Chronic Stress and Anxiety
Feeling stressed under pressure is normal, but day in and day out can overload your body and create anxiety. The Stress Response is a survival skill our body’s use to adapt to fear and, more importantly, combat unwanted aggressors. But it isn’t just a mental or emotional feeling; it’s a physiological adaptation to toxic environments and can compromise your health in many ways.
Chronic stress has become an epidemic and is the most common complaint reported by primary care physicians. The way your body experiences stress is much more complicated than most people realize.
[+] Do you wake up each day with low energy?
[+] Do you notice that small hiccups in your day seem to “set you off” and cause irritability you can’t control. Does your heart pound or your brain swell with feelings of anxiety?
[+] Do you notice that you get colds more frequently and feel like every day is a struggle to “get through” the day?
[+] Does your mind race at night even though you feel emotionally and physically exhausted?
[+] Do you suffer from panic attacks or drop into periods of mental depression?
These are all symptoms of chronic stress and anxiety which typically point to other more serious metabolic imbalances.
People often feel wired, but tired, experience palpitations, anxiety, difficulties sleeping, dizziness with standing, low blood pressure, body aches, muscle pain, unexplained weight loss or weight gain, low libido, thyroid imbalances, poor exercise tolerance and recovery, brain fog, and cravings for salt and sugar.
Brain & Hormone Physiology - It's in our DNA
The stress response is a complex system that involves the brain, nervous system, and the adrenal glands, called the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis. When the brain perceives a stress, it signals the adrenals to make cortisol and the neurotransmitters: norepinephrine and epinephrine (adrenaline). Optimal cortisol levels are highest in the morning to help us wake up start the day and lowest in the evening to promote sleep. Long term stress leads to chronic activation of the HPA axis, which disrupts the cortisol rhythm as well as DHEA, melatonin, and epinephrine.
Nearly every organ including the gut, brain, thyroid, male and female reproductive system can be impacted, leading to a multitude of symptoms including cognitive issues like anxiety.
Gut & Brain Physiology
Affected by Lifestyle Choices
Chronic stress can be due to a multitude of things, including lack of sleep, a diet high in processed and junk foods, consuming too many stimulants like caffeine and sugar, a rigorous work schedule, emotional trauma from unhealthy relationships or death of a loved one, over training, and lack of fun or loving relationships.
Chronic internal stress (usually to blame for anxiety) can also be caused by certain biological imbalances that are typically not addressed by conventional practitioners. This included dealing with gut health as it relates to gut bacteria balances as well as issues with hormones.
Damage Caused by Chronic Stress
Cortisol increases blood sugar and over time can lead to insulin resistance or pre-diabetes. The immune system becomes suppressed, allowing for chronic inflammation and increased susceptibility to viral infections.
Functional Medicine Tackles Chronic Stress and Anxiety Head On
With the chronic stress cycle, functional medicine acknowledges the multi-factor causes, from lifestyle factors including poor food choices and food sensitivities, systemic imbalances like gut and hormones, or potentially other factors like a variety of traumas that haven’t healed. Exposure to environmental toxins and even stealth infections are two other considerations that are typically over-looked by conventionally trained practitioners.
Treatments for Chronic Stress
When it comes to chronic stress, it’s important to work with a functional medicine practitioner who follows a truly holistic and inclusive approach while running the correct testing to determine exactly where your imbalances are.
Once you receive the results from your comprehensive testing, we pair this with a personalized healing protocol that also includes the important lifestyle changes needed to break the chronic stress cycle.
If you have been experiencing symptoms relating to chronic stress or anxiety, schedule an appointment with Pucci Wellness today!
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Journey Back To Health
Do you have questions about our programs and where to start? We are standing by, happy to answer any questions you have to determine if Pucci Wellness is right for you.
