I previously talked about my history with stress, anxiety, and an autoimmune disorder. For those that suffer from autoimmune disorders, you probably already know that high stress can cause flare-ups and exacerbate your symptoms. What you probably don’t know, is that stress can also be a huge factor in developing an autoimmune disorder as well. So, this post will focus on stress and what we can do to combat it and keep it under control.
What is Stress?
Stress is a biological response to something that is seen as a demand or threat. These can be everyday challenges or more serious life obstacles. Stress can affect your body, thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Stress triggers the fight-or-flight response in your brain, which does increase the production of cortisol (a stress hormone that can cause health issues). This isn’t necessarily bad because it is important to have that ability when you are in a dangerous situation, but the issue is being in constant stress even when you’re not in danger.
There are some signs you should look out for when dealing with stress.
Physical symptoms to look out for:
- headaches
- fatigue
- upset stomach/digestion issues
- difficulty falling or staying asleep
- chest pains
- getting sick easily (immune suppression)
- teeth grinding
- nausea
- muscle tension
- higher blood pressure
- back, shoulder, and/or neck pain
Emotional/mental symptoms to look out for:
- anxiety
- feeling overwhelmed
- anger/irritable
- sadness/depression
- memory problems
- restlessness
- lack of focus
There are many more symptoms associated with stress as it can manifest in many ways. However, the scariest thing is that chronic stress can manifest into major health issues and diseases. Stress causes inflammation in the body which leads to disease.
My Story
It has been very normal for me to struggle with stress and anxiety for all of my life. The autoimmune symptoms came out of nowhere for me and it wasn’t something that could have been predicted based on my family’s history. I was confused and my doctors were confused. It has not ever been confirmed, but I’m positive that my diet, lifestyle, and high stress caused an autoimmune disorder to develop over time. Every single one of my flare-ups came during times when I was very stressed to the point where I couldn’t be awake without worrying about everything.
I grew up as an immigrant with parents that ran from a genocide, so I have always felt pressured to be perfect. Get the perfect grades, be the perfect daughter, go to college and get the perfect degree, and then get the perfect job. So, I pushed myself more and more every day until I broke. After that, I took some pressure off of myself in terms of school and career but kept putting pressure on myself to be perfect in my relationships. I sacrificed all of myself for everyone that was important to me and gave more than I was truly capable of giving, until I decided I couldn’t anymore.
During this time of sacrifice and high-stress, flare-ups were normal for me, and my immune system was suppressed. Getting sick, being tired, angry, and irritable was normal for me. There were days where I was so miserable, I didn’t know if I could do it anymore. On top of that, I felt alone. Even when I was surrounded by two wonderful parents and a great sister that I knew I could count on.
I just felt empty and lost until one day I woke up and decided that I didn’t want to feel that way. I started researching more about a healthy lifestyle and how to deal with stress and inflammation. So, I want to share what I learned with you and the things I started incorporating into my daily life.
How I Combat Stress
One of the things that changed my stress levels the most, was getting rid of the things that were stressing me out. I know it’s easier said than done, but there are things that you can let go of that are stressing you out.
My biggest example here is any relationships in your life that are straining you or difficult for you. I’m not saying ghost everyone around you, but I am saying that you need to see what everyone’s role in your life is and set boundaries if necessary. I also know that can be difficult because ANXIETY but it’s necessary for your health and well-being. No, I will not tell you to quit your job (not in this economy), but again, take a look at your job and what you can do to change smaller stressors and set boundaries.
Next, look at your daily habits. Are you spending a lot of your time doing mindless activities that don’t benefit you? Some big examples I can think of are scrolling on social media for hours and binge-watching TV. Some days, these things are necessary and important to have. I just mean it shouldn’t be a daily habit for anybody. Decide what you want your life to look like and start working towards that. Just think, even if you were improving 1% a week, you would have improved 52% by the end of the year.
Allowing myself the time to do things that I enjoy and especially being able to express myself creatively has really helped with my stress and anxiety. Just taking the time to be in the moment and create something wonderful for myself has helped me tremendously.
My daily and even weekly habits include quite a few things, which have all helped me reduce stress.
