A Natural Approach to Stress and Cortisol

Chronic Stress

In a world where we are constantly exposed to overstimulation and excessive screen time, coupled with demands from our personal, social, and work lives, many of us are living under the cloud of chronic stress. Chronic stress is a contributing factor to poor health outcomes. Chronic stress can also increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, and mood disorders. These are all in addition to an increased risk of exacerbating autoimmune diseases.

We know that chronic stress can negatively affect our health. We also know that we should actively try to reduce our stress levels. But in reality, this can be difficult for many people. Typically, this is because the demands of our daily lives make it difficult to remove most stressors. 

If you are in a position where you feel overwhelmed by stress but are unable to eliminate its causes, it is important to have a robust toolkit to help you manage daily stressors and reduce your risk of future disease. Here are a few tools and strategies to add to your stress support toolkit:

Stress Support Toolkit

Breathwork

Breathwork is an essential tool in your stress support toolkit because slow, intentional breathing helps downregulate the nervous system, bringing you out of a sympathetic (fight-or-flight) state and into a parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) state. Some common breathing techniques include box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing. The next time you feel stressed or overwhelmed, try these techniques to help you feel calm and relaxed. 

If you’re looking for more coping mechanisms, some of these techniques and others can be found in our online classes about anxiety and the nervous system! 

Grounding

Grounding is another essential tool in your stress-support toolkit because it helps you connect with the Earth’s electrical circuitry. This connection can help support sleep, cardiovascular health, and mental health, and may also reduce inflammation in the body. 

To read more on grounding (aka earthing), click Here! 

Boundaries and Delegation

Being able to set appropriate boundaries, delegate tasks, and know when to ask for help are all essential for optimal stress management. It is often easy to take on too much work, leading to a cycle of overwhelm and stress. By setting effective boundaries, we establish how much we are willing to take on, ultimately helping reduce the stress we are under. Being able to delegate tasks is another important stress management tool. We are not designed to carry everything on our own, so knowing when to ask someone to step in and help out is essential. Delegating small, mundane tasks to another person within the home can often help alleviate some of the stress and mental load that you may be carrying each day. 

Support System

Arguably, one of the most important tools in your stress management toolkit is your support system. For some, this may look like their immediate family members or their close group of friends. For others, this may look like weekly visits with their therapist. No matter what your support system looks like, it is important that you have a safe and reliable source to turn to when you are feeling overwhelmed or experiencing additional stress. 

As naturopathic doctors, we strive to view each patient as a unique individual, and our longer appointment times allow us to discuss important determinants of health, such as sleep, nutrition, movement, stress levels, and underlying causes of stress. If you are living under stressful conditions and aren’t sure what steps to take next, schedule an appointment with one of our naturopathic doctors for an in-depth discussion of your current health and lifestyle factors to help you develop your stress-support toolkit!