There is no avoiding stress. It’s always a part of life. But stress causes pain, fatigue, and so much illness. Because of the way it affects our hormones, it also is a major reason for weight gain. Not just because we may eat too much of the wrong foods when we’re stressed. But, because cortisol, estrogen, insulin, and thyroid hormones all are imbalanced when we are under stress. And they call can make our body hold onto our fat stores.
But, if stress is unavoidable, is there anything that can be done to prevent all of its downstream effects? Luckily, yes there is! It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.
Here are 6 effective ways to deal with stress in your life:
Exercise regularly
Go to a park and take a walk, do a 15-minute strengthening workout first thing in the morning, go for a bike ride after work, or take up a yoga practice. Joining a gym with a friend will motivate both of you! Exercise relieves tension and produces a calming effect.
Be careful not to overdo exercise though. As healthy and necessary as it is, exercise itself is a stress on the body. If you are in a very difficult and stressful time right now, it’s better to move in gentle ways. A restorative yoga practice or Tai Chi would be great options in that case. Or an enjoyable walk and a slower pace.
Meditation
This is a time to quiet all the thinking. We are constantly thinking all day long, even when we are unaware of it. Often those thoughts cause us to feel bad. It’s our thoughts that cause us to feel angry, sad, nervous, worried, or stressed. The circumstance itself is neutral until we give it meaning with our thoughts.
Meditation helps us to become more aware of our thoughts and make a choice about what we want to be thinking. This is so powerful! I struggled for a long time with how to “take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). But now that I meditate daily I am better able to do it. Not perfectly, but much better than before.
You can repeat a short verse with your breath. Here is one that I love to meditate on:
God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5b
Music
There is something so powerful about music. Maybe it doesn’t work like this for everyone, but listening to music can change my mood very quickly. For that reason, I have to carefully choose the genre. Praise music can lift me out of a funk. But sometimes, it just doesn’t land in my heart like I need it to. Honestly, the words can sound trite when I’m not ready to hear them. That’s when I might turn on some fun 80’s hair band music.
To really relax I might listen to classical music or nature sounds. I’ve created some playlists on Spotify so I have the right music with me when I need it.
My favorite go-to is the Praise playlist I put together. Feel free to check it out!
Choose nourishing foods
It’s very easy to turn to comfort foods when we are feeling stressed, but I urge you to intentionally choose not to do that. Foods high in sugar, refined carbs, and poor quality fats create stress on the body. And, let’s face it, they leave you feeling worse, amIright?
Maybe a cozy bowl of a tasty soup will be just a comforting, without the after effects. Herbal teas are great for this too! Especially considering that caffeine can do terrible things to our adrenal glands, which are what we most need to protect when we’re under stress.
Go to bed on time
Sleep is an important part of healing from stress. I know the temptation to get “one more thing done” at the end of the day. But, you need to set a time when you shut everything down, and start winding your body down so it allows you to sleep.
If you go to bed still feeling keyed up, the signal your body is getting is that it’s not safe. Think about our caveman ancestors. If they slept while there was a possibility of an attack, they wouldn’t survive the night. They had to stay alert.
Our body is still operating under that kind of mechanism. It looks totally different to us, but our body doesn’t know the difference between the financial concerns you have now, and the fear of a bear attack in the distant past. So, give yourself at least 45 minutes to wind down before going to bed.
As another motivation to make sleep a priority, know this: Sleep will help you regulate your hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin. When they get out of balance, cravings are unavoidable.
Talk to a friend
Keeping everything bottled up adds to the tension you’re feeling. Find someone you can confide in. Let them know you just need them to listen if you would rather not hear someone else’s advice right now. However, getting another point of view can be just the thing to put your situation in perspective.
I’m always happy to do either for the ladies in my Facebook community: Women Over 40 Crushing Cravings. I’d love to have you join us there!
Coping with stress can be challenging. Every day you seem to be pulled in many directions, trying to accommodate others. But to be your best for them, your first priority is to take care of you.
You are the thread which holds your family together. If you’re overly stressed out, you won’t be much good to anyone else.
Give yourself a break every now and then. Read a good book; go to a movie; get a massage. Alone time is just as important to you as it is for everyone else. Everyone needs to feel up their tank once in a while. When there are extra pressures on you and your time, you need to refuel more often.
