Most of us believe that when we finally leave an intensely stressful situation, life will be so much better in all the ways.
And while it’s true that it’s a relief to not have the original stressors to deal with on a daily or hourly basis, the journey has, in some ways, only just begun.
In any life situation where you’ve experienced the feeling of not knowing when that next stressful moment will occur––whether you’ve been in an abusive relationship of some nature; you’ve been the caretaker for your loved one and have lived day-to-day, waiting for the phone to ring with more test results; or you’ve gone through a contentious divorce with an anxiety-producing legal battle––your nervous system and your entire body has been deeply affected.
Now that the “cause” of your stress has been removed from your life (and perhaps replaced by other emotions like grief, etc.), you’re left to put yourself back together again. And this can be complex and overwhelming to figure out on your own.
When you’ve been living in a cocktail of adrenaline and cortisol, you will likely be left with health concerns and you might not have even connected them to your stressful life situation.
For example, once I was out of my abusive day to day situation, I was exhausted. I spent most of the next two years lying on the couch in my spare time. Following my departure from my abusive situation, my commute was a 15 minute walk through Capitol Hill to my DC office. I had to leave 30 minutes early so that I could lie down before seeing my first client.
After seeking medical help and being told “it was all in my head,” and I needed to relax, I finally found a functional medicine doctor who agreed to do some more detailed blood tests. I learned that my adrenals were scrapping by. Apparently living in a hormonal cocktail of adrenaline and cortisol takes it toll. It’s taken me several years of conscious eating specific to my condition and rest to support my adrenals. A qualified practitioner guided me to regain my energy.
Some people find their hormones are completely out of wack after a chronic stressful situation. Others have elevated symptoms of fibromyalgia or autoimmune diseases or joint pain.
Many people are left with relentless chronic muscle tension or pain. This can show up in many different ways — one might not even think it’s related to muscle tension.
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Common “muscle tension” from stress and anxiety can look like:
Jaw pain or TMJ symptoms
Neck and shoulder pain
Back or pelvis pain
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But other, less obvious muscle-tension issues can show up as headaches or migraines. When the larger and small muscles of your neck and head contract, this can cause issues you might think are unrelated. You might think all you need to do is stretch or have deep pressure in the specific areas of discomfort. Unfortunately this will not give you lasting relief.
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Some people find they have digestive issues, and this can also be related to muscle tension. The parasympathetic nervous system is designed to “rest and digest,” but when we’re chronically stuck in the sympathetic response, “fight or flight,” our digestion isn’t able to function in a healthy way.
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Insomnia can be another result of a dysregulated nervous system. And lack of sleep creates other health concerns.
Most physical issues can be linked back to a nervous system that is not functioning optimally because of chronic stress and anxiety. This is the time we need the most support and it’s also the time we’re least able to think clearly or take action to help ourselves.
But the root cause of the physical symptoms is a dysregulated nervous system that has been in fight flight response for a long period of time. Chronic stress responses, including muscle contraction, have been practiced over and over again.
Of course you want relief, however the most efficient way to relieve multiple symptoms at once is to calm your nervous system at the level of your body.
Please see my blog post “Recovering your mind, body and nervous system” to learn more about how to cover all bases when you get out of the situation and want an efficient plan to help move yourself forward the most efficiently and in a timely way.
Please try this audio recording to calm your stress and anxiety. Even if you don’t have stress, you might find you feel calmer, physically relaxed, and at peace!