Category: Stress Management

Know Your Hormones! #3 Cortisol

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Do you ever get STRESSED OUT?

 

Don’t worry…I do too!

 

When we get stressed out, cortisol is one of the hormones that can help us make it through the day. If you’re thinking: “But that’s every day for me!”,  then you’ll want to watch this short video where I’ll share my TOP 3 tips for balancing your cortisol levels so you can handle stress more effectively.

 

 

 

 

What is cortisol?

 

Cortisol is a hormone made by our adrenal glands (two little triangular shaped organs that sit on top of each kidney – so we have one right and one left adrenal gland). (1)

 

 
What does cortisol do?

 

Our adrenal glands release cortisol to help us deal with long-term stressors like:

  • High-stress jobs
  • Balancing work, home, relationships and all of your other many responsibilities
  • Coping with a loved one’s illness
  • Coping with our own long-standing health concerns like infertility and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

 

 

How does cortisol help us deal with long-term stressors?

 

Cortisol raises our blood sugar by converting fats & proteins into glucose (sugar). (1, 2)

 

Glucose is the preferred fuel of our cells because our cells can convert it to energy very efficiently. And when we’re stressed out, we need lots of energy to fuel our brain to help us make the right decisions and of course to fuel our other vital organs like our hearts, lungs and muscles. (1, 2)

 

 

So what’s the problem?

 

If we are consistently stressed out – day in and day out – our adrenal glands need to make lots of cortisol on a repeated basis. Excess cortisol over time (months & years) can lead to:

(2)

 

On the other end of the spectrum, too little cortisol isn’t good either because it can lead to

  • Difficulty getting out of bed in the morning
  • Inability to handle stress
  • Decreased ability of other hormones to function optimally, including thyroid hormone, estrogen & progesterone

(2)

 

 

So what can we do about this?

 

Saying we need to relieve stress is obvious – but I know the million dollar question is how? The answer will be unique to each person, but my top 3 tips for YOU today are:

 

  1. Eat to balance your blood sugars: If your blood sugar levels drop too low, cortisol is released because the body considers blood sugar levels that are too low (hypoglycemia) to be a stress on the body. Watch last week’s video for some basic nutrition tips to stabilize your blood sugar levels.
  2. Practice relaxation techniques daily: Abdominal breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and positive Self-talk can all be used to help turn off your stress response and turn on your relaxation response.
  3. Physical activity: Find something active you LOVE to do. I know – this may take a while, but keep at it. It doesn’t have to be the typical running or hitting the gym, both of which are great of course, but if these don’t excite you, you won’t be motivated to it. So think outside the box. What about yoga, kickboxing,  dance lessons, rowing, dragon boating or dodgeball (yes, it’s a thing!). The bottom line is to find something you LOVE to do, so it doesn’t feel like you’re being forced to “exercise”. I truly believe there’s something out there for everyone…so start looking!

 

 

Final Thoughts

 

You can’t balance cortisol by getting rid of all of the stress in your life – that would be unrealistic and unnecessary because there’s always going to be stress (and some stress can actually be positive motivators). Instead, by introducing the tips above (start one at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed!), you can help cortisol work smarter not harder – and thus keep it, and your other hormones in better balance.

 

Next week, we’ll be learning about a hormone the women are going to be super interested in – here’s a hint – it’s in charge of our metabolism!

 

References:

  1. Marieb, EN. Essentials of human anatomy & physiology. 11th ed. Boston: Pearson Inc.; 2015.
  2. Bellevue, Shannon Ed. Functional and personalized hormone restoration therapy live event workbook. LP3 Network Inc. 2017.

 

Take good care of your Self until then!

 

 

Wanna become a Self-care warrior? 

Click the button below to join Dr. Odette’s FREE Self-care Warrior e-mail list and you’ll receive her Self-care videos, articles, and inspiration right in your inbox! 

 

YES! I’m ready to take care of my Self!

 

Everyday Detox: Detox Your Mind!

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Hey everyone, for our last Everyday Detox for Hormone Balance Tip I’m going to share with you a quick way to Detox your Mind!

 

That’s right – we are going beyond physical detox and today talking mental-emotional detox! In my experience, it’s just as important for hormonal balance.

 

And I’m talking the need to specifically detox from all of the negative chatter we hear – from ourselves.

 

You know what I’m talking about ladies.

 

Women are notoriously hard on themselves. I know you want to stop being so hard on yourself but I also know: it is not easy. I repeat – it is NOT easy. As a recovering perfectionist (who definitely has her moments of relapse from time to time!), I can tell you from experience that this kind of mind detox from decades-long negative Self-talk takes time, practice & patience.

 

So let’s start right now.

 

 

The easiest way to detox our negative Self-talk is to…

 

Talk to your Self like you’re talking to your best friend. Your BFF, your girl who always has your back.

 

It makes perfect sense and is easier to understand than just telling yourself to be gentle with yourself.

 

Don’t believe me?

 

Think about what happens we make a mistake at work. What do we say to ourselves?

 

I suck.

I’m so stupid.

I’m such a dork.

I can’t do anything right.

 

Would we ever say this to our BFFs? Jokingly maybe – but never seriously. Never with the cruelty or brutality that we all too often use to talk to ourselves.

 

We think they’re just words – but these words repeated over years, over a lifetime – make it so challenging for us as women to believe in ourselves, believe we can do anything, believe we are good enough.