Daily habits:
- Meditation/breathing routine
- Practicing gratitude
- Journaling
- Reading
- Yoga
- Movement and working out
- Time in nature
Weekly habits:
- Creating art
- Learning something new
- Dancing/somatic shaking
- Walks in the park
These don’t have to be your daily and weekly habits. Change things around as you see fit, and always do what works best for you. The goal is to form better habits that can and will change the trajectory of your life. However, I will say that my daily habits are pretty non-negotiable for me. These have all been proven to lower stress and anxiety, so I make sure to put time aside every day to do these.
Meditation and Yoga
Meditation and yoga have completely changed my health, almost more than anything else. I first read a blog post about a man struggling with ulcerative colitis for 20 years, until he finally started a consistent yoga and meditation practice. I have always been on the more spiritual side, so I decided to look more into it and see what ulcerative colitis was connected to and what I could do to heal it. Turns out, he was right. Yoga and meditation are my two favorite things that I have discovered on my healing journey.
I will talk about this a little later when I start getting into shadow work and healing our traumas, but our bodies do hold the past, tension, and many blockages. Yoga is a great way to release that tension and trauma, and it is one of the best ways to release stress and calm the mind. While you’re healing, I do recommend calming and restorative yoga. I avoid over extraneous yoga and focus on slow movements that help me breathe and unwind.
Benefits of yoga:
- Reduces inflammation
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Improves flexibility
- Improves mental health
- Boosts immunity
- Boosts cardiovascular health
- Improves sleep
- Helps with self-esteem
- Can improve brain function and bone health
One of my favorite yoga teachers on YouTube is Yoga with Bird. She is the queen of easy movements, and her videos are usually shorter, so you don’t have to spend an hour everyday doing yoga if you’re short on time. This is an example of the kinds of videos she posts, and it’s such a great and relaxing stretch that you can do anytime of the day.
Meditation
I love doing meditation, as well. I start my days off meditating and the time I spend doing it always varies. Some days I can only do 5 minutes, others are 10 minutes or more. Just listen to yourself and your body and go from there.
Meditation is different for everyone, and I wouldn’t say that there are a set of rules to make it the “right way to do it.” I alternate between free-meditation and guided meditation. When I free-meditate, I like to play some healing frequencies, absorb those frequencies, and just allow myself to observe whatever comes up for me. The first few times you do this, it will probably be difficult to quiet your mind to allow any thoughts and feelings to come through. When it’s necessary, I do like choosing one word, “love,” and repeating it over and over again so that my mind doesn’t wander to things I have to do for the day or any worries I have.
On the days that I just can’t get my mind to quiet down, I like to do guided meditations. I find all of my guided meditations on an app called “Insight Timer.” It includes so many different guided meditations for you to follow along with. All you have to do is type in what you’re looking for and you’ll get so many different audios to listen to. This is a great way to get into meditation while you figure out how it works and how to quiet your mind when necessary.
Here is the link for Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/
Benefits of meditation:
- Reduces stress
- Improves anxiety
- Improves sleep
- Enhances self-awareness
- Increases attention span
- Can reduce memory loss
- Reduces negative feelings
- Grounds you and brings you back to the present moment
- Increases patience and creativity
- Lowers blood pressure and heart rate
Meditation changes the way your brain functions and changes brain waves to alpha and theta to promote relaxation. Studies have even shown that a consistent practice of meditation shrinks the “fight or flight” center of your brain, thickens the pre-frontal cortex, and increases our primal responses from stress to more thoughtful ones.1 Meditating changes the brain and improves our overall well-being.
I love meditation and am a huge advocate for it. It’s taught me a lot about myself, my health, my spirituality, and my creativity. I’ve seen such beautiful images, encountered such beautiful beings, and received healing messages during my meditations, and it only increases with every meditation. My meditation practice has brought me closer to the true essence of who I am as a spiritual being, and I think it can do that for everyone that’s open to it.
I would also like to add a quick disclaimer: meditation is what you make of it, and it doesn’t have to be the same for you as it is for others. I love getting comfortable and laying down, others like sitting. It’s even helpful to wear an eye mask to block out any light from affecting you while in a meditative state.
