Tag Archives: stress

How to Have a Stress Free Holiday Season

Posted on by

stress free holidayBy Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC – The holidays are a special time to pause, give thanks for the richness and blessings of our lives, and enjoy time with friends and family. Shopping, party planning, gift wrapping, visiting friends and family can also be hectic, stressful and expensive.

One of the ways from to ensure a more stress free holiday is to decide what you would like from this year’s experience. There are a number of ways to approach the festivities that will carry you into the New Year renewed, refreshed and fulfilled rather than stressed-out, exhausted and in debt.

Setting unrealistic expectations for yourself or anticipating a particular outcome from others is a common pitfall. Another common problem is feeling the need to create a perfect celebration, buying the perfect gifts and being sure that you don’t forget anyone on the gift list.

We can avoid many of these stressors by identifying the most important outcomes we want and also what outcomes we wish to avoid. Before committing to attend celebrations that could potentially create time stress, or require presents that would create money stress, choose to limit the number of activities and set a very specific budget for gift giving. This alone can really shift your holiday experience from stressful to joyful.

One great way to experience more cheer for yourself and bring joy to others is by being creative with your gift giving. You can personalize the holidays and avoid spending far more than you might intend by baking, cooking, knitting, crafting, and scrapbooking for friends and family. These are all creative, meaningful and personal ways to let others know how special they are to you. Nothing says love like handmade gifts.

It is also important to keep up with your whole health self-care routine which may include exercise, relaxation, vitamins or whatever activity you do to take care of yourself. This is a great way to keep your body producting anti-stress hormones.  These wonderful hormones can assist you to feel healthy, happy and filled with cheer, even during the busiest time of the holiday season!

Happy Holidays!

Stress Adaptation and Your Adrenals

Posted on by

Your Adrenal Glands And Their Amazing Ability To Adapt

The ability for a human being to adapt to its environment and to deal with the many ongoing and changes it faces is the hallmark of a healthy body. That we can withstand day to day events that challenge our nervous system, and subsequently our immune system, is a reflection that our body is working very efficiently. This all comes back to your adrenal glands and their ability to adapt.

Understanding the connection between how events affect our stress adaptation system, primarily the adrenal glands, and how the adrenal’s hyper-secretions under stress can create havoc with the digestive and immune systems is important. This allows us to make informed lifestyle choices that will preserve and respect our body and our long term health.

Variations In Stress

Most of us do not know what stressors are. We tend towards the idea that emotional upset is what constitutes stress. However, there are 12 major categories of stress that can impact our body and health. Unfortunately, we are subject to these stressors on a regular basis.

A stressor is any activity or event that requires the body to change or adapt in order to maintain its homeostasis, or balance. Therefore, it becomes essential to know the factors we must be mindful of in order to keep our stress levels in check.

Below is a list of the stressors to be aware of in your day to day life:

  • Weather (exposure to hot or cold)
  • Sleep and Rest (specifically, not getting enough)
  • Infection or Silent Inflammation
  • Allergies (all types)
  • Dental or Medical Procedures and Surgeries
  • Reproduction  (for women: menstrual cycle, pregnancy, breast feeding, menopause)
  • Sexual Activity
  • Nutrition  (too many calories or non-nutritious food)
  • Exertion and Exercise (too much or not enough)
  • Trauma (any form)
  • Fear, Anxiety, Worry  (ongoing)
  • Loss or grief

By keeping your stress level low, you will reduce wear and tear on your body parts that, in the long term, can lead to chronic illness and disease. It is not the stress itself that makes you sick, but the ongoing wear on the body that causes dysfunction and dis-ease.

Healthy Habits, Healthy Life

There are many ways to reduce stress and maintain a balanced nervous system. While the list is endless here are some of the most popular ways to do so: (1) Exercise regularly. (2) Listen to soothing music. (3) Practice Yoga. (4) Participate in sports. (5) Tend a garden.

Each person finds their best way to relax and de-stress. It is something we all need to do on a regular basis to balance or nervous systems and stay healthy!

For an overview of more Whole Health topics, Watch Two Hours of FREE Course Excerpts from the National Institute of Whole Health.

Stress Reduction To Reduce Chronic Disease

Posted on by

Beach - Leaf- Relaxing - Stress Relief

Understanding the connection between brain function, cranial nerves, digestion and immune functions illuminates how and why dysfunction and “dis-ease” occur in the body. Just as our machines need electricity to operate, so do our internal organs and cells require electrical impulses to function.

