Stress and Your Symptoms – Free as a butterfly?  Not yet?

Stress is a key factor in mental and physical health symptoms. The Covid pandemic and pandemonium may be greatly or even subtly impacting you and perhaps other stressors have revealed themselves during Covid “time out”.

Have you been experiencing any of the following forms and sources of stress?
Tension –body tension , stiff shoulders, migraines.
Worry – sleeplessness, ruminating thoughts day AND night.
Irritability – anger, emotional outbursts.
Uncertainty  – as we all dislike change or feeling a lack of control.
Grief and emotional pain or disappointment.
Mindset – attitude , the glass is half empty.
Relationship conflict.
Financial pressure.
Physical Ailments – cough, sinus irritation, hormonal upset, blood sugar imbalance, cardiovascular disease,  thyroid problems, digestion issues, IBS, asthma, skin problems, weight gain or loss, arthritis, allergy,  pain, headache, muscle tension, UTI’s, etc.

ALL programs for health improvement must include an aspect of stress reduction.
Yet many patients deny this need.

When we feel stress
– we deplete our vitamin and mineral reserves as we use them up more quickly.
– if not available through food and supplements – we use our body bones, tissues, collagen matrix, tendons, ligaments as a source – therefore making us more susceptible to injury, pain, and infection.
– the microbiome shifts as we select different foods to feel better short term, eliminate less efficiently and store toxins.
– immunity decreases.
– logical practical thinking decreases.
– communication skills decrease.
– tolerance, patience and understanding diminish.
– creativity and inspirations drops.
– sleep and libido is impacted and almost always is a symptom of stress.

Long term stress may eventually evolve to a diagnosis in anxiety, depression, ADHD, paranoia and others, because a survival mental state develops to compensate for the dis-ease created.
These compensatory mechanisms can often be traced back to repeated patterns in our childhood.

Whether we are managing our symptoms with pharmaceuticals or applying good healing programs to address the underlying” issues in the tissues” – the stressful components of our lives will without doubt make our weakest parts of ourselves more noticeable and often worse.

Symptoms however mild are good barometers to our levels of stress…the rash that appears, the headaches that come and go, poor sleep, etc. These annoying symptoms are telling us it’s time to pay attention.

When the body is not comfortable this creates stress and the stress continues to contribute to the physical symptoms and around and around it goes.

Address Stress –Not all choices are complex to address the stress.Improve or change the things you can – social groups, career, location, diet.
Practice a new mindset and learn about different ways of seeing things.
Become aware of your worrisome thoughts and then choose to focus on positive things that are happening, and feel the possibility that things do work themselves out.
Meditation, take time out – to breathe, exercise, yoga, Tai Qi, create a change of scene.
Be in nature, daily, if not outdoors – watch nature programs and feel the experience through beautiful cinematography or in beautiful books and magazines.
Dig in a garden.
Ask yourself – “What have I done for fun and pleasure today?” And do something.
Develop or keep a spiritual practice. An appreciation of something larger than ourselves and beyond our understanding can assist with unforeseen pressures and expectations.
Take a drive, bike ride, or extended leave if possible.
Ensure hydration, eat well and regularly.
Acupuncture relieves stress – calms the body and mind. (I provide single and multiple sessions)
Massage (I offer therapeutic and lymphatic drainage programs)
Hot and Cold showers – ending your shower in cooler water is invigorating and shifts circulation and metabolism.
Create a support system of personal or professional contacts to reach out to in times of overwhelm and doubt.
Supplements both orally and IV restore deficiencies. Testing is available to determine shortcomings.
Herbal medicines can and do have an immediate effect.  Contact me for an appointment.
Pharmaceuticals maybe necessary for severe symptoms, use cautiously due to dependency risks.
*Daily use of natural methods and supportive medicines are important to support stress until resolved.
I cannot emphasize this enough. Support your body and mind with calming medicines and practices long enough to develop the skills to moderate stress or it is eliminated.
*Important-Some products will interfere with commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals. Please contact me or your prescribing medical doctor before moving away from or adding to your prescription profile.
If you are requiring more and more of a substance or are not seeing a result, natural or pharmaceutical, this may indicate it is not the best choice for your type of stress or condition. Reassess.

Seeking to be free as a butterfly? Be objective and honest with yourself, it is critical in managing your journey to feeling better.  Avoid long term consequences of chronic stress which contribute to burn out, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, weight issues, gut health, immunity and loss of personal happiness.
Contact me to assess the impact of stress and implement best methods to add ease back into your life.
Dr. Linda Kodnar ND