I’ve blogged before about how I am an anxious person with a history of clinical anxiety and depression. Over the last few years, I have made a concerted effort to concentrate on lowering the levels of stress in my life with fairly positive results.
By focusing on a few small lifestyle changes, I’ve drastically reduced the amount that I suffer from episodes of crippling anxiety. There was no cure, and I certainly didn’t feel “okay” overnight; but I am a much happier and calmer person than one you may have met two years ago.
I think the holidays can be a very stressful time for most people, so I thought today might be a good day to share some of my tips.
Ways to Reduce Stress
Stay Hydrated
Dehydration can lead to tension and headaches. Sometimes if you are just feeling a little frazzled, a big glass of water can put you to rights.
Eat nutritional meals
Stress can trigger an increase in blood sugar, blood pressure and heartbeat so eating nutritionally well-balanced meals can help stabilise the levels of sugar in your blood helping you turn off that “fight or flight” response.
Get some exercise
Getting your body moving can help distract from what you’re actually stressing about to the point that you can put it out of your mind altogether. Doing something like yoga, where you are both moving your body and focusing on your breath can be especially helpfully as we tend to hold our breaths and take shallower ones when stressed. Deep breathing can release a lot of tension.
Explore taking a probiotic
I tried Zenflore for 30 days. Zenflore is a probiotic, and one of the first “psychobiotics”. It contains cultures that in clinical trials are shown to help reduce levels of cortisol, it was also shown to reduce the symptoms of everyday stress, including tiredness, low energy, tension headaches and a weakened immune system. The 1714-Serenitas culture in Zenflore is also involved in regulating the immune system which plays an important role in health and wellbeing. Current research indicates that a gut with a healthy microbiota is a strong predictor of emotional and mental health, so it makes sense that a probiotic could potentially help affect the levels of stress that you are feeling.
I was interested in taking Zenflore because I do have a rudimentary knowledge of, but interest in probiotics and it sounded like it would compliment some of the natural supplements that I already take quite nicely. Zenflore seems formulated to help combat stress-related fatigue (not necessarily the stressors themselves) but I’ve found it always easier to become less stressed when you tackle those annoying side-effects, like headaches and low-energy.
I take my capsule in the morning with a glass of water right before breakfast, but then eat fairly soon after because I can’t take any capsules on a truly empty stomach.
I didn’t notice a difference at first, but by the end of the 30 days, I found that the body aches and pains that tend to go along with my stress had decreased. So although Zenflore doesn’t actually take my stress away, I felt less physical pressure on me from my stress. Obviously, I can’t say it wasn’t 100% psychosomatic (placebo-effect like) but I can only go with my gut (insert nerdy gut-probiotic joke of, you, the reader’s choice, here) and believe that it did help. My stress tends to come out most strongly in my back, and I’ve certainly had reduced back pain this month.
A month’s supply of Zenflore is £29.95
Zenflore contains vitamis Biotin, Folate, Niacin, Thiamine, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Folate, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin which all contribute to normal psychological function.
For more information, head to Precision Probiotics. You can also buy the product on Amazon.
Of course, never start taking a probiotic if you have any medical history that could be affected, like Crohns, for example. And never stop taking any medication without consulting your doctor first. Zenflore is NOT a substitute for medical prescribed medication.
Take a bath
This one is quite personal to me, but talking a bath filled with lovely salts and a few splashes of essential oils always helps chill me out. It’s also useful in relaxing some of those muscles that have gotten clenched tight due to stress.
Go for a walk in nature
The Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku rose to prominence in the 1980s. It loosely translates to “forest bathing” – a phrase I absolutely adore – and it encourages you to walk in nature, open your senses and take some deep, deliberate breaths. It’s also been proven to reduce your blood pressure, your heart rate and your cortisol production.
Write a stress list
Sometimes when I have something that I’m particularly worried about stuck in my head, it’s there niggling me no matter what I do. It’s like having an annoying song stuck in your head, if that song also had the possibility to suck you down in to a black hole of worry.
The simple act of putting pen to paper, writing down what I’m worried about and why, can sometimes help unstick it a bit.
Take a nap
Nothing is more simple than old-fashioned problem avoidance! I joke. But good quality sleep is linked to lower stress, so if you are so stressed you find you can’t focus on anything, a quick nap really might do your brain some good.
Look in to an alternative therapy
I’ve blogged fairly often about my dabbles in alternative therapies. You never know what might suit you personally. Here’s my post on 10 Alternative Therapies you can try, my post on using yoga, my experience with acupuncture, my experience with Reiki healing and my use of crystals.
And just to be clear: none of these things have completely changed my life. I can still be a little ball (or a large ball, even) of stress; however, the amount of stress that I feel in my life now, as opposed to two years ago is like night and day. I’m a much calmer and happier person because of it.
Have you ever focused on reducing stress in your life?
*** This post was a collaboration with Zenflore, but all opinions are forever my own.***