The degree to which a patient’s nervous system is balanced and well-functioning – or not – is the degree to which they are healthy and able to function at maximum capacity in the world. This illuminates how a whole health coach  can guide their patients in using stress reduction to avoid, or reduce the symptoms of, chronic disease.

Many healing arts, such as acupuncture, yoga postures, meditation, chiropractic, breathing techniques, biofeedback, hypnosis, EMDR and others attempt to restore balance to the nervous system as the pathway to improving internal and external bodily function. These methods address the cause of the presenting condition, rather than just treating the pain or symptom of the bodily malfunction.

By looking more closely at the digestive system and its intimate relationship with the immune system and the nervous system, we can easily follow the pathway of how brain function and the nervous system can create a “whole body” systemic cascade of bodily reactions, which over time lead to chronic illness and disease. Our nervous systems are impacted by stressors; however, stress is not limited to just the emotional realm as many believe. The broader topic of stressors and adrenal function are explored throughout NIWH’s health coach and holistic nurse certification programs.

For now, keep in mind that when our stress or anxiety causes our limbic system to send biochemical messages to our cranial nerves, our digestive systems can be functionally affected. The anxiety and stress increases our adrenal function output, and this increase of adrenal hormones and steroids in turn decreases our digestive and immune system functions.

A written schematic would look like this:

Stressor = A limbic system response and/or increased adrenal cortisol secretion. = Decreased digestive function thru sympathetic cranial nerves (vagus nerve) and decreased immune (bone marrow) function.

The effect of a stressor on the body in the short term can be readily overcome by a healthy, adaptive nervous system. It is the longer stress–the chronic ongoing conditions and issues–that place wear and tear on our nervous systems and organs. It is this friction or wear and tear that leads to chronic illness.

By understanding the intimate dance of our body’s organs and systems and how to maintain a balanced, healthy nervous system we can help patients use stress reduction to avoid illness and chronic disease, and to live long, productive and disease free lives!

Join the conversation. If you enjoyed this article, be sure to follow NIWH on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates filled with useful accredited health program information for holistic nurses and whole health coaches or advocates. 

What Is Stress And Where Does It Come From?

Posted on by

What Exactly Is Stress And Where Does It Come From?

A statement by the well-known mind/body physician, Herb Benson, M.D. says that 60-90% of all visits to the doctor’s office are due to stress. We all hear about stress, experience stress, but what exactly is stress? Most of us think of stress as the emotional conflicts we experience in our daily lives, but our emotions are just one category or one type of “event” explored in health coach certification that can cause us to experience stress.

In order for us to survive in our ever-changing environments, our bodies are designed to adapt and it does so through a series of biochemical reactions. These chemical reactions are natural and necessary, but they are the wear and tear of living that we call stress.

Here’s an example I like to share in our whole health program because it gives a clear vision of this principle. When I was living in New York City, I drove my little stick shift through the stop and go traffic. Imagine the wear and tear (stress) on the clutch.

There are many events that might cause similar stress to our bodies. Some may surprise you.

  • Weather
  • Excess Exertion (such as too much exercise or lack of sleep)
  • Trauma or Injuries
  • Allergies and Immune Insults
  • Infections
  • Reproduction Related Events (monthly cycle, pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, etc.)

While the common nature of these events does not sound encouraging, there is some good news. If we have a stress response that is short term, like when the phone rings and the nurse tells you that your child had been vomiting, our bodies do just fine.

It is the prolonged stress, like anticipating for two whole weeks a root canal or that pesky “annual office evaluation.” That does us in! In our whole health education programs, students learn that this extended stress affects our digestive system, immune system, cardiovascular and even reproductive systems. Couple this with poor eating habits or insufficient sleep, and we are not happy campers.

While excessive or chronic stress is definitely not good for our health, we need stress adaptation for survival, so it is actually a very good thing. How this adaptation takes place is by way of specialized hormones from our adrenal glands, located in our kidneys. They change our heart rate, blood pressure, lung capacity, and a host of other functions, for our survival. However, these hormones, if secreted too much or too often can suppress our immune, digestive and reproductive systems and even damage our cardiovascular system. Chronic stress is one very large reason why some of us have fertility problems.

So how can we make friends with stress? The answer is good old moderation. Remember being told “all things in moderation leads to a healthy body.” It is true. We do not have to learn to do anything exotic to reduce stress, we just need to balance our lives and avoid excess.

