We have all become too accustomed to the feeling of wanting to push our limits of productivity and maintaining a high level of busyness–but at what cost? Living a life in a constant state of stress by pushing these limits can become detrimental to our health.
Our hormones are control modules of our stress response. Being engulfed by chronic stress or in a constant state of “fight or flight” mode, we are competing with our bodies instead of living in tune with them. Prioritizing the ways to balance hormones is the key to having a balanced life.
Ways to support a stress-filled body
1.) Eating whole, nourishing foods throughout the day
Viewing food as energy is a great way to reshape eating choices and habits. The old saying, “food is fuel” still stands strong in the battle of having balanced hormones. Restricting food or depriving yourself of food puts an immediate stress on your body. When you don’t provide enough energy through food, it leads to your body compensating its biological functions as a result.
As a way to combat disrupted hormones due to undernourishment, consume consistent meals throughout the day. Meals that consist of a protein, carb, and healthy fat, will help stabilize your blood sugar and have even energy levels throughout the day. Prioritizing meals will support the body in ridding itself of a stressed state. Even going for a 10-minute walk after meals does wonders for your blood sugar levels and overall energy levels.
2.) Daily movement
Our bodies are made to move! Engaging in some form of daily movement: even a 10-minute walk, dancing, and stretching improves mental health and boosts longevity. Movement each day does not need to be strenuous. In fact, having intense workouts every day puts the body under greater stress because it does not have enough time to repair itself.
Moving the body helps move stress; it takes stored stress and pushes it out.
Turn to movement before reaching for your phone, television, food, or other forms of temporary stress relief when you are feeling overwhelmed.
3.) Remaining connected with nature and disconnecting from social media
To remain grounded in myself, I have gone months without having social media at all, and times when I delete the app on my phone. It went from mindless scrolling to having control over what I watch and look at. Each time I logged into a social media platform, it became a conscious choice to engage in its content. Throughout my journey of finding a “healthy” balance with social media by staying connected with friends and family but maintaining boundaries, I have learned how critical it is to prioritize moments where I am unplugged.
Surrounding myself with nature has helped me embrace time away from technology. It has allowed me to be more creative in my day-to-day life and romanticize the simplicity of things. There is so much that nature and the wild world can teach us if we know how to listen.
4.) Prioritize and know when to say “NO”
Taking time to prioritize what truly matters to you will create more intentionality in what you do invest your energy into. It will help the little things or small stressors be just that: small and little. Prioritization can come in many forms such as:
- Creating short-term and long-term goals for your future/career
- Creating to-do lists
- Take time to think about what is worth investing your energy into
Saying “no” is not a negative thing and creating healthy boundaries does not mean you are a bad friend or an uncaring family member that is unreliable, but it is a pillar of peace. An important reminder is that you can’t make everyone happy even if you say “yes” to absolutely everything. The moments you say “yes,” it will be easier to be fully present because you have the energy for it and it is your choice.
5.) Practicing some form of self-care each day
Self-care does not have to be tied with spending an hour each day towards a practice of choice or spending hundreds of dollars on facials or massages. It can be as simple as:
- Moving your body
- Washing your hair
- Face mask
- Night and morning routines that fill your cup
- Creating lists of goals for the day
- Meal planning and prepping
Self-care options are endless. It comes down to being intentional about your self-care. It is less about the act or the time spent doing the practice, it’s about the connection with the practice to your own well-being.
6.) Getting enough sleep
The best form of rest in the hustle and bustle world we all live in is through sleep. Sleep quality is vital to how you perform when you are awake, your focus, your appetite, the way you treat others, the way you show up for yourself, and the list goes on. Guzzling caffeine to combat these feelings will only bring on worse symptoms when the caffeine wears off and will limit your ability to live in tune with your bodily signals. A prolonged cycle of little sleep and excess caffeine will only bring about short-term bursts of energy and long-term effects on health.
It is important to honor your body during moments of feeling tired. Emotional states such as stress and anxiety, intense workouts, certain phases of menstrual cycles, and busy schedules are examples of when the body may require more rest. Aiming to get 7–9 hours of sleep per night will optimize a healthy nervous system.
Takeaways I have learned
Stress cannot be controlled, but you can have a healthy relationship with it. Even though stress has been linked with negativity due to the high amounts society feels today, stress also motivates us to complete tasks. In a healthy balance, stress can support a purposeful life. There are variations to focusing on balancing hormones–and as a result, stress–because there are many ways to support your body during moments of stress. Every body is different and it is up to us to support it the best we can.