Supplements I take For Stress
In addition to having healthier habits, it can be helpful to take some supplements for stress and anxiety to further help your body and brain. There are a few supplements I take just for my stress and anxiety, and all are natural with no or little side effects.2
Supplements I take for stress and anxiety:
- Lemon Balm
- Ashwagandha
- Matcha
- Valerian
- Magnesium
- Theanine
Lemon Balm
Lemon balm, also known as Melissa officinalis, is an herb a part of the mint family. It’s a magical herb that has been used for centuries for many different illnesses. I do take a lemon balm extract before any food or supplements to help me with stress and anxiety. I do have a link if you would like to purchase from Khroma Herbs so I will leave the link here, and of course, I would get commission from it.
Benefits of lemon balm:
- Improves mood and concentration
- Decreases stress and anxiety
- Powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
- Aids in digestion
- Improves sleep
- Protects against heart and liver problems
- Natural antibacterial agent
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is a mushroom that supports you in dealing with stress and anxiety throughout your day. It promotes balance in the body and has so many benefits.
Benefits of ashwagandha:
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Improves sleep
- Improves mental clarity, cognition, and memory
- Promotes muscle endurance and recovery
- Supports immune system
- Increases energy
- Promotes cell health
Matcha
Matcha is green tea powder that has so many benefits as well. It does contain caffeine, but way less caffeine than coffee has. One of the ingredients in it that really targets stress and anxiety is L-Theanine, which is an amino acid that helps with brain function, stress, and anxiety. Just make sure to get a matcha powder that is ceremonial grade, as this is the one with all the benefits.
Benefits of matcha:
- Boosts energy and mood
- Improves stress and anxiety
- Supports hormonal balance
- Improves gut health
- High in antioxidants
- Can prevent cell damage
- Helps with brain function and brain clarity–improves focus
Valerian
Valerian is a root that has been used for centuries for its healing properties. It’s one of my favorites to take throughout the day when I’m feeling on edge, and I always take it before bed to really unwind. Please be aware of valerian, as it can cause drowsiness so be careful if driving or working. Again, I do have a link for Khroma Herbs here, so you can purchase it from there and I will get a commission from it.
Benefits of valerian:
- Helps with insomnia and sleep problems
- Reduces anxiety
- Reduces pain
- Aids in digestion
- Reduces symptoms of menopause
Magnesium
I love magnesium. Most of us are deficient in magnesium, but it can actually help with stress and anxiety. I do get magnesium oil and I like to spray it on my feet before bed. It helps to relax me and helps me sleep even better. Within fifteen minutes of spraying, I’m passed out.
Benefits of magnesium:
- Reduces inflammation
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Aids in joint health
- Helps with pain
- Better sleep
- Good for heart health
- Improves migraines
- Helps with depression
Theanine
Theanine is an amino acid that has antianxiety effects and promotes relaxation, cognitive function, sleep, and a healthy stress response. I get my theanine from Thorne, which is a credible supplement company. I take 2 to 3 capsules daily, depending on my stress levels. This supplement is a tremendous help for my stress and anxiety. It keeps me calm throughout the day, but still keeps my brain sharp and focused.
Balancing Lifestyle and Supplements
I do all of this together and I think it’s very important to know that you can’t just get better from taking supplements. You do have to change your lifestyle to find a balance in your health. I also think it’s important to note that everyone is different, so different things will work for everyone. All of these supplements have been proven to help with stress, anxiety, and an overall well-being. If there was anything new to incorporate into your life, I would definitely say that meditation and yoga will be the most beneficial. So, take the time to figure out what works best for you, what you need to get rid of, and start working on yourself.
I wish you all the best and I am always around if anyone has any questions or wants to talk about anything! Let me know what you think in the comments below.
- This information is from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/what-does-mindfulness-meditation-do-to-your-brain/ where you can read more in detail about it. ↩︎
- I am not a doctor and cannot diagnose you or cure any diseases you do have. Please talk to your healthcare physician before taking any supplements as I don’t want these to interfere with any medications you do take. I am only sharing what has worked for me so that it can hopefully help you, too. ↩︎