Nevertheless, there is the rub, given modern life. We are all excessing more and more and moderating less. This is part of the reason why health coach certification is essential. For a great book on this subject, check out Why Zebras Don’t Have Ulcers by Dr. Robert Sapolsky. It is a very witty and informative book.

Laugher, as we know, is “our best medicine.” It is also a great stress reducer.

Join the conversation. If you enjoyed this article, be sure to follow NIWH on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates filled with useful health coach certification information for holistic nurses and health advocates.

Use Stress Reduction To Avoid Chronic Disease

Posted on by

Patients my use stress reduction to avoid chronic disease

Understanding the connection between brain function, cranial nerves, digestion and immune functions illuminates how and why dysfunction and “dis-ease” occur in the body. Just as our machines need electricity to operate, so do our internal organs and cells require electrical impulses to function. The degree to which a patient’s nervous system is balanced and well-functioning – or not – is the degree to which they are healthy and able to function at maximum capacity in the world. This is the key to how students of the accredited health program can guide their patients in using stress reduction to avoid, or reduce the symptoms of, chronic disease.

Many healing arts, such as acupuncture, yoga postures, meditation, chiropractic, breathing techniques, biofeedback, hypnosis, EMDR and others attempt to restore balance to the nervous system as the pathway to improving internal and external bodily function. These methods address the cause of the presenting condition, rather than just treating the pain or symptom of the bodily malfunction.

By looking more closely at the digestive system and its intimate relationship with the immune system and the nervous system, we can easily follow the pathway of how brain function and the nervous system can create a “whole body” systemic cascade of bodily reactions, which over time lead to chronic illness and disease. Our nervous systems are impacted by stressors; however, stress is not limited to just the emotional realm as many believe. The broader topic of stressors and adrenal function are explored throughout NIWH’s health coach and holistic nurse certification programs.

stress reduction whole health educationFor now, keep in mind that when our stress or anxiety causes our limbic system to send biochemical messages to our cranial nerves, our digestive systems can be functionally affected. The anxiety and stress increases our adrenal function output, and this increase of adrenal hormones and steroids in turn decreases our digestive and immune system functions.

A written schematic would look like this:

Stressor = A limbic system response and/or increased adrenal cortisol secretion. = Decreased digestive function thru sympathetic cranial nerves (vagus nerve) and decreased immune (bone marrow) function.

The effect of a stressor on the body in the short term can be readily overcome by a healthy, adaptive nervous system. It is the longer stress–the chronic ongoing conditions and issues–that place wear and tear on our nervous systems and organs. It is this friction or wear and tear that leads to chronic illness.

By understanding the intimate dance of our body’s organs and systems and how to maintain a balanced, healthy nervous system we can help patients use stress reduction to avoid illness and chronic disease, and to live long, productive and disease free lives!

For more whole health discussions, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama. Also available on iHeartRadio.

Have You Ever Wondered Why You’re Always Hungry?

Posted on by
Why Am I Always Hungry? Snacks. National institute of Whole Health Article

Hunger is a natural response by the body when it has used up the caloric intake from our last meal and we need to replenish. When we are in a constant state of hunger, or hungry very shortly after our last meal, this can signal a health problem such as hormonal imbalance or other either genetic or chronic health conditions. The hormones from the thyroid, pancreas, reproductive glands, and pituitary or adrenals glands are all possible contributors to constant hunger.

There are also other factors that can play a large role as well. A diet that is very low in fat can create a constant hunger. Our bodies require a certain amount of fat each day to regulate our metabolism and these healthy fats (such as avocado, nuts or olive oil). These fats trigger a hormone called leptin that curbs or stops the appetite.

Why Am I Always Hungry? Snacks. National institute of Whole Health Article

When any one of many things that can create imbalances or that can override the body’s normal metabolic function occurs, we can short circuit the body’s ability to sustain normal appetite and food consumption. Most commonly these are hormone or neurotransmitter imbalances that create hunger due to the interruption of the normal hunger/hormone chemical.

Stress can play a large role in this condition, as well as excessive or chronic long term carbohydrate intake. Excess carbohydrates can result in both a decrease and an increase in insulin secretion which can then trigger several metabolic problems and syndromes.

If you are experiencing, chronic persistent hunger it is important to consult with your physician. There are many situations that can also contribute to your hunger such as hyperthyroidism, menstrual irregularities, Von Gierke disease, bulimia, Prader-Willi syndrome, diabetes, medications or hypoglycemia.

For more whole health discussions, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama. Also available on iHeartRadio.

