Don’t Put Stress in a One-Size-Fits-All Treatment

Fatigue, headaches, unfocused, tunnel-vision, high blood pressure, hyperactivity, and insomnia; These are just a handful of symptoms stress can cause. With such a wide scope of dis-orders we must keep an open mind to determine the best course of action when treating stress.

Stress affects your nervous system, and the nervous system controls the functions of the body. This is why stress symptoms vary so greatly – stress can affect any system of the body in many different ways. To treat stress then, we must first understand the nervous system a bit more.

Your nervous system is divided into two parts, sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic system controls the functions of the body when your nervous system is heightened, AKA stressed. The parasympathetic system brings the functions of the body into a relaxed state. It is not bad to be in the sympathetic response, its natural defense mechanism that there to save our lives, but it is when we are in it too long that negative symptoms begin to arise. The key is to understand stress can manifest in different ways and to shift into the parasympathetic response to allow the body to release and let go.

Here are a few examples of symptoms and treatment option:

• Symptoms: High blood pressure, shallow breathing, can sleep but still feel tired in morning

  • Treatment: 2 minutes of deep breathing every hour to retrain breathing muscles, night routine that includes no screen time an hour before sleep and 20 minutes of restorative yoga/meditation to calm the mind and thoughts for a restful sleep

  • Goal is to get patient to regularly take full breaths and settle the mind for sleep. Treating the physical symptoms may take care of the physiological symptom of high blood pressure

• Symptoms: headache, distracted, insomnia, hyperactivity

  • Treatment: make a priority to-do list to remain on tract, limit caffeine and increase water intake to calm nervous system, include daily neck and shoulder stretches to release tension and headaches, take multiple 2–3-minute breaks to refocus and come back to the present moment

  • Goal is to slow the mind down. Being constantly busy may be a sign we are not able to deal with something else in our lives. By learning to be present and slowdown may force you to face the situation which will be tough, but it will also relief the symptoms of stress not facing the situation is manifesting.

  • Symptoms: irritable, sweaty or clammy, short-tempered, constipated

    Treatment: refrain from alcohol consumption and greasy foods, take pause before you react or respond to a comment/conversation, build awareness to know when the smallest things get under your skin means you are stressed, use the mantra ‘I let go’ to release whatever it you are holding onto

  • Goal is to let go. Constipation and irritability are a sign we are holding onto something. When we let something fester on our mind it will make our body run hot, place blame on innocent bystanders, and us angry for no reason. Taking time to respond will help break the cycle of anger by letting you see the bigger picture and giving ourselves permission to let go of whatever is bothering us will release the inner clench this stress has on out body.

As you can see, stress can manifest physically, emotionally, and physiologically. Knowing this is the first step to properly treating stress before it produces life-long issues. Awareness of your symptoms is the second step; without it you cannot treat it. Lastly, being proactive and diligent in your treatment will greatly prevent the need for medication.

I hope this is helpful and if you have further questions please contact me at info@katieschlieppwellness.com