Understanding Stress

Most everyone is under some degree of stress. At times the levels of excess stress can seem overpowering and the result is often anxiety, depression and panic. Even though most people have experienced excess stress to some degree, very few of us really understand what stress is and what it can do to the mind and body. As both a clinical psychologist and biochemist, I have had many years of dealing with clients suffering from excess stress and I have found that the best way to manage stress is from the mental or behavioral approach as well as combining nutritional support for the central nervous system and the adrenal glands. Our program offers both approaches. We have developed a targeted nutrition formula specifically to meet the body's needs during stressful times. It is called Stress-Eze. Stress-Eze has been developed to address both the central nervous system as well as providing adrenal support. Through this dual approach Stress-Eze becomes the ideal formula for the management of a variety of stress related concerns. Everyone has some stress; in fact stress to a certain extent is healthy, but when the level of stress exceeds what you feel you can handle then emotional and physical damage can result. The amount of stress each person can handle varies from person to person. The ability to handle or manage stress is determined by many factors including physical health, mental health, upbringing, attitude and ones ability to de-stress through methods such as relaxation, meditation, nutrition, diet, exercise, diversion, hobbies, and other fun activities to balance the stressful times.

Stress Response Cycle

When we experience a stressful moment, our bodies go into what is often called the 'fight or flight' syndrome. This is a cycle of biochemical reactions that are designed to prepare the body and brain to either fight or defend itself or to run for safety. In either case, the body needs to be able to perform at its peak if a positive outcome to be expected. The problem is that when the human body first developed these physiological reactions to a stressful or dangerous situation, these dangers were frequent and all too real. Today, in our society, most of the physical dangers have been eliminated. The stressors of today are emotional or mental as opposed to physical. In spite of these differences, the reaction to these stressful situations produces the same results and over time can lead to anxiety, panic attacks and depression. The link between stress and depression is clear and our goal should be to learn to manage stress emotionally as well as bio-chemically through nutrition, before it reaches dangerous levels. Stress can come from many sources such as job stress, student stress, financial or economic stress, lack of sleep or rest and therefore stress reduction through proven stress management techniques becomes essential. Since much of the stress in our lives today doesn't really produce a need for physical response, the stress response cycle often fires at the 'false alarm'. Since we don't react physically, in most cases to stressors, the powerful chemicals secreted by the adrenal glands exercise a dramatic effect on the entire body. When these chemicals are not used as in physical action, they can have detrimental effects on the body, over time exhausting the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands produce a variety of hormones, the most common of which are the stress hormones. Over time, the adrenal glands can become exhausted and lose their ability to properly regulate hormone production. The result of excess stress and adrenal exhaustion is anxiety, depression and especially panic attacks. As the adrenal glands continue to be over-worked, they increase the production of many hormones. One of those hormones is cortisol. Others are the adrenalin group, which is responsible for the anxiety and eventual depression associated with prolonged stress. The best way to deal with adrenal exhaustion is with specific dietary supplements that provide both support and nourishment to these over-worked glands. Nutrients such as the B complex, glandular extracts, vitamin C and key trace minerals are very helpful when provided in the right ratios to each other. In combination, they can support both the central nervous system and the adrenal glands. Once this has been accomplished, the adrenal glands stop over-producing powerful stress hormones and the anxiety and depression associated with un-manageable stress subsides. The formula we use with our clients at our Centers is called Stress-Eze.

Signs of Excess Stress

There are many signs that your body is under more stress than it can handle. These signs can come from many categories ranging from physical to emotional. Let's look as the many symptoms of stress and see how many may apply to you. Feelings associated with excess stress include feeling anxious, scared, irritable, moody or depressed. Thoughts associated with excess stress include low self-esteem, fear of failure, worry, forgetfulness and an inability to focus or concentrate; this is where Stress-Eze can play an important role. Also physical signs of excess stress would include excessive perspiration, sweaty hands, increased heart beat, trembling, nervous ticks, urinating excessively, sleeping disorders, fatigue, dryness of the mouth, susceptibility to illnesses, headaches, changes in appetite and butterflies in the stomach.

