Body Signs Telling You If You Are Stressed

When our ancestors experienced a stressful situation, their bodies responded by increasing various hormones and neurotransmitters. The job of these natural chemicals was to physically prepare them for the movement associated with a fight or flight response; literally, to run away or to attack. The “physical activity” that is the actual “running away” resulted in the chemicals being lowered to their original pre-stress state. Nowadays, our response to a stressful incident involves an increase in those same chemicals. However, since most of our current stress is psychosocial in nature and does not result in actual physical movement, we are left with raised levels of chemicals circulating in our bodies for long periods of time.

Short term stress can be positive but stress beyond a certain point can cause serious damage to your health. When feeling stressed, our mood, our productivity, our relationships and most importantly our quality of life and general health is affected.

The following is a list of symptoms related to a persistent elevation in various stress hormones such as cortisol

Mood
– Feeling overwhelmed
– Irritability
– Moodiness
– Inability to relax
– General unhappiness
– Feeling isolated

Cognition
– Memory concerns
– Difficulty focusing
– Constant worrying
– Negativity
– Racing thoughts
– Difficulty making a decision

Behavioral Changes
– Changes in sleep habit
– Changes in eating habit
– Nervous habits (e.g nail biting)
– Relying on vices (e.g. alcohol, cigarettes)
– Procrastination
– Wanting to be by yourself

Physical
– Weight gain or loss
– Muscle and joint pain
– Decreased libido
– Getting sick often
– Heart palpitations
– Bowel changes- diarrhea or constipation
– Feeling dizzy or nauseous

If you experience any of the following symptoms you may be having difficulty with your ability to manage stress. Events can’t always be controlled but we can change our perspective and we can increase the strength and resilience of our bodies.

For a healthy approach to stress management, which does not involve simply relying on medication, Naturopathic Medicine might be right for you when feeling stressed. Give us a call and in the meantime get moving!! Exercise is the simplest ways to regulate our natural chemicals, just as it did for our ancestors.

How Can PhysioChiroWellness Help?

At PhysioChiroWellness Integrated Health Centre our highly-skilled practitioners work together to create fully integrated health solutions that may include physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage therapy, acupuncture, naturopathy, medical aesthetics amongst others. Visit one of our clinics in Mississauga, Ajax, Vaughan and Newmarket. Our professionals will work together towards achieving an optimal health for all our patients through a holistically approach when treating any condition or pain they may present.

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Body Signs Telling You If You Are Stressed