Supporting Anxiety & Reducing Chronic Stress
Note: This post is specifically exploring higher anxiety levels currently found in women. This does not mean I think men don’t experience anxiety or don’t have their own sets of pressures and expectations. I’m simply exploring what recent studies are showing, my personal experience with this, and how to generally support stress and anxiety levels.
We hear the terms “stress” and “anxiety” so often these days that I worry we are either becoming numb to them or we carry them as badges of honor. Like somehow the more stressed or anxious we are about something, the more successful that makes us? It’s easy to get caught up in this mentality. However, constant stress or worry can impact our GI tract, heart health, hormones, nerve signals, and more.
Anxiety is found across the globe. While cases vary across cultures, it is everywhere and among all genders. Almost 20% of the US adult population experiences some form of anxiety. Studies show that in most cases, women are twice, sometimes three, four, or even five times more likely to experience it than men. It’s easy to shrug off feeling stressed or anxious as something irrelevant or unimportant, but it should be taken seriously and supported appropriately.
What is Anxiety?
According to the American Psychological Association, anxiety is defined as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure.” It goes on to differentiate anxiety as future worry and longer lasting, whereas fear is for something currently happening in the present and is short-lived.
If you’re unfamiliar with what anxiety can feel like, it varies. Sometimes it might be sweating and a constant feeling of nervousness. It might be worrying about something coming up in the future (a future trip, presentation, doctor’s appointment, you name it). And it can manifest itself physically as a tightness in your chest and/or shortness of breath. After an anxious episode, you may feel especially tired or worn down. Anxiety manifests itself in different ways for different people.
One common experience is the “anxiety train” or “spiraling.” This is when you are anxious about one thing, and your brain starts worrying about everything else. It’s announcing “all aboard” to any other nervous thoughts you may have. This is a natural and common phenomenon of your brain, but if you can recognize it for what it is, you can sometimes stop it before it becomes too unproductive.
Prevalence in Women
While anxiety does appear across genders, recent studies show a higher prevalence in women. However, studies are lacking in determining how gender affects the onset, duration, and other co-morbidities (i.e., depression, addiction). I am not a psychologist so I’m not going to dive any deeper into that, but as a holistic practitioner, I find the general prevalence interesting and the repercussions troubling.
Many theories point to the mental load many women carry these days as a cause for increased anxiety. Much of it is around running a household, and is sometimes referred to as the “invisible load.” This includes things like:
Keeping the fridge stocked;
Scheduling doctors appointments;
Bringing animals to the vet;
Returning library books (ideally on time);
Packing lunches & getting a healthy dinner on the table;
Rotating kids’ toys & books;
RSVP-ing to a child’s birthday, buying a gift and going to the party;
Wiping down the toilet bowls (at least once in a while!);
Doing the laundry (and putting it away);
Not running out of toilet paper;
Inventorying & purchasing appropriate seasonal clothes for the kids;
Signing up for snack helper or other volunteer positions in our kids’ classrooms;
Making sure there’s always toothpaste and extra cold medicine at the ready.
The list goes on. And if this isn’t enough, this might be on top of working a paid job with its own expectations and responsibilities. Or, if a woman is exclusively a stay-at-home mom, the financial burden this often puts on a family or the stress of re-entering the workforce after time off can also influence anxiety. It sometimes feels like a lose-lose situation.
Outside of motherhood, there are general societal and cultural pressures on women that feed into anxious thoughts; these range from physical appearance to pay discrepancies. So while the studies are disappointing, the results really aren’t that surprising.
Complications of Anxiety & Long-Term Stress
Our built-in stress response is a mechanism meant to keep us safe and alive. When working appropriately, it’s a pretty cool mechanism to have. The problem comes when we are in a constant state of anxiety or stress, which ends up negatively impacting both our minds & bodies.
When we are stressed or anxious, our sympathetic nervous system revs up. This is known as our “fight or flight” response. Our body starts releasing stress hormones, namely cortisol and epinephrine, which signal the body to slow down non-essential functions for survival, as well as increase other functions in response to some perceived risk. This includes slowing digestion, increasing heart rate & breathing, and releasing glucose for energy. This is all great if we’re running from a bear, but it’s not great to be in this state indefinitely.
When we experience chronic stress or anxiety and never allow our bodies to rest and recover, it begins to have a detrimental effect on the body as a whole. Chronic, elevated levels of cortisol can:
raise blood pressure
make anxiety & depression worse
create digestive issues
cause headaches & muscle tension
increase risk of heart disease
impair memory & concentration
cause weight gain
affect sleep
As you can see, chronic stress and anxiety can affect various bodily systems. And as you can imagine, they then have a cascade effect on other bodily functions. Therefore, it’s imperative to adopt healthy practices that reduce stress and anxiety and bring those stress hormones back to normal.
Supporting Anxiety & Stress Levels
As a holistic nutritionist, I focus on food and strongly believe in food as medicine. However, I also consider physical movement, support systems, sleep patterns, and rest, and explore the root causes of stress and anxiety.
It’s important to focus on rest, relaxation and sleep when feeling stressed or anxious. We must get our body’s parasympathetic nervous system to take over, which will allow our body to “rest and digest.” A tremendous amount of healing takes place when we sleep. Think about it: when we’re sick, how much does a good night’s sleep help us feel the next day? Sometimes it’s all we need to kick a cold. When dealing with chronic stress or anxiety, sleep is equally important. To promote a good night’s sleep, it’s helpful to adopt a bedtime routine. This prepares the mind for sleep and helps us fall asleep faster and sleep sounder.
Vitamin C is a key nutrient in supporting our stress response as well. When we are stressed and our adrenals are working full tilt, they are sucking vitamin C out of our system. It’s important to replenish this by consuming foods like citrus, bell peppers, kiwi, strawberries and broccoli.
Adequate protein is also really important, as cortisol usually breaks down muscle to provide the body with energy. Because the human body is mostly protein, you must replenish this from your diet.
Finally, adaptogens can be helpful in supporting your adrenal glands, anxiety levels and overall stress response. Herbs such as ashwagandha and Rhodiola are both good options that are readily available as tea. Chamomile and ginger can also be soothing, and ginger especially can help GI upset.
If you are looking for support as you navigate stress or anxiety or are recovering from a stressful or anxious event, please contact me and we can work together to put a specialized plan in place for you.