How to Improve Gut Health Issues Caused by Anxiety, Depression, and Stress Pt. 3
I usually start my posts with, “If you’re short on time, feel free to only read the bold font.” There will be a lot of bold words this time because there are so many important topics here.
Managing gut health, anxiety, and depression requires a multifaceted approach. So far, we’ve discussed stress management and work-life balance. In part 3, we’ll talk about soothing your nervous system.
Due to anxiety and life stresses, your nervous system can be overloaded. Even if you don’t have anxiety or feel stressed, your body is constantly assessing and reacting to what’s going on in its environment.
For example, let’s say you get a calendar invite from your boss for an unplanned one-on-one meeting. There’s a good chance that your fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response will kick in. It doesn’t mean you will hyperventilate or start pacing back and forth. An activated response could look as subtle as having trouble focusing until the meeting ends.
These fight, flight, freeze, or fawn responses might happen more than you realize. You may be used to how you respond in certain situations, so you don’t think twice about your reaction. Your response to certain situations is also probably typical. However, that doesn’t mean you or your nervous system aren’t stressed. It just means that you don’t feel stressed. Let’s look at another quick example.
Let's take the case of a minor parking lot incident where you didn’t feel the impact of the other vehicle. Just because you didn’t feel it doesn’t mean that your side mirror didn’t get knocked off. Our bodies are the same way. We may not feel stressed (for a variety of reasons). But it doesn’t mean chronic stress will not show up as a cold, pain, inflammation, etc.
Stress is silent and sneaky. You may be used to having back pain at 30. Is it because you sit down at a desk all day? Sure. Is it exacerbated by being chronically stressed? It’s certainly likely.
You can combat some anxiety and stress symptoms by regularly engaging in activities that calm your nervous system. Regularity is vital, but regularity means different things to different people. For some, regular practice means daily. For others, regular is at least once/week. Without further ado, here are some things you can do to manage stress and anxiety.
Activities That Soothe Our Nervous System
“Acupuncture
Nature therapy
Breathwork
Get a massage
Take a hot bath
Put on relaxing music
Cuddle a human/pet
Do absolutely nothing
Aromatherapy
Listening to birds
Gardening
Sunshine exposure
Sauna
Feet on the earth
Hug a loved one” (1)
Source:
1. HYNS Team. 43 techniques to activate your parasympathetic nervous system and lower stress [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 Jul 31]. Available from: https://healyournervoussystem.com/45-techniques-to-activate-your-parasympathetic-nervous-system-and-lower-stress/
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