A Natural Approach to Resolving Acne

Posted on by

A Natural Approach To Acne by Dr. Georgianna Donadio of National Institute of Whole Health

Parents as well as teenagers know one of the most frustrating events at any age is having facial blemishes and acne. A universally important aspect of a person’s appearance is clear, healthy skin.

Given this, it is little wonder that billions of dollars are spent every year on achieving good skin as well as billions spent on cover-ups and make-up to cancel skin blemishes.
Our skin appearance is important to overall appeal. Our skin tells a story about our internal health and hormone function, both of which are tied into our attractiveness.

In my Whole Health and nutrition practice, assisting adolescents in clearing up their skin problems is one of the conditions we see that responds well to a natural approach to the problem.

By educating on how acne and pimples develop on the skin, this allows for various lifestyle changes that can naturally improve or resolve the skin breakouts. Skin blemishes are related to the production of androgens, which are hormones secreted into the blood stream.

Androgens are potent “chemicals”, specifically hormones. Androgens are secreted into our blood stream. Our liver produces blood plasma proteins, which bind up and inactivate the majority of androgens, so that only a small percent of androgens are free to enter our cells.

In adolescence, the body needs time to adjust to and regulate hormone secretions, and a young body and brain can become physically and even emotionally overwhelmed by the effect of androgens on the cells and on the brain.

Androgens enter hair follicles and sebaceous cells. Once the androgens get inside the cell, a specific enzyme converts the androgens into a more highly active form. The active androgens then enter the nucleus of the cell where it interacts with genetic material. This can lead to highly stimulated oil glands, which creates acne.

Depending upon:

a) the amount of androgens available to enter the cells

b) how well the liver is controlling the active androgens

c) the nutrition of the person and its effect on liver metabolism

d) the amount of waste and/or toxins being re-absorbed into the liver from the bowel environment and importantly – the amount of exercise the adolescent is doing that will utilize the androgens to build and create muscle tissue, thus reducing the amount of androgen that might be absorbed into the cells.

A successful and natural way to clear up adolescent acne is with exercise – vigorous, regular exercise. Within a few weeks, the androgens are utilized to build strong muscle fibers and the skin blemishes can clear up so well it can seem like a miracle!

When someone is taking steroids one of the side effects is significant acne that is seen on the back and the face. When the steroid use is discontinued the acne goes away.

In addition to regular vigorous exercise, healthy eating which includes vegetables and fruits, drinking plenty of water, skin hygiene and proper amounts of sleep all help the body to function well thus supporting the proper regulation of androgens and the resultant healthy, attractive skin.

Adolescence can be a challenging time for our skin, as the body is learning to regulate the hormone secretions that new to our systems. Skin is an external reflection of our internal health. By taking a health hygiene and whole person approach young skin can glow with radiant health and not blemishes.

For more whole health discussions, listen to Dr. Georgianna Donadio’s radio show Living Above The Drama.

How Digestive Function Affects Integrative Nutrition

Posted on by

Digestion Disorder and Nutrition National Institute Of Whole Health Integrative Nutrition Information

The single most reported complaints in all hospital emergency rooms are related to digestive system disorders. The digestive system is the most “stress affected” system in the human body. The American Nutrition Association shares that as many as 70,000,000 suffer from digestive symptoms like diarrhea, gas, bloating and abdominal pain. These symptoms aren’t just uncomfortable, they also disrupt the body’s ability to absorb essential nutrients, leading to a host of diseases.

Wouldn’t it be helpful to understand and educate others on how and why they are suffering from digestive ailments? Let’s looks at this from a whole health perspective.

We all know people who eat organic, whole foods and are meticulous about the quality and quantity of what they put in their body and are sick, tired, plagued with health issues. Then there are others who eat anything and everything, the good, the bad and the ugly and have energy to burn, not a pimple on their entire body and feel great.

Often, what this is the result of the function and efficiency of their individual nervous systems. Those who have an active “sympathetic” nervous system, with the tenth cranial nerve reeking havoc with their alimentary canal, they are the folks that no matter what they eat and how, pure, clean and how much organic foods they consume – they just don’t do well and feel unwell much of the time.

For the individual with a well tuned central nervous system the digestive system can be a culinary playground that accepts all types of nutrients and food stuffs and produces ample nutrition without up set or illness.

What makes one nervous system different from another, one person’s experience different from another? It has more to do with the unconscious personality of an individual than any other single factor, with the exception of the rare congenital or pathological occurrence.

The digestive system has an intimate relationship with other systems including the immune system, reproductive, circulatory and endocrine systems. Improving overall whole health often starts with the digestive system.

