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Believe it or not, stress does have a purpose and small
amounts of stress can even be beneficial. Short– term stress can
motivate you and give you the energy that you need to perform a
task or activity. However, if you face stressful situations
often or have extreme, longstanding or ongoing stress, your body
will use up all of its energy resources and you become
exhausted.
Long term stress can cause fatigue.
Stress Hormones
What would you do if you faced a hungry tiger or some other
savage beast? Well, thousands of years ago you may have had to
deal with this form of stress. To ensure your survival, you
would have had to run fast, put up an almighty fight or try to
outsmart the hungry beast.
Today, although we don’t face hungry tigers trying to make a
meal of us, we do face other forms of stress. Today the tiger is
in the form of stressors like our boss expecting more from us,
relationship stress, family stress and traffic jams, just to
name a few. Many of us are so used to feeling stressed, we
sometimes don’t even recognise how much stress is affecting our
health.
Fight it or Run! Unfortunately, our body is unable to
recognise the difference between a hungry tiger and life stress
– whatever the trigger, it responds with the “Fight or Flight”
response. This is where the body sends out chemical messengers
to allow us to either fight off the stress or run away from it.
The brain and adrenal glands secrete adrenaline and
noradrenaline and the adrenal glands also secrete cortisol.
These chemicals increase blood flow to the brain, heart, lungs
and muscles so that you can run fast!
Cortisol also increases the amount of sugar released into
your blood so that you can feed those racing muscles. During
this time, as reproductive and digestive functions are
unimportant, they are suppressed.
Once the stress is over these chemical messengers return back
to normal and balance is restored. This fight or flight response
is not a problem unless it does not switch off, as in the case
of chronic stress.
Stress : It’s bad for your Health The stress response may
have been a great adaptation for us hundreds of years ago but
unfortunately the effects of chronic stress can impact our
health significantly. Chronic ongoing stress can alter the
delicate balance within our body. Stress especially affects the
heart and cardiovascular system, weakens digestion, depletes
energy levels, upsets blood sugar regulation and hormonal
balance, and may disturb sleep and mental health. Therefore, we
need to manage stress and our response to stressful situations
to ensure balance and health. Rebalance this Natural Process
with Natural Medicine
Long term stress leads to ADRENAL EXHAUSTION.
ADRENAL
FATIGUE & ADRENAL EXHAUSTION
THE LEADING CAUSE OF FATIGUE
Adrenal ‘Exhaustion’; a common cause of fatigue. We all live
with daily stress, but it is our ability to adapt to the stress
which determines how it will affect our long term health.
Healthy adrenal gland function will ensure a higher tolerance to
stress and to the effects of stress.
The adrenal gland are located just above the kidney area and
they produce the ‘stress’ hormones adrenalin and cortisol. Our
body produces these hormones in times of stress to help us
‘adapt’ and deal with the stress. But the ability to adapt
declines when the stress is long term and continuous.
This can leads to adrenal ‘exhaustion’ which has four phases;
the longer you are under stress the more severe the adrenal
exhaustion will tend to be;
Phase 1: Stressed and Wired where common
symptoms include: anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, panic attacks,
PMT, trembling, rapid shifts in body temperature, pressure,
decreased appetite, diarrhea, palpitations and shortness of
breath.
Phase 2 Tired, then Wired which includes an
increased risk of depression, anxiety, insomnia and fatigue;
decrease resistance to infections including aggravating allergic
reactions, depletion of sex hormones and libido, decreasing
thyroid function, obesity and insulin resistance. Common
symptoms can include intense anxiety, melancholy depression,
insomnia, poor appetite, allergies.
Phase 3 Stressed & Tired which includes
symptoms of (apathetic) depression, increased daytime sleep, and
tiredness, weight gain, lethargy, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid
arthritis, multiple allergies and chemical sensitivities.
Fibromyalgia is a disorder in this stage. Energy levels are
extremely low and manifest as muscle weakness and pain.
Phase 4 Exhaustion; this stage is usually after
a period of the above stages and is often associated with post
viral syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome (as immune system if
often compromised). These symptoms are mild fevers, sore throat
and increased infections, painful lymph nodes, muscle weakness,
headaches, painful joints, depression and sleeping disturbances.
