humming

• These activities actually stimulate the vagus nerve. This nerve comes from the brain and is responsible for relaxing your heart, lungs, and muscles while simultaneously increasing your ability to digest and relax. The nerve comes down through the neck and research has shown us that activities like singing or humming that vibrate the neck will stimulate the vagus nerve. As a result, they help us get into that relaxed, parasympathetic state. Plus, singing and humming will bring us all kinds of joy, silliness, and fun; surefire antidotes to stress.

Spend time with those you love

• Hanging out with friends, family, and loved ones is generally great for relaxing us. Many of the things we do, love, and relax use are done with those we loved. Much of our recreation time is done with those we loved. As a byproduct of committing to spending time with those we love we will inevitably enjoy life more and experience less stress. (Of course the exception to this is when we have family or friends that stress us out and we feel obligated to interact with... maybe it is time to find a different way in these situations.)

Acupuncture

• Acupuncture is a an ancient therapeutic treatment effective for reducing pain and improving circulation.  What many don't release is acupuncture is very effective for stress related disorders.  In fact, it is common for people to experience significant relaxation during the treatment.

There are some great natural supplements to reduce cortisol and feel at ease. Naturopathic doctors are experts in the herbs, vitamins, and nutrients that can help reduce the stress hormone cortisol and get you into a more relaxed state. Common recommendations are b vitamins and adaptogenic herbs. Talk to us about which ones are best for you and will start to get you feeling more relaxed and ready to handle the daily stresses of life that are thrown at you.

Want More Help: If you want my help dealing with your stress or anxiety, let’s talk.  Give us a call or click here to contact us and we'll help you with the next step toward wellness.