And what you can do to relieve it

On a day to day basis, you may feel some type of discomfort in your body and wonder why it’s happening or where it is stemming from. Read below to learn about 3 stress symptoms that may be affecting your day to day life, and how to reduce them.

1. An Upset Stomach. Have you ever noticed when you have deadlines to meet, or are rushing out the door with food in hand, that your stomach just doesn’t feel right? Maybe you bloat the minute you touch your food, or your stomach feels queasy. This is because your gut and brain are connected by the central nervous system. In stressful situations, your “flight or fight” response is turned on which causes disruption in your gut that can lead to an upset stomach.

What you can do: Make meals more of a priority. Whether that means waking up 10 minutes earlier so you can sit and eat, or taking 20 minutes from work to sit alone and focus on your food. Your body needs to be in rest mode to digest. So taking time to sit, smell, and chew your food is so important.

2. Trouble Sleeping. Feeling wired at night or are your thoughts keeping you up at night? A busy and unsettled mind can not only prevent you from falling asleep, but staying asleep as well. If you’re too busy chasing your thoughts, your body can’t begin to relax and unwind, which it needs to do to fall asleep.

What you can do: Implement a bedtime routine. Just like with eating, you need to give your body time to adjust for what you want it to do. If you know you’ve had a particular stressful day, give your body more time to unwind. Begin by disconnecting from screens an hour before bed. Set yourself up for success for the next day but creating a to do list, preparing meals, or anything you might need to do to have a smooth morning. If your body feels tense, do some stretches to help you feel more relaxed. Brew yourself a cup of non-caffeinated tea. Take a bath with Epsom salts. When you are in bed, focus on taking deep breaths to help your body relax. And if you need to, use a guided meditation to help you fall asleep. Insight Timer is a great free app to use. Just Search for Sleep and you can find guided meditations or breathing exercises to help your wandering mind calm down and your body relax so you can fall asleep.

3. Tension in your jaw, shoulders, chest and hips. Do you have a stiff neck and shoulders from sitting at a desk all day, or do you notice tightness around your hips from chasing your kids? These can be both physical and mental stress. Physical tightness in your body indicates stress being stuck in your body, that needs to be released. Think about it as blocked energy. If you are absorbing stressors every day, and you are not addressing them, that energy will stay in your body and can manifest as tension.

What you can do: Find ways to help release blocked up stress. To release tension, sign up for a slow yoga class that focuses on stretching and opening up the body. Book yourself a massage to help release tension in the muscles. And take notice of when you feel stressed. If you feel yourself clenching your jaw, or your shoulders climbing up towards your ears, take a moment to release and take a few deep breaths. You may also need to look at the bigger picture and address daily stressors.

These are just a few common signs of stress manifesting in your body. Managing stress takes time, so always be patient with yourself as you begin to make adjustments towards stress reduction. If you can’t identify what is making you feel stressed, take a moment to slow down. Close your eyes, and take a deep breath into the belly (not the chest) and slowly release. Do this 5 times. Be as slow, intentional, and aware as possible. Feel the full breath as it enters your body and feel the breath as it leaves your body.

Stay up to date with blog posts and other news by subscribing to my newsletter!