Recover from stress and improve resilience
Stress and resilience are key to current and future well-being. Various daily stresses drive the body to adapt in either healthy or unhealthy ways. The absence of proper stress management results in a breakdown of resilience, and eventually causes health challenges. However, there are simple ways to recover from stress and improve resilience.
What are the stressors that lead to injury and illness?
Health is layered with years of life consisting of different jobs, sleep, fun, stress, diet, and habits. With all of these normal occurrences going on, you may not realize stress is building or going unchecked before the smallest situation provokes a giant reaction. This is why it’s important to understand and manage stress in healthy ways.
What are the most common stressors on our body?
Physical Stress
The most significant physical stress in America today is sedentary lifestyle. Lack of activity is harmful to health because the human body was designed to move. Pain, injury, diabetes, blood pressure, obesity, arthritis, and degeneration all increase in severity with lack of movement. In fact, moving the body is so powerful that increasing your daily motion is the single most positive impact to make on health. Remember to start at the level you’re at when it comes to incorporating physical activity. For example, start with micro-breaks if you have little to no physical activity in a day (although, micro-breaks are great for everyone).
Schedule a micro-break every 40 minutes; a brief walk around the office and a few chair squats are enough to get the blood pumping and engage muscles. Although micro-breaks are short in duration they improve sense of well-being and improve productivity. You may want to watch this video on 4 simple tips for muscle recovery as you increase the amount of time and intensity of activity.
Emotional Stress
Emotional stress fluctuates depending on what and how many things demand our attention at once. Factors that contribute to emotional stress include social media or phone notifications, news stories, and personal relationships or experiences. While the ease of access to information is convenient, being mindful about what receives precious time and attention is imperative to maintaining emotional stress. Examples of reducing emotional stress include deleting social media apps on weekends, limited screen time, and practicing gratitude habits such as journaling or meditation. Prioritize the activities and habits that reduce emotional stress to improve mental and physical health.
Chemical Stress
Chemical stress is a serious problem that is often unrealized. Unfortunately, we are exposed to hundreds of synthetic materials from the moment our day starts until bedtime. Hormone-disrupting chemicals are in skin products like soaps, lotions, and sunscreens as well as in plastics, and even processed foods. Many times people attribute hormone disruptions that cause illness or pain to “I’m getting old.” This is most likely not the case because it is possible to feel amazing and healthy at any age! Further investigation is the key to resolving several issues within the body; one only needs to take the time to act on it!
Resources such as EWG.org are available to learn more about ingredients in common household products. Another way to limit chemical stress is to evaluate the foods you eat. Do you consume primarily processed foods full of dyes and artificial ingredients? Or do you prepare real, fresh fruits, veggies, and proteins? Years of habits are not easy to break; please reach out to our team if you need guidance when it comes to food.
Can the body heal from stress?
Yes! Healing from stress is possible because the body desires to be in a healthy, balanced state. Seek professional assistance to understand the causes and consequences of your stress. The next step is to create an action plan that guides you toward new habits and helps you overcome challenges. Remember, growth and healing take time; don’t compare your journey to someone else’s!
Can you improve your stress resilience?
Absolutely! As you make healthier choices and take action steps to improve your wellbeing you will naturally be able to handle more stress without resulting in illness. Recognizing and working through triggers is the foundation of better stress resilience.
Recovering from stress is about taking action! Physical, emotional, and chemical stresses will always be present. What matters most is proper management of stress to avoid health challenges and promote overall well being