 

So what does positive Self-talk have to do with our hormones?

 

Well, let’s talk specifically about a super-important hormone for the stress response: cortisol.

 

When we’re faced with our long-term daily stressors: work, family, relationships – cortisol is the hormone that is released to help us cope. Ideally, we would experience the stressor, let’s say – a deadline at work, and you freak out a bit. That would lead to a release of cortisol. You would handle the stressor, get through everything okay and cortisol would lower back to normal levels.

 

But think about what happens with our negative Self-talk:

 

You face a deadline at work and freak out a bit so that cortisol is released, but you also tell yourself you’re stupid which leads to more cortisol released. Then you tell yourself there’s no way you’ll make the deadline, which makes you freak out even more and leads to more cortisol being released. And finally ,you tell yourself you’re completely incompetent so even MORE CORTISOL IS RELEASED.

 

In spite of your negative Self-talk, you end up handling the stressor (because you’re a rock star!) but cortisol takes much longer to go back to normal, so it stays at higher levels in your bloodstream than it’s supposed to.

 

What’s wrong with too much cortisol for too long?

 

Excess cortisol can lead to

  • Continued high blood sugar levels which lead to weight gain (around your belly of all places!)
  • Insulin resistance: insulin is the hormone that controls blood sugar, so this adds to weight gain and  can disrupt ovulation in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
  • Suppression of female reproductive hormones (estrogen, progesterone) which can lead to irregular periods, heavy periods, fertility issues, perimenopausal hot flashes
  • Thyroid hormone disruption: thyroid is important for metabolism, energy and healthy weight

 

 

Bottom line:

 

Choosing to detox your mind from negative Self-talk and speak to your Self the way you would your BFF, can improve the way you handle stress more efficiently, balancing your cortisol levels and preventing disruptions in other important hormones in your body.

 

So make sure you try it out this week!

 

Thank you!

 

A huge thank you to all of you who have watched the Everyday Detox series videos. I hope it has helped you work in some healthy habits that can help keep your hormones more balanced on a daily basis.

 

I’ll see you next week when I’ll announce my next month’s video health series.

 

Take good care of your Self until then!

 

 

Wanna become a Self-care warrior? 

Click the button below to join Dr. Odette’s FREE Self-care Warrior e-mail list and you’ll receive her Self-care videos, articles, and inspiration right in your inbox! 

 

YES! I’m ready to take care of my Self!

 

 

 

If you’re ready for one-on-one naturopathic care backed by 15 years of experience helping people start and expand their families, click here or on the button below to get started.

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Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) for the Busy Woman

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If you wake up with tight neck muscles and think you need a new pillow – think again!

 

Well, ok, you may need a new pillow…but you probably also really need a way to relieve the stress that may very well be contributing to those tight neck muscles.

 

Let me introduce you to: progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) – a huge helper for my tight trapezius muscles at the end of the day.

 

I definitely carry stress in my neck area and this technique helps me recognize that…and release it!

 

 

Give it a try and let me know if it helps you identify and reduce some of your daily tension!

 

Thank You!

This video concludes our Everyday Self-care for the Busy Woman Video Series. A very big thank you to all of you who have watched, liked and shared these videos.

 

And an even bigger congratulations to all of you who have been putting these everyday Self-care techniques into practice for your Self! You’re amazing! And these Self-care tips can help you feeling amazing as you continue to take care of everyone else (including your Self now!).

 

If you’re a little late to the party and wondering what you missed, no worries, you can start off with the first Self-care for the Busy Woman video right here.

 

So inspired by all of you amazing women – keep taking good care of your Self!

 

 

Wanna become a Self-care warrior? 

Click the button below to join Dr. Odette’s FREE Self-care Warrior e-mail list and you’ll receive her Self-care videos, articles, and inspiration right in your inbox! 

 

YES! I’m ready to take care of my Self!

 

 

Abdominal Breathing for the Busy Woman

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Sometimes we get so busy that we can’t even catch our breath.

 

At least I know I feel that way some days!

 

If that sounds like you too, watch this short video where I teach you how to do abdominal breathing and why it’s my favourite stress-reliever throughout the day.

 

 

 

It takes a little bit of getting used to it, but the more you practice it, the better you’ll get at it!

 

I think I’ve probably been doing it for over 10 years now, and it always grounds me when I need it.

 

Let me know if it helps you!

 

 

Take good care of your Self until then!

 

 

Wanna become a Self-care warrior? 

Click the button below to join Dr. Odette’s FREE Self-care Warrior e-mail list and you’ll receive her Self-care videos, articles, and inspiration right in your inbox! 

 

YES! I’m ready to take care of my Self!

 

Self-care Challenge: Put Your Self on Your List!

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This week’s everyday Self-care video tip is real talk about the challenges that come with saying a little word – “no”. If you’ve struggled like I have with fear of disappointing others by saying “no” …but know you need to, in order to take care of your Self – this video is for you.

 

https://youtu.be/oIlZhGcOy70

 

I know…

Super easy to say – super hard to do.

But if I can do it – so can you!

 

Take good care of your Self until then!

 

 

Wanna become a Self-care warrior? 

Click the button below to join Dr. Odette’s FREE Self-care Warrior e-mail list and you’ll receive her Self-care videos, articles, and inspiration right in your inbox! 

 

YES! I’m ready to take care of my Self!