The treatment in this stage is similar to stage 3, but with more
emphasis on repairing damaged nervous tissue and adrenal glands.
The level of adrenal exhaustion will
direct effect the severity of menopausal symptoms,
hence it is important to improve adrenal gland’s adaptation &
tolerance to your daily stress to ensure an easier transition in
peri-menopause and menopause.
Natural Remedies for Healthy Adrenals To improve
adrenal gland exhaustion you need to consider all lifestyle
facts to help improve your tolerance/resistance to daily stress.
Regular exercise and relaxation techniques like meditation,
yoga, tai chi with the use of adrenal tonic herbal medicines can
be helpful.
Herbal Treatment For
Adrenal Exhaustion
The commonly used herbs are;
Withania, Siberian Ginseng, Panax ginseng, Rhodiola, Licorice
and Rehmannia
For adrenal tonic herbs that support the adrenal gland
function Licorice and Rehmannia are commonly used (for all four
phases).
Poor concentration and memory Rhodiola is specific and has an
immediate effect on improving concentration.
Adaptogenic herbs are herbs which increase your
tolerance/resistance to stress the three lead herbs are
Withania, Siberian ginseng and Rhodiola, Korean Ginseng or Panax
Ginseng, Schisandra
Diet & lifestyle factors to improve adrenal function;
Relaxation techniques like yoga, tai chi, mediation & regular
exercise.
Remove sugar, high GI carbohydrate food and stimulants like
coffee/caffeine from the diet.
An insulin zone diet to correct any blood sugar imbalances is
also important to help correct imbalances in adrenal gland
function.
Supplements with Vitamin C, B complex with extra B5 & B6 and
Magnesium are also important to improve adrenal function.
There are many herbs to choose from and it is important to
take not only the correct herbs for your individual needs but
also that the quality and the dosage of these herbs is correct.
If you are considering taking herbs please see a qualified
herbalist.
e books recommendations
by Naturopath Tracey Lee Morley are;
The Adrenal Fatigue Formula e book
Click Here!
- A complete guide on what causes fatigue and adrenal
exhaustion and what to do about it
The most important consideration is your professional
practitioner has to take into account that each person reacts to
stress differently. This is why each person should receive an
individualised natural treatment plan by using different
combinations of well researched nutritional and herbal
medicines.
Assess your stress;
On this website, Tracey has a
stress questionnaire to assess your stress levels, click here
Coping Mechanisms for
stress
So, why is it that stress affects different people in
different ways? Everyone has a different level of stress that
they can cope with, if you have positive copying mechanism you
can cope with more, if you have poor coping mechanisms you will
cope with less. The following are some of the poor and positive
mechanism that people commonly use for coping with stress. Take
a minute to consider whether you use any of the following to
cope with stress;
The poor coping mechanisms are;
• Drinking alcohol
• Relying on caffeine (coffee or soft drinks)
• Smoking
• Eating sugary food
• Eating too much or skipping
eats or rushed eating.
• Skipping social interaction
• Skipping relaxation time
• Procrastination, ignoring or avoiding the problem.
Positive coping mechanisms;
• Exercise
• Getting enough sleep
• Eating well
• Take time to relax and play
• Good time management
• Meditation or some activity where you mind is ‘quiet’
• Time with family and friends
• Balancing work and family time
• Allowing time to rejuvenate after stressful periods.
Signs and Symptoms of
Stress
The way that stress affects you individually will depend on your
coping mechanisms and level of sensitivity to stress. You may
notice that the way that stress affects you changes depending on
the severe the stress is. For example at first you may feel very
irritable and anxious. After being stressed for a while you may
then feel more depressed or exhausted.
Some of the common signs and symptoms of stress are as follows,
check how many you have;
Feelings of worry, anxiety, depressed, irritable, emotional,
angry, unappreciated, overworked, oversensitive, exhausted,
distracted, frightened, overloaded, forgetful, isolated,
confused, high or low libido, racing thoughts, short tempered,
cravings, poor concentration. Behaving such as; impatient,
demanding, crying, shouting, withdrawing, fidgeting, tapping
feet, grinding teeth, disturbed sleep, getting into arguments,
throwing things, controlling, mood swings, swearing,
threatening, irregular eating, avoiding, procrastinating, drug
and alcohol abuse.
