Stress often adds a range of physical symptoms to its load, as it if wasn’t bad enough that you were on a tight deadline now its adding its own load of odd stomach problems, headaches, muscle aches and pains and insomnia! Or you get to sleep and you can’t stay asleep waking up at 2am thinking about everything you need to do tomorrow.

Where do all these physical symptoms come from? First up think about your breathing. Typically when you are stressed you breathe from the top of your chest and you really don’t get enough oxygen where it’s needed. Blood flow to some areas is reduced by up to 75%.  Muscles and joints tighten up and you start feeling cramps, plus aches and pains. Notice how when you are stressed your shoulders start to head up towards your ears. Sit up, let your shoulders soften and take a few deep breaths with your hand on your belly. Notice the difference. If you are feeling really overwhelmed try doing the breathing with one hand on your forehead it may help calm the brain as well.

Then there are all the stomach problems, you are either going to the bathroom too often or not at all. The same neurotransmitters that are in our head are also well represented in our stomachs (approx 70%). Not surprisingly when we are running on adrenaline or cortisol is staying high our stomachs start to act out.

If stomach problems are your dominant symptom and you weren’t feeling stressed before they started then there may well be other causes. Often Irritable Bowel type symptoms can be related to an earlier infection with a parasite, anything from giardia to blastocyst hominis. If you had a bad gastro type infection and have never really been the same since,  its well worth getting a 3 day parasitology done to check what it really happening. Try and do it during a period when symptoms are bad as frequently these bugs are cyclical.

Managing stressors will help you with all the physical symptoms as well. Make sure your diet is well balanced, favouring small amounts of good quality protein and lots of vegetables. In addition think about adding a good quality magnesium with between 400-800mg a day, particularly if you are getting cramps and having trouble sleeping or staying asleep. Consider getting some supportive physical therapy such as massage or osteopathy to help keep your shoulders where they belong.