Stress Resilience and Your Hormones
Are you feeling STRESSED? 😫. You are not alone!
In my 20+ years of practicing medicine, I have often found stress levels in my patients to be higher in May - especially for those with school-aged children.
The problem with letting all that stress get to you is that higher levels of stress hormones can really MESS with your other hormones!
THE STRESS-HORMONE CONNECTION
The Stress-Hormone connection is REAL - and it’s a vicious cycle. As I often discuss with my patients, hormones “dance” with one another. When one set of hormones becomes imbalanced - this is likely to wreak havoc on other hormones.
Let’s look at two examples:
Stress can make symptoms of PMS worse:
Stress triggers the adrenal glands to produce more cortisol ➡️
Cortisol reduces progesterone levels and suppresses testosterone production ➡️
Low progesterone and tanked testosterone contribute to estrogen dominance ➡️
Estrogen dominance leads to weight gain, low libido, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, sleeplessness, and (you got it) ➡️ More STRESS ➡️
Stress can interfere with blood sugar hormones and cause weight gain:
Stress triggers the adrenal glands to produce more cortisol ➡️
Higher levels of cortisol trigger your body to release stored glucose, raising blood sugar levels ➡️
This blood sugar spike is followed by the release of insulin, and a quick drop in blood sugar - causing hunger, cravings, and irritability ➡️
This cycle leads to overeating, decreased carbohydrate tolerance, and - you guessed it ➡️ More STRESS ➡️
The good news? Taking steps to increase your STRESS RESILIENCE is foundational for hormone balance and can help you to feel better!
STRESS RESILIENCE
STRESSORS are the things that are causing you stress.
Your STRESS RESPONSE is how you react and respond to stress.
You don't often have control over your stressors, but you do have control over your stress response - and by improving your stress response, you improve your STRESS RESILIENCE.
Better stress resilience allows you to become less reactive and recover quickly from stressful situations.
I think of stress resilience like a "force field" around you, protecting you from the hormone-disrupting effects of stress on your body.
How can you improve your stress resilience? Here are some ideas:
Get moving! Find something you enjoy and prioritize exercise as part of your daily and weekly routine🏃♀️
Don't isolate yourself! Spend time with friends - especially the ones who make you laugh 🤣
Download a meditation app - and use it regularly - think of it like exercise for your brain 🧘🏻♀️
Blood sugar fluctuations increase cortisol production and make emotional control more difficult - so optimize your diet to balance your blood sugar 🥦
Consider nutritional supplements to improve energy and mood under stress. My favorite, and a client-favorite for many years, is Adreset (by Metagenics™️) - a blend of Panax Ginseng, Rhodiola, and Cordyceps that is designed to build resilience and enhance stamina in those who are feeling weak and fatigued due to stress.
As a board-certified Integrative & Functional Medicine physician, I can help you “think outside of the box” and dig deeper with a variety of laboratory testing to help uncover the root causes of your symptoms and create a plan personalized for you that goes beyond the prescription pad to incorporate diet/lifestyle change, nutritional supplements, holistic therapies, health coaching and more!
Contact us to schedule an appointment or learn more.