Stress and Weight Management

We mentioned earlier what happens when the adrenal glands become exhausted through over-stimulation of the stress response cycle. One of the hormones that is often produced in excess is called cortisol. Excess cortisol production results in the gaining of weight, especially around the mid-section. Once the weight is there, continual cortisol production can prevent or greatly retard weight loss. How can we control the cortisol problem? Stress-Eze has proven to control and prevent cortisol production. You may have seen the ads for products that claim to help eliminate and reduce the effects of excess cortisol and they may be fine as far as they go, but they will do nothing to get at the cause of your stress problem and nourish your adrenal glands. We have found that a B complex nutrient called Pantothenic acid, in the right potencies, can support and nourish the adrenal glands to the extent that they will not produce excess cortisol in the first place. This means that if you carry excess weight, especially around your mid-section, you will be able to lose it much easier! We have found that our stress nutrient formula has helped many thousands of people to lose weight easier. There are many forms of stress. There is the all too familiar mental or emotional stress and there is physical stress as well. This can come from a variety of sources, but one of the most common ongoing sources of physical stress is the industrialized diet. Stress and the diet connection are well documented. The diet of refined sugars and starches places tremendous physical stress on the endocrine system of the body. Over time, this type of diet can depress adrenal function as well as our natural immunity. The industrialized diet not only leads to physical stress, but also has been linked to many chronic degenerative diseases. Improve your diet and reduce your stress by adding our stress formula, available from Phoenix Nutritionals.

Sleep and Rest in Stress

We don't often think about sleep but it's really important a lack of sleep is one of the greatest physical stressors you can place upon your body. Sleep deprivation contributes to irritability, anxiety, depression and many other stress and sleep disorders. The more stress your body is under the more your sleep and sleep patterns will be disturbed. This can quickly become a dangerous wheel with a lack of sleep feeding your stress levels and the added stress continuing to disturb your sleep and the amount of rest you get. Some of the stress relief techniques we will discuss will also address how to get a better night sleep. Those who have used Stress-Eze have reported better sleep patterns as well.

Anti-anxiety and Anti-depressant Drugs

Anxiety and depression drugs are the most prescribe medications in the world. This tells us that millions of people have problems with the stress in their lives and the complications such as anxiety, mood swings, low self-esteem, depression and panic attacks that can develop as a result. We take Xanax and Wellbutrin as examples, to manage anxiety and depression, but Xanax and Wellbutrin and many others like them offer temporary relief and may be beneficial for the short-term. What we need to keep in mind of course is that Xanax, Wellbutrin and others drugs in these categories provide their benefit not without side effects. In addition to the potential side effects, most of these drugs are highly habit forming and can be very difficult to stop. With our natural Stress-Eze formula there are no side effects whatsoever. Yet, there is certainly a place for these drugs in acute stressful situations, but very few people find increased self-esteem from one of these medications.

As a biochemist, I always look for the role that nutrition plays in helping to rebalance the internal chemistry of the body. The role that nutrition plays in stress management is enormous. In real life, clinical situations, I have seen mega doses of key supplements completely arrest anxiety and panic attacks as effectively as Xanax or Wellbutrin. A good stress supplement must provide a broad spectrum of vitamins, glandular extracts and other supportive nutrients in order to do the best job. Not all stress supplements are the same. For example, in order for a stress supplement to be most effective, it must provide all the known nutrients for support of the central nervous system as well as the adrenal glands. The stress formula we developed here at The Institute of Nutritional Science has been used in many of the leading alternative hospitals and clinics around the world. When you have excess stress from any source such as financial stress, job stress, student stress, you must consider a targeted stress support formula as part of your overall stress reduction program. Coping with stress can be difficult, especially if it is coming from several sources at once. The link between stress and your health is real. Stress relief products, when formulated correctly can make a real difference in how your body handles stress and if you have been trying to shed those extra pounds, remember stress and weight loss don't mix very well. A good stress supplement may not only help you to achieve greater stress relief, but stress reduction can also help you to lose excess weight. The formula we have developed and tested on thousands of people, called Stress-Eze, meets these demands. Stress reduction can be approached from many angles. Relaxation techniques that include meditation, visualization and breathing have proven very effective. We have found that the first step in coping with stress is to try and eliminate as much stress as possible. When the symptoms of stress become too much, choosing to not take on more than you can handle is important. Eliminating stress begins by saying no to things that will overload you. Coping skills for stress management continue by taking time out to relax. Just a few minutes for meditation, deep breathing, and visualization a few times per day can work wonders for reducing overall stress load. Since the symptoms of stress can be many, we must be on the lookout for varying signs of excess stress. Keep in mind that not all people will experience or manifest stress in the same way. Eliminating stress must include stress relief products that can support both the central nervous system and the adrenal gland function. There have been many stress tests developed by major universities and research centers. These stress tests can be useful in determining the level and extent of the stress in each person's daily life. Stress tests however won't solve the problem, but may be a source of enlightenment concerning stress relief. Eliminating stress can take time. It is not easy to learn to practice meditation, breathing and visualization techniques so it is wise to supplement these practices with a good stress supplement. Stress relief techniques are many, but after over 30 years of experience with many thousands of people, I can assure you that using a stress support supplement can make a world of difference. Stress-Eze is one of our best selling formulas and one we use with a great percentage of our clients.