Adrenal fatigue or adrenal dysfunction is a condition seen in people who suffer from chronic stress and anxiety.
In this article I discuss a summary of the stress management techniques that have helped me on my road to recovery from chronic stress and adrenal dysfunction.
If this topic is of interest to you, keep reading until the end, where I discuss 7 specific techniques and tools to help you deal with chronic stress and anxiety.
I’m fairly well acquainted with stress and anxiety. These days I know how it feels, how to manage it and most importantly, I recognize it and it doesn’t scare me anymore.
For a long time I let it get the best of me and it ruled my life. Along the way I have explored many tools and I would like to share with you what has worked for me.
From the perspective of functional nutrition, it’s important to understand that your body is a system and that any imbalance in the body/mind affects the entire system as a whole. We also need to remember that in this system all things matter and that we are individuals, so everything will affect us differently. One size does not fit all. Remember this is a journey and it’ll be different for you than it was for me.
When we’re stressed we tend to turn to self-medicating with overeating, not sleeping, drinking too much or engaging in addictive behaviors that soothe us temporarily, but don’t do anything to help us get better. Instead, let’s look at ways to get us out of the chronic stress cycle onto a healing journey.
Did you know that your brain chatter and your beliefs about your condition can either heal you or make you sick? We talk to ourselves more than we talk to anyone else and we believe our thoughts about ourselves and our condition.
The science of neuroplasticity shows us that our thoughts can change neuronal pathways in the brain. The brain is moldable; plastic, if you will. You may have heard the phrase: “this is hard-wired in the brain”. This is no longer true. The brain has been shown to have an ability to change according to our thoughts and beliefs. If you want to change your brain and your condition, change your thoughts. Say something different, focus on uplifting thoughts and talk to yourself in a positive manner until you start believing your new reality.
Since the effects of chronic stress can manifest as pain or illness in the body, recognizing negative patterns of thinking and changing those patterns can make a difference in how you experience life. The new paradigm is based on the work of Donald Hebb who is quoted as saying: “neurons that fire together wire together”, meaning that one thought repeated over and over creates pathways in the brain that keep us stuck in pain and anxiety. If you want to learn more about this you can go to my bookshelf for a great book by neuroscientist Dr Norman Doidge who wrote “The Brain that Changes Itself”.
We live in a time of distraction. Studies show that we go through life not being aware of what we do or how we feel. We don’t stop to enjoy positive input around us or positive feelings. A distracted mind is an unhappy mind. If we can focus on the present moment and start appreciating it for what it is, we realize we have so many things to be thankful for and appreciate.
I have found that when I stop to be thankful and become aware of positive things in my life everything shifts toward the positive. Have you noticed that when you’re enjoying a joyful moment with loved ones pain seems to dissipate?
In this society we tend to use electronics as a means to distract our minds from the present moment. Take a conscious break from electronics and consider becoming mindful of the present. It takes some effort but the payoffs are huge.
Meditating and using rhythmic breathing techniques to calm the nervous system has been used as therapy to calm anxiety widely. Slowing down the breath by counting as you inhale and exhale helps to slow down heart rate and helps us focus on the present moment.
I use my meditation time as a prayer time to focus on God’s word and his promises to me. I believe He has a good plan for me and that his promises are true. The word of God has helped me center my emotions and reminds me I’m not in control.
Whatever your beliefs are, it is important to meditate on them and read or speak them out loud to your soul so you can calm yourself and realize that you’re not alone and you don’t have to carry your burdens on your own shoulders.
Yours in Wellness,
- Monica
Monica Paz, MS, CN, FNLP
Nourished Functional Nutrition, LLC
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When we can’t sleep our bodies cannot grow and repair and this can lead to illness and even death.
