Understanding Chronic Stress & How to Build Resilience

🌪️ What Is Chronic Stress?

Stress is a normal part of life. Sometimes it helps us — like when we need to act quickly in danger (fight-or-flight response). But when stress lasts too long, it becomes chronic and starts to affect your body, mind, and overall health.
Even stress about things that haven’t happened yet (called perceived stress) can affect your body the same way as real events.

🩺 How Does Chronic Stress Affect Your Body?

Chronic stress can impact nearly every part of your body:
• 🔄 Hormones – Throws off cortisol, thyroid, estrogen, and testosterone.
• 🧠 Brain – Causes memory problems, poor concentration, and structural changes.
• 🛌 Sleep – Makes it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep.
• 🍽️ Gut Health & Appetite – Stress can activate the hormone ghrelin, which increases hunger and cravings — especially for sugary and refined carbohydrate-rich foods. This can lead to overeating and further affect gut health by altering the balance of beneficial bacteria, impairing digestion, and increasing bloating or inflammation.
• ❤️ Heart – Raises blood pressure and increases risk of heart disease.
• 🦴 Bones – Weakens bone density (especially in women after menopause).
• 🤰 Pregnancy – Affects baby’s development and increases miscarriage risk.
• 🧬 Genes – Can alter gene expression, with effects that may pass through generations.

💥 Signs You May Be Burnt Out

• Constant tiredness
• Poor sleep
• Feeling emotionally drained
• Headaches or back pain
• Loss of motivation
• Irritability or sadness

🌿 How to Build Resilience & Protect Your Health

You can’t remove all stress, but you can train your body and mind to cope better.

🥗 Nutrition

• Eat a variety of colorful plant foods (aim for 30 types a week!)
• Add a variety of herbs and spices to your diet
• Include fibre, protein, and fermented foods (yogurt, kefir, kimchi)
• Cut back on sugar, processed foods, and fizzy drinks
• Avoid overeating
• Consider gentle fasting (please do research on this and if you are on blood pressure or diabetic medications you may need to have review sooner or reduce your medication when fasting takes effect )

😴 Sleep

• Aim for at least 7 hours of sleep per night
• Get morning sunlight soon after waking
• Avoid caffeine after 11 a.m.
• Turn off screens 1–2 hours before bed
• Try relaxation techniques like Yoga Nidra or deep breathing

🏃 Movement & Exercise

• Move daily — even a 10-minute walk helps
• Mix strength, cardio, and stretching
• Avoid overtraining (too much exercise can also stress the body)

🧘 Relaxation

• Practice meditation or mindfulness for 10–15 minutes a day
• Try breathing techniques:
-Box breathing (inhale–hold–exhale–hold)
-Physiological sigh (double inhale, slow exhale)
• Relax before meals to support digestion

💓 Tracking Stress: HRV

• HRV (Heart Rate Variability) shows how your body handles stress
• Tools like HeartMath or smartwatches can help
• Higher HRV = better recovery and resilience

🕊️ Spirituality & Connection

• Connect with something greater than yourself (faith, nature, purpose)
• Build meaningful relationships — loneliness is a major stressor
• Talk to someone (friend, therapist, talking therapy) for support

❤️ Final Thoughts

You are not weak for feeling stressed — you’re human.
Building resilience takes time and consistent small steps.
🧘 “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”

🔗 Useful Resources

• 🧠 Huberman Sleep Toolkit (Toolkit for Sleep – Huberman Lab)
• 📘 Why We Sleep – Matthew Walker
• 🎧 Yoga Nidra for Sleep – YouTube (#NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest) with Dr. Andrew Huberman)
• 🧘 Breathing apps: Insight Timer, Breathwrk, Calm
• 💪 (882) The 5 Minute Kitchen Workout – A Step-by-Step Guide – YouTube

⚠️ Disclaimer

This content is provided for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Always seek the advice of a qualified professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, diet, supplements, or lifestyle changes.
Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read here.
External links and resources are provided for convenience and informational purposes; their inclusion does not imply endorsement.  Any costs arising from them, are not the responsibility of the GP Practice.