Physical symptoms of; pain and stiffness of muscle or joints,
digestive upsets, irritable bowel, headaches, asthma, eczema,
hives, ulcers, high blood pressure, PMS, irregular menstruation,
colds/flu, exhaustion, tiredness, change appetite, sweating,
worsening of existing illness or condition.
Management of Stress
Regular moderate exercise helps to improve your energy, boost
your self-esteem, lift your mood and combats stress.”
Get Physical!
Management of your stress will vary depending on how long you
have been stressed for, how severe the stress is and how the
stress has or is affecting you physically and emotional. Each
person is individual and needs different approach to their
stress management. I often recommend a treatment plan that
involves learning and practicing different stress management
techniques in combination with the use of nutritional, herbal or
homoeopathics medicines that are appropriate to you as the
individual.
Getting enough exercise is important for staying healthy and
reducing stress. Exercise can help to reduce the feeling of
stress and improve your sense of wellbeing. What’s more …
regular moderate exercise helps to improve your energy, boost
your self-esteem and lift your mood. Yoga is an excellent form
of exercise for stress management. Yoga balances and strengthens
your muscles, posture and breathing and can be calming to your
mind and spirit. Simply walking everyday for 1/2-1 hour is a
great destressor. Do a form of exercise you enjoy, at long as
you ‘move’ for at least 30mins 6 days a week.
Herbs for Stress
There are many different herbal medicines that can relieve the
symptoms of stress. Each is individualized to match the person’s
symptoms. They come either in tablets or liquid form. The liquid
form doesn’t taste as good but has a better absorption and
effect than the tablet form. The quality of herbal products vary
greatly, I always suggest you buy your herbs from a
herbalist or naturopath as they often know which products to
use.
Some of the common ones are;
Passionflower used for anxiety and nervousness.
Tension headaches, and sleeplessness.
Skullcap similar to passionflower but also has
nervous fatigue and depression with anxiety and headaches
Withania, Korean and siberian ginseng, rhodiola
are all adrenal tonic herbs for adrenal exhaustion and help
improve your tolerance to stress. These are useful when fatigue
is caused by adrenal fatigue.
Licorice and Rehmannia are adrenal tonics that
help restore the adrenal glands. They are often used for chronic
stress and fatigue when the adrenal glands have been depleted.
Astragalus is usually used as an immune herb for
chronic infections especially with fatigue debility and as a
general tonic after stress. As siberian ginseng is also useful
in fatigue with immune problems.
Lemon balm and Chamomile used for digestive upsets
with stress both are irritable and have insomnia but Lemon balm
also has depression and sadness whereas Chamomile is more
hypersensitive.
Tracey Lee's Bliss herbal tea contains
Passionflower, Chamomile, Rose petals, Lavender, Lemon balm and
Lemon grass is an excellent herbal tea blend for adults and
children as a relaxing tea.
There are many other herbs used for stress.
Food Cravings
Many people comfort eat, especially during times of stress.
Reaching for those sugary/ sweet foods, chocolate or coffee may
give you that instant ‘lift’. But these foods are empty foods
and only aggravate your negative response to stress.
If you crave sugar and carbohydrates then you may not be
eating an adequate amount of protein can could be low in a
number of nutrient (especially B group vitamins, zinc, magnesium
and chromium).
Correcting the underlying cause of these unhealthy food
cravings will dramatically reduce if not eliminate them. To
reduce your sugar and carbohydrate craving, eat good quality
protein sources at every meal and snack and take the correct
multi vitamin and mineral supplement
If you only crave chocolate, then it may be for the sugar but
you may be low in magnesium and need to take a magnesium
supplement.
If you crave salt and savory foods then this is an indicator
that your adrenal glands are ‘overworked’ and need support with
nutrients such as B5, B6, Vitamin C and adrenal supportive herbs
like Withania, Ginseng, Rhodiola, Rehmannia or Licorice. Ask
Tracey Lee to prescribe your adrenal tonic for those stressful
times.
