Stress in Women – the What, Why and How to Manage It (especially in the festive season)

The Festive Season is almost upon us and so begins the scramble to get the right presents for family and friends, the food organised, travel plans arranged. On top of that there are often worries about family dynamics, elderly parents who can no longer travel and if you’re going to be hosting gatherings, the expense is significant.

 For many women, it is really stressful. Whether you’ve got small children and are caught up in the school/nursery whirl of events and activities (I remember now with fondness sitting through endless Christmas musical events with children variously scratching out a tune on a violin or torturing a wind instrument) or trying to corral older kids into deciding where they’ll be and when, or beyond all of that working out how to manage a deluge of visitors.

 Stress manifests in the body in various ways, it triggers your fight or flight response which is brilliant if you’re confronted by an immediate threatening event but less good if it's constant. The hypothalamus, a gland in the brain which links the endocrine system and the nervous system, sets off an alarm signaling the adrenal glands to release amongst other things, adrenaline and cortisol. From this flows a cascade of changes in the body – the heart beats faster, blood pressure rises, breathing becomes shallow. Cortisol increases the glucose in the bloodstream for energy. It is intended to prepare for short term readiness to engage or flee. It also affects the immune system, suppresses the reproductive and digestive systems – essentially the body overrules anything that would hinder the ability to fight or flee.

 However, if stress is continuous, instead of returning to normal levels, the fight or flight response remains active and the body and mind can become significantly affected leading to anxiety, depression, on-going digestive issues, headaches, sleep problems, brain fog and a whole host of other problems.

 What’s interesting is how stress affects peri-menopausal and menopausal women in particular. As your ovaries produce less oestrogen, the adrenal glands, which were the secondary producer of sex hormones, become the primary producer, making oestrone which is a very much weaker, but very important, form of oestrogen. We depend on this form of oestrogen and small amounts of testosterone and tiny amounts of progesterone from the adrenals to gently balance our hormones and help minimise the symptoms of peri menopause.

 The adrenal glands also need progesterone to create cortisol which is one of the stress hormones, so high levels of continuing stress depletes the tiny amounts of progesterone we produce making the oestrogen more dominant which in turn affects the thyroid gland.

 Unfortunately, when you are in a constant state of flight or flight the body over-rides normal production and balance of hormones because it deems survival more important, so it boosts cortisol, depletes the minimal amounts of progesterone produced, pumps out adrenaline, allows oestrogen to dominate which in combination, slows down the action of the thyroid. This imbalance causes more prominent menopausal symptoms, particularly sleep disturbance, hot flushes, anxiety, mood swings, headaches, weight gain, loss of libido and brain fog.

 Periods of prolonged stress such as the run up to the festive season can actually make all your menopausal symptoms worse because frequent surges of stress in response to daily events trigger the fight or flight response and further unbalance the release of supportive hormones. This can so easily lead to a downward spiral. The response, especially at this time of year can be sugary treats for a quick burst of energy, alcohol for a festive mood enhancement and flopping in a chair in front of the telly to try and relax.

 So today is December 4^th, there are 21 days to Christmas, so now is the day to begin to prepare yourself so you are in the best shape you can possibly be to enjoy the festivities. Managing your stress levels is critically important so here are my top tips:

• Sleep – create a sleep ritual just as you did with your kids when they were little! Drink something calming – our Wildflower Tea contains Chamomile as well as Oats to calm the nervous system and Sage, Rose and Red Clover to cool and calm hot flushes. Have a warm (not over hot) bath with Bath Salts that contain Epsom salts because the Magnesium helps with sleep. Turn off your phone or leave it downstairs. Make sure your bedroom is dark, it encourages the production of melatonin which is the hormone that regulates our circadian rhythm which helps you to drift off to sleep. If you wake at 3am and start churning over worries, tell yourself that you are catastrophising and you won’t solve anything. Apply something soothing like our Calm & Tranquil Balm to your temples and a little dot on your nose and let the scent soothe you back to sleep.

• Drinking – drink water. Hydration is really important, if you don’t like cold water, add a little warm from the kettle. If you’re not hydrated, nothing works well. Try not to drink too much alcohol – it disrupts the neurotransmitters in the brain. Initially it gives a boost to serotonin and dopamine so you feel temporarily good but quickly it causes anxiety, low mood and a host of physical symptoms. There are some really good non-alcs available now. We make Wild Eve with nervine and adaptogenic herbs specifically to make you feel good and increase resilience to stress but there are also plenty of good alternatives.

• Food - when stressed, people often choose a quick pick me up, it’s fast, often sweet, over processed and readily available but although in the moment it feels great, shortly after, when your energy crashes it’s not. Sugary carbs are so delicious and in moderation they’re fine but if you can build in good eating to your day, you’ll feel so much better, it will stop the highs and lows of energy. It’s often said that menopausal women spend half the day wondering how to stay awake and half the night trying to sleep. The right diet helps a lot.

The time you eat is really important – a good breakfast is key to a good day not spent picking and craving. Eat protein for breakfast, eggs, meat, Greek yogurt, nuts, pulses are all really good. Stop for lunch – don’t eat on the hoof. Sit down, away from screens and eat mindfully. Try and eat your dinner early, by about 7.30pm and then stop eating – giving your body a decent fast through the evening and night helps metabolic health so reduces insulin resistance, improves cardiovascular health and low energy.

As a rule of thumb women (and particularly menopausal women) need 40% veg, 10% fruit, 10% healthy fats, 10% grains and 25% protein rich food. Try to eat the rainbow – the more colour on your plate the better. Look for phytoestrogens which have an oestrogen modulating effect on the body.

• Exercise – moving is great for alleviating stress. I’m not talking about a gym membership or running a marathon but instead just walk. Get off the bus one stop further away from home, walk to the end of the road and back, walk round your garden, walk to the shops. Whatever. Just get up and move a little more each day. Walking releases endorphins so you feel better, your mood lifts, resilience to stress improves. It’s an absolute win win. As little as 5 minutes walking will begin to effect change and improve mental and physical health.

 To try and help as much as we can, every month we offer a product that we think will help with a particular challenge. This month, December, our free gift for orders over £100 is a full size pot of Calm & Tranquil Balm. Just add the word calm (all lower case) into the checkout and we’ll do the rest. It’s such a lovely balm, simply apply to temples and pulse points to calm anxiety and invite peace or if you’re feeling really distressed, put a little on the palm of your hand, rub your hands together, cup over nose and mouth then breathe in and out slowing your breath gradually until the panic passes. Alternatively drop a ½ tsp into a warm bath and relax for 15 minutes (be careful getting out!)