For more whole health discussions, listen to Dr. Georgianna Donadio’s radio show Living Above The Drama.

Are Females More Prone To Depression?

Posted on by

It comes as no surprise to most women that there is a relationship between their hormone fluctuation and the potential for experiencing depression. Nonetheless, studies of this connection have not been pursued until fairly recently.

A short time ago, the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) looked at this subject and explored the potential relationship between hormonal dysfunction and depression in women. The published report specifically reviewed how the female reproductive system interacts with the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. This is a major regulatory mechanism of the body's stress response.

With important data showing that women are twice as likely as men to experience depression, it becomes powerful to recognize that it is this mechanism which sets up a biochemical environment for depression. Stress in women impacts the reproductive hormones which can upset patterns of ovulation, hormone secretion and implantation. Mediated through the HP-axis, this upset can contribute to the loss of menses and to infertility.

If the stress becomes chronic and exerts an ongoing imbalance on the female reproductive hormones, then it makes sense that behavior, mood disorders and depression can significantly increase. When the powerful reproductive, love hormone oxytocin is suppressed due to excessive stress hormones, fertilized eggs cannot implant into the uterus. This significant result of chronic stress is believed to be a primary cause of infertility in American women.

A key to preventing or correcting the problem is to create a more balanced, less stressful lifestyle. When our body's stress adaptation system becomes overwhelmed, many disorders and conditions can develop, depression being just one of them.

The NIH investigators reported that regarding postpartum depression, ongoing hyper-secretion of the stress hormone cortisol during pregnancy creates a temporary drop in adrenal function following delivery. This hormonal change coupled with the plummeting levels of estrogen after giving birth may be an important factor in post-partum depression and possibly in immune dysfunctions, such as postpartum thyroid conditions.

 

 

For more whole health discussions like this, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama available on iHeartRadio.

 

The Secret To Reducing Stress: Balancing Life

Posted on by

The Secret To Reducing Stress: A Balanced Life

A statement by the well-known mind/body physician, Herb Benson, M.D. says that 60-90% of all visits to the doctor’s office are due to stress. We all hear about stress, experience stress, but what exactly is stress? Most of us think of stress as the emotional conflicts we experience in our daily lives, but our emotions are just one category or one type of “event” that can cause us to experience stress.

In order for us to survive in our ever-changing environments, our bodies are designed to adapt and it does so through a series of biochemical reactions. These chemical reactions are natural and necessary, but they are the wear and tear of living that we call stress.

Here’s an example I like to share in relations to because it gives a clear vision of this principle. When I was living in New York City, I drove my little stick shift through the stop and go traffic. Imagine the wear and tear (stress) on the clutch.

There are many events that might cause similar stress to our bodies. Some may surprise you.

  • Weather
  • Excess Exertion (such as too much exercise or lack of sleep)
  • Trauma or Injuries
  • Allergies and Immune Insults
  • Infections
  • Reproduction Related Events (monthly cycle, pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, etc.)

While the common nature of these events does not sound encouraging, there is some good news. If we have a stress response that is short term, like when the phone rings and the nurse tells you that your child had been vomiting, our bodies do just fine.

It is the prolonged stress, like anticipating for two whole weeks a root canal or that pesky “annual office evaluation.” That does us in! This extended stress affects our digestive system, immune system, cardiovascular and even reproductive systems. Couple this with poor eating habits or insufficient sleep, and we are not happy campers.

While excessive or chronic stress is definitely not good for our health, we need stress adaptation for survival, so it is actually a very good thing. How this adaptation takes place is by way of specialized hormones from our adrenal glands, located in our kidneys. They change our heart rate, blood pressure, lung capacity, and a host of other functions, for our survival. However, these hormones, if secreted too much or too often can suppress our immune, digestive and reproductive systems and even damage our cardiovascular system. Chronic stress is one very large reason why some of us have fertility problems.

So how can we make friends with stress? The answer is good old moderation. Remember being told “all things in moderation leads to a healthy body.” It is true. We do not have to learn to do anything exotic to reduce stress, we just need to balance our lives and avoid excess.

Nevertheless, there is the rub, given modern life. We are all excessing more and more and moderating less. For a great book on this subject, check out Why Zebras Don’t Have Ulcers by Dr. Robert Sapolsky. It is a very witty and informative book. Laugher, as we know, is “our best medicine.” It is also a great stress reducer.

 

For more whole health discussions like this, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama available on iHeartRadio.