Stress the Destroyer

StressStress can be a healthy thing; our stress response is there to help us deal with challenging or dangerous situations. If a tiger jumps out at you from behind a tree, your heart suddenly beats faster, your breathing gets faster, various muscles will tighten, your blood sugar levels rise, and non-emergency systems in your body are suppressed (such as your digestive system).  Your body is now in ‘Fight or Flight’ mode, which is great for emergencies.

We usually don’t encounter too many tigers in our lives, instead in our society we often have lots of little stressful situations throughout our day. Rushing to get ready in the morning, fighting the traffic, work pressure, family hassles, money worries, etc. Most of these pressures are based on a fear of not enough, and lack of time is one of the big ones.

Time Pressure

In this fast paced age, we hear that every minute counts. Day after day, week after week, all this pressure to achieve, meet goals, finish daily tasks, begins to build up inside of us until one day we are locked in the throes of time pressure. A chief contributor to time pressure is emotional identity. This happens when you invest a great deal of mental and emotional energy in a situation. All that energy can create tunnel vision, leaving you unable to see or appreciate other important things in your life. When someone or something interferes with that focus, the result frequently is irritation, anxiousness and frustration, especially when deadlines must be met. You push people away, neglect other areas of your life, but still proceed until eventually you lapse into emotional chaos. In the end, time pressure can seriously damage not only your relationships and quality of life, but even the situation in which you buried yourself to the exclusion of all else. Time pressure takes a toll on our nervous, immune and hormonal systems, and left unattended will likely produce cycles of anxiety, fatigue and temporary despair. As this process continues it makes us more susceptible to health problems.

Time Pressure Symptoms

Always rushed, too much to do, not enough time; mentally scattered, not feeling in control, tunnel vision, irritation at anyone or anything that breaks your focus, internal pressure, a gnawing feeling in your solar plexus, impatience, lack of compassion for self and others, feeling a constant slow burn inside, low grade stress and strain, feeling disconnected from life, decreased enjoyment of projects, relationships or life in general.

How Stress Affects Your Health

Stress is so common and has such a broad effect on the body that it is often a factor with almost any health problem. However, here are the most common ways it can affect you.

  1. Your Physical Body

We have already mentioned the physical changes in your body that stress causes, so let’s look at how these can affect your health.

  • Your heart beats faster and harder, increasing the risk of high blood pressure, heart problems and strokes
  • Various muscles tighten, often causing back, neck or shoulder problems
  • Blood sugar levels are raised, increasing the risk of diabetes
  • Non-emergency systems in your body are suppressed, so your digestion, immune system, and reproductive system (including your hormones and fertility) are disrupted. (Because your stomach is a muscular organ, it is particularly affected; in Japan, the stomach is sometimes referred to as ‘the reflection of stress’.)
  1. Your Energy Levels

Adrenaline and the other hormones we produce when we are stressed are stimulants. So too much stress over a long time will leave your body drained and depleted, causing you to constantly feel tired or burnt out, and can even lead to adrenal exhaustion or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

  1. Your Mental and Emotional State

Short-term stress can be a good thing- it can help stimulate your body and mind so that you can meet a deadline, perform better at sport, or cram for an exam. However, prolonged stress often causes the body to get stuck in the ‘Fight or Flight’ emergency mode all the time. When this happens, the constant mental or emotional stress accumulates in the body, causing the person to feel tense most of the time. Because of this accumulated stress in their body, any stress has a bigger effect on them than usual, and they may react more strongly to situations, so their internal stress builds up even more. Because of this, they may feel they don’t have much control of their life, which can create additional stress for them. Over time, this accumulated stress may manifest as anxiety, depression, poor sleep, irritability, cloudy thinking, relationship difficulties, panic attacks, etc.

  1. Fertility

When your body is stressed, it puts everything that isn’t directly related to survival on the back burner (like reproduction). Plus, stress and fertility involve many of the same glands and pathways – when stress hormones are being released in the brain, they wreak all kinds of havoc with your reproductive hormones.

Your pituitary gland is the link between your hypothalamus (brain) and your endocrine system (hormones). It communicates with your ovaries through your bloodstream; first, it releases hormones that tell your eggs to mature, and then it releases hormones that cause ovulation. When you’re stressed, the hypothalamus and pituitary gland are engaged in another chain reaction; the hypothalamus releases a hormone called CRH, which causes the pituitary to produce another hormone (ACTH), which in turn triggers the adrenal glands. This stress circuit temporarily shuts down your other hormonal systems, including reproduction, so your body can divert all of its energy into dealing with the perceived threat.

Or, in simpler terms: if your brain is busy with stress, it may not send the right messages to your ovaries, which means you won’t ovulate. If there’s no egg, the sperm have nothing to fertilise naturally, and you won’t fall pregnant. Even if you are still ovulating, some studies suggest that stress can reduce blood flow to the uterus and cause issues with implantation.

