Are you stressed?!

You probably haven’t even had the time to stop and think about whether you’re stressed or not. You’re probably just trying to fit a busy day at work, dealing with your irritating boss, a gym class and dinner with your best friend into your day…and not realising the effect it’s having on your body.

Even if you don’t have a massive presentation coming up, a house to renovate, or a wedding to plan, it doesn’t mean you’re not stressed. It’s this chronic, low grade stress that comes from a busy life that actually has the biggest effect on your body. Chronic stress means your body is constantly releasing stress hormones, which can affect your gut in so many ways (find out 5 ways chronic stress affects your gut here).

You can do something about this though, by making small tweaks to change the impact of stress on your gut. However, like with anything, awareness is the first step.

So, let’s make today the day to get aware. Here are 8 questions to help you tune into your stress….

8 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

1. Do you have tension in your body, especially in your neck and shoulders?
2. Is your breathing shallow?
3. Do you feel restless?
4. Do you have difficulty focusing?
5. Do you have trouble falling or staying asleep?
6. Is your sex drive low?
7. Do you grind your teeth at night?
8. Are you easily irritated?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of those things, it’s likely you’re suffering from chronic stress. All of these things above are ways that this chronic, constant stress can manifest itself.

A STRESS TEST?

If you’re one of those people that likes to see a test result before they believe anything, you’ll be pleased to know that there is a test you can get done to tell you how stressed you are.

It’s called an Adrenal Stress Index Test. It measures the stress hormones in your body in order to assess your stress levels. It’s just a simple saliva test to measure cortisol levels and can be done yourself or through a doctor.

You can pretty accurately work out if you’re stressed with the questions above. However, it can sometimes be helpful to actually see evidence from a test. It can sometimes give you more of a jolt to do something about it and take action.

Do you think you’re stressed? Let me know in the comments below.

Next week, I’ll be diving into WHAT you can do to better manager or reduce your stress so you can reduce the impact it’s having on your gut. These are all simple tweaks you can make with diet, herbs, supplements and exercise.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and letting me be a part of your journey in taking control of your gut, eating well and living your life.

Sophie x