Of all the steps you can take to gain optimal health, stress management is probably the most important.  Why?  Because no matter what diet you follow, how much exercise you do and what supplements you take, if you are not managing your stress, you will still be at risk for modern degenerative conditions like heart disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism and autoimmunity.  

Yet as pervasive as stress is, many people don’t do anything to mitigate its harmful effects.  The truth is that it’s a lot easier to make dietary changes and pop some pills that it is to manage our stress. Stress management is hard.  It forces us to slow down, step back and disengage from the electric current of modern life.  It asks us to prioritise self-care in a culture that doesn’t value it. 

However, not wishing to mince my words here,  if you are not doing some form of regular stress management, you will sabotage all of your best efforts with diet, exercise and supplements.  Stress management is absolutely crucial to optimal health and longevity.  If most health conscious people spent even half the amount of time they spend focussing on nutrition and exercise on managing their stress, they would be a lot better off.

I have struggled with stress for years.  Until a few years ago I was ignorant of the impact it was having on my health.  However, when I decided to take a look at my health status scientifically, almost everything that was out of balance pointed to stress: weak immune system, raised blood sugar, poor digestion, headaches, short term memory impairment, suppressed HPA axis function.

The A of HPA is for Adrenals, which is the gland that releases cortisol when you are stressed. Cortisol impacts all your other hormones. My levels must have been way too high for years, but by the time I was measured I was producing virtually none. It was no surprise to the practitioner that I couldn’t stay awake beyond 9.30pm.

My stress and the toll it took on my body has taken several years to sort.  In the meantime, I have learned a lot about the power stress has to destroy health. I take stress-management seriously and wish I had done so much earlier.     

On this page, we will be exploring exactly what stress is, what harm it causes, and techniques for managing it.