Stress, Skin and Health
I won't pretend....2017 was rough. My brother in law passed away in early spring. My husband lost his job last fall. Add to that my father in law going into assisted living for Alzheimers while my mother in law who has chronic kidney failure lives 16 steps from my back door..........life has been stretching, stressful and serious.
Sorry for the drag....I just don't want to paint a picture that isn't true. Between social media and editing photos we can make ourselves appear any way we want! I want to be real.
And stress is real.
Aside from the obvious reactions to stress like frustration and irritability, which really aren't very pretty - stress takes it's toll on us in many other ways that might not be as obvious. Sleep issues, infections, viruses, colds, intestinal issues, bowels troubles, hair loss - these are just some of the ways our body is screaming at us to do something!
Do your fingernails ever break when you're stressed? I hope I'm not the only one. But when life gets crazy my nails start breaking! And I know my body is telling me I need minerals...fast! The stress is sucking up all the nutrients it can to survive the daily onslaught and obviously it's not quite keeping up. I have a go-to product for this. Mineral Chi Tonic from Nature's Sunshine Products (naturessunshine.com). It contains vital and easily assimilated minerals along with adaptogenic herbs - herbs that help you adapt to stress. (FYI I'm not getting paid by NSP to say this. In my opinion they have the highest grade herbs and essential oils out of all of the companies out there and I've have been a loyal customer for almost 20 years 😊).
So one of the first things I'd suggest is: Study your body. Take time to observe how stress shows itself on you. Then take holistic action. Change your diet, go to an herbalist, naturopath or someone in the alternative medical field that you trust and do something about the issues.
Next let's talk water. We're busy, preoccupied, can't be bothered to grab that glass and guzzle a little, so we don't. It's the worst mistake we could make especially when stressed because our eliminative organs become sluggish and weighed down as they no longer have the tools necessary to flush out the onslaught of viruses, bacteria, and who knows what else that are lurking waiting to wreak havoc. Organisms/bacteria and the rest of the nasties are opportunistic...they wait until you're down to strike. That's why we often get sick when we're stressed or right after we slow down! Keeping our eliminative passages hydrated means less of a chance for illness. If we stop drinking, not only will we be more susceptible to illness, our skin will look dry, shriveled, flaky and worn out looking.
So the second suggestion is: Drink More Water.
Next up - Nerves and Adrenals. When we're stressed our nerves take a battering along with our adrenals. You can often tell if your adrenals are stressed by your food cravings.....chocolate? sugar? You can bet you have adrenal fatigue. Licorice Root is a fantastic herb to help combat this problem. Take it for 4- 5 days and you'll notice your cravings slow down and you're not grabbing that little piece of chocolate cake or snickers during the day. If that's not quite enough you might want to try Adrenal Support from Nature's Sunshine Products.
You can also tell if your body is stressed out and exhausted if you do this little trick:
Stick your tongue out. If it quivers you can be sure you have nervous and adrenal fatigue. If you add in a little of NSP's Nervous Fatigue TCM along with some licorice root it can really take the edge off! I learned that in a herbal class I took years ago by Steven Horne. His website is treelite.com and it holds a wealth of information on so many topics.(again, not getting paid 😘) When you get to his site on the main page go to free articles to find all sorts of herbal tips.
One more great Nature's Sunshine herbal combination for stress is Nutri Calm. When we're stressed, we start using up Vitamin B's at record levels! Nutri Calm holds the key to replenishing those lost B's and as a bonus there are some wonderful calming herbs like Valerian Root, Passion Flower and Hops included in the formula.
So the third suggestion is: Take herbs to support the nerves and adrenals when you're frazzled!
Now onto something I've most recently started. Block Therapy. blocktherapy.com. (nope...I'm not getting paid here either....😀) But after starting Deanna Hansen's program, I became aware at how shallow I breathe when stressed and I breathe from my chest, raising my shoulders instead of from my abdomen. Ever notice how babies breathe? Their tummies go up and down not their shoulders....watch it...it's fascinating! But as we age and are confronted with stressful situations, our breathing changes from the abdomen to the chest - the back up system God put in place so we don't die from not breathing! But it's meant to be the back up...not the primary....you can read more about what she says about all of that on her website. But I started using her block - it's a fat cedar block that I lay on and breath abdominally. Amazing what a difference gut breathing can make on stressful lives. I know people who have almost eliminated panic attacks from their lives simply by using the block regularly. For me, my ability to handle stress has improved. And life is stressful these days, so I'm thankful for my little block!
Fourth suggestion: Breathe!
You'll be surprised how much your body and even skin will benefit when you take care of yourself during stressful times.
(The A'del Blog and its materials are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. All material on The A'del Blog is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health related program.)