If you crave fat and oily food often this indicates a need
for liver support.
The Stress ‘Buster’
Essentials
The following supplements are essential for anyone living a
stressful and busy lifestyle especially if you are relying on
‘negative’ coping mechanisms In stressful times our body
requires higher levels of certain nutrient to keep us healthy
and well.
1. A good quality multi vit/min such as Metagenics Fem or Male
essentials or Meta B tablets one a day.
2. Magneisum supplement; Metagenics Fibroplex or Calm X or
EnergyX
3. Good quality fish oils; Metagneics Meta EPA/DHA 3 capsules
or one tsp a day.
4. Herbal and homoeopathics medicines are extremely effective
in increasing the body and mind’s tolerance to stress. But these
need to be individualized as there are dozens of remedies. Ask
Tracey Lee to prescribe your individualized ‘stress’ herbal
tonic and constitutional homoeopathics.
Other nutrients may include Vitamin C, B5, B6, zinc and other
anti-oxidants.
Crisis Managers The Stress
‘Buster’ Essentials
“If you live a busy and stressful lifestyle you Tissue salts
(brand new era is the best) kali phos and mag phos 6X two pills
dissolved in mouth every 1/2 to 2 hourly. These supplements are
safe for anyone including children and do not interfere with any
medication you may be taking. There are also a number of
homoeopathics medicines to help you through that ‘stressful
If you have a ‘short’ term stress (i.e. lasting only a few
days) (for example an exam, interview or an emotional upset),
try my ‘crisis management’ treatment. These can be brought from
the clinic or any healthfood shop; Rescue remedy (a bach flower
combination) 4-7 drops under tongue every 1/2-2 hourly. event;
such as Arg nit or Gelsenium for the anxiety before a big exam
or event; Ignatia is used often when their has been an
overburden of emotional ‘strain’ from grief or loss. Staph is
often used in emotional reactions of unresolved anger from being
unjustly or unfairly treated by others.
Chinese herbal medicine
for individualised stress patterns; (metagenic products)
What is your Stress Pattern?
Herbal medicine may help rebalance specific types of stress
patterns and therefore help to support positive stress
management. Here are some examples of herbal combinations that
may enhance your ability to cope with stress:
• Herbs such as Panax ginseng, Dong Quai, Poria and Longan
may work in synergy to help those who are prone to worrying and
withdrawing when stressed. This non-stimulating formula supports
emotional resilience in sensitive people, effectively relieving
anxiety and worry while improving mental clarity and boosting
the ability to cope with stress.
• Mate, Cocoa and Licorice have been traditionally been used
as mental and physical tonics that may help those who become
lethargic, apathetic and mentally exhausted when stressed. These
are stimulating herbs designed to improve mental performance in
those with poor memory and concentration, or for people who are
prone to putting things off. If you are mentally exhausted, this
combination may provide you with energy and improved mental
function.
• Bupleurum and Peony are herbs traditionally used to relieve
symptoms of unrest and tension in people who are irritable,
frustrated and impatient under stress. It is particularly useful
for pre-menstrual syndrome or menopausal symptoms, and also for
irritability and impatience in men. • When Bupleurum and Calcium
are combined with herbs such as Pinellia, Gambir and Ziziphus
they may assist people who have a bad temper when they are
stressed. If you react to stress in an irate manner and have a
fierce temper, this herbal formula may help you sleep more
restfully and respond to stress in a more restrained, calm
manner.
Top Five Stress Busters
As well as these natural medicines, here are some handy
solutions to help you deal with stress:
1. Take time out – we all need time to ourselves to help our
body recover from stress.
2.Exercise – many studies suggest that regular exercise can
help reduce stress levels.
3. Indulge in a massage, reflexology or some other blissful
treatment. After all, you deserve it!
4. Use positive visualisation to help lower your stress
response. Think of something that makes you feel stressed and
visualise yourself in that situation feeling very calm and able
to cope.
5. Vaporise some essential oils such as lavender, geranium
and chamomile. Not only do they smell great but they can assist
with relaxation.
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