There is no way around it—stress is a natural part of living. While some stress is perfectly fine, feeling burned out a couple of times a day or extremely stressed all the time is extremely bad for your health. This is chronic stress, which can easily create imbalances in the mind and body.
The Effects of Chronic Stress on Your Overall Health
Chronic stress disrupts your body’s hormonal balance. When you feel stressed, your hypothalamus will tell your pituitary gland and nervous system to produce cortisol and epinephrine, which are stress hormones. When your body overproduces these hormones, it can lead to negative health effects.
Mainly, too much of these hormones will reduce your body’s sensitivity to them, which in turn hinders your ability to regulate your inflammatory response. Over time, this can make your immune system weak and leave you more vulnerable to infections, viruses and mental health issues.
Natural Remedies for Easing Symptoms Related to Chronic Stress
There is a wide variety of natural remedies that have been studied and proven to help alleviate symptoms associated with chronic stress that do not require a prescription or medical procedure. These include the following:
- Massage – Most people erroneously think that getting a massage therapy in SLC is just indulging yourself. However, massage can really help in improving your emotional state by decreasing stress hormones and boosting serotonin and other brain chemicals that make you feel good. It can also ease pain symptoms in some people.
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Techniques and Meditation – These are excellent strategies for using your breathing and mind to promote calmness and boost relaxation. Lots of studies have found that these can aid with menopause symptoms, mood and sleep disturbances, joint pain, muscle pain, and even depression and anxiety.
- Chiropractic Care – The main focus of chiropractic care is ensuring spinal function and alignment through spinal manipulation. It is typically used for treating pain, especially in the head and back. When you consult with a chiropractor, you will find that treatment can also include massage therapy, relaxation techniques, heat and ice, general and rehabilitative exercise, and electrical stimulation. The chiropractor will determine the most ideal combination of treatments most effective for you. It is also crucial to note that these approaches to treating pain are considered safer alternatives to taking medications like opioids.
- Yoga – This is one of the most popular natural remedies for stress relief, and anyone from seniors to preschoolers practice it. Yoga is very helpful for reducing stress, calming the mind, and improving insomnia, depression and anxiety. It also helps improve flexibility and mobility as well as ease joint and muscle aches and pain.
Yes, stress is a normal part of daily living. Some stress is generally okay, but if it persists and becomes chronic, it could result in ill health effects and increase your risk of developing mental and physical disorders. If you have tried the natural stress relief strategies suggested above but need more relief, do not hesitate to consult your doctor.