The Stress Solution

We often hear people say that they realise how stress is affecting them, but they can’t do anything about it. They can’t change the way their kids are behaving, they can’t quit their job, the bills keep coming in, etc. They also don’t have time to meditate, exercise or take time out every day. The answer is to clear out the accumulated stress from their body, which allows them to feel calm, relaxed, in control, and not get stressed easily. Usually this involves calming and relaxing the nervous system, and switching it from ‘Fight or Flight’ to the healthier ‘Rest, Repair and Reproduce’ mode. Often we will need to settle the person’s adrenaline levels down as well, particularly if they are feeling tired all the time. Acupuncture and naturopathy are both excellent for correcting the nervous system and the adrenaline levels. (A combination of the two is often ideal.)

If you suspect that stress may be an issue for you, please book in for a free Comprehensive Health Assessment so that we can check and let you know the extent of accumulated stress in your body, as well as the best way to treat it.

Read Your Way to Better Health

  
Taking the time to read and learn something new may not seem like it would impact our health, but it has multiple benefits.

When you read and relax, your heart rate and adrenal system gets a rest (research done in the UK in 2009 showed reading to be more effective at reducing stress than tea, music, and even walking). Keeping your brain active keeps it healthy, and can stave off Alzheimers in people who don’t carry the gene. It reduces muscle tension, and can help you sleep. 

So: pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read. Your body and brain will thank you.

Australian Natural Medicines Lead the World

IMPORTANT CLIENT INFORMATION

Extensively tested for naturopaths‘Practitioner-Products’ are only available from qualified practitioners who are equally invested in your health and wellbeing.

Australian Natural Medicine companies lead the world in manufacturing nutritional and herbal supplements. In contrast, supplements manufactured in other countries, including the US, may not always meet the quality and safety standards expected by consumers.

Manufacturing standards are not as stringent in the US, China, India or elsewhere as they are in Australia. Products produced in some of these countries may have elevated levels of heavy metals, pesticides, or microbial contaminants as they are not screened for these in many countries. They may also contain low levels of stated herbal active ingredients, the wrong herb entirely, or be adulterated with other unknown ingredients. This poses a serious risk to unwell and vulnerable patients.

The Australian made supplements we provide are extensively tested throughout their production.

  • Herbal ingredients are tested before they go into a formula to ensure the correct material is used
  • Nutritional ingredients are tested to ensure the correct composition
  • Products are manufactured under stringent Good Manufacturing Practice conditions
  • Finished products are then tested again to confirm that active ingredients have survived the manufacturing process
  • Microbiological tests are performed to ensure safety before release
  • Products are placed on stability trials so that you know what is on the label is in the product

Australian regulations insist upon the manufacture of natural medicines to pharmaceutical standards. In most countries supplements are considered “foods” so it is not compulsory to perform any of the above tests. For example, studies have confirmed that a high percentage of US made products do not contain ANY of the ingredients or contain different ingredients than stated on the label.

Your health is the most important asset you have. Nurture it and be rewarded by the investment.

You deserve the best!

(Based on a 2016 handout by Biomedica Nutraceuticals)

Simple Ways to Help New Parents


 new parents, acupuncture for fertility

When friends or family have just had a baby, it can be hard to know how to help – especially as going around to visit or drop something off might wake them or the baby, or interrupt them when they’re too stressed or tired to deal with visitors. Here are some simple ideas that may make the perfect offering for your loved one.

Food deliveries that can sit on the doorstep are ideal – make a laminated sign that they can stick on their door saying “baby and parents sleeping” so people know that it’s not a good time to knock or ring the doorbell. Ask that people put the food in an esky or send something that won’t go off if it’s sitting outside for a few hours (like dry pancake mix, dry pasta and a jar of good vegetable sauce, etc) while parents and baby are unavailable.

Cleaning services can be wonderful for new parents who just don’t have the time or energy to clean their house – they may not be comfortable with family or friends scrubbing their toilet, so getting a few people to chip in for a professional cleaner might be the best option. Have them come at a regular time every week or fortnight, so that the new parents are prepared for their arrival.

Similarly, a laundry service can be a wonderful thing – organising for them to just put their clothes somewhere that they can be picked up, and then dropped back off clean, dry and folded. A professional service may, again, be preferable here as they may not be comfortable with family or friends doing their laundry.

Many new mothers suffer various aches, pains and issues after the trauma of giving birth – from issues with bladder control to aching muscles. A voucher to come and see a natural therapies provider who can help them alleviate those symptoms can be a wonderful thing – they can book when they have time and feel up to it, and a little pampering and care for them during this transitional period can make a huge difference.

Make an online booking here:
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Valued at $120, your Assessment will help to uncover:

  • What is going on with your body
  • What is working properly and what is not working properly
  • What is causing the problem, and
  • The best way to get it sorted out

All this will be fully explained to you, and you can ask as many questions as you like. That way we can be sure to give you all of the right information, understanding and advice you need. Terms and conditions: This is a free, no obligation offer.

CONTACT

62 Looranah St,
Jindalee QLD 4074
07 3376 6911
reception@cntc.com.au

AWARDS

Winner Business Achievers Award 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011 & 2012
Inducted into Business Achievers Hall of Fame 2009
LPA Outstanding High Achievement Award 2011
Mt Ommaney Small Business Award (Health & Fitness) 2018 & 2020
Mt Ommaney Small Business Community Spirit Award 2021

YOUNGCARE

We help provide care and accommodation to young disabled people through regular support of YoungCare (by donating the proceeds of our Gift Voucher sales)

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