Stress: The Thief of Sex Hormones

Stress is a big contender wreaking havoc on your hormones.  Let’s get a little bit of understanding about stress hormones.  

Stress Hormones: Adrenaline, Cortisol, Nora-epinephrine 

Linked to the stress hormones is the nervous system response: Fight or flight aka Symptathetic and Rest and Digest aka Parasympathetic.  

It is the Fight or flight response we are concerned with when talking about stress hormones.  Namely the first two, Adrenaline and Cortisol. These are the hormones released when  confronting the tiger. However, in our lives today, the tiger is work, traffic, kids, crazy  schedules, fighting against the ebbs in our lives, fighting with family members or your spouse,  bills, etc…! 

Adrenaline is responsible for the immediate reaction you have to stress, increasing your heart rate, elevating your blood pressure and boosting your energy supplies so you can get the heck out of dodge! 

Noraephinephrine works in a similar way to Adrenaline, however, it’s job is to shunt blood flow away from areas we might not need in an emergency situation, one being your reproductive organs.  

Cortisol which is the primary stress hormone and takes longer than the other two for you to feel the effects of, increases glucose (sugar) in the blood stream, helps to maintain fluid balance  and blood pressure. It is all about survival in the moment so another thing that cortisol does is regulate body functions that aren’t crucial in the moment such as, sex drive, immunity,  digestion and growth.  

Imagine now that you are in a constant state of fight or flight as opposed to rest and digest. When you are stressed out, what happens to your digestion? Maybe you don’t feel hungry. Maybe you have an upset stomach or IBS. How is your libido? Feel like  getting it on much? Probably not! Oh and what about your immune system? Feel like you are constantly tired or coming down with something? We see this all the time with people we know  and quite possibly ourselves.  

What happens when we have been in a chronic state of fight or flight for years? Do we have an  infinite supply of cortisol? Well, no, however, it has kept us alive since the beginning of time and so our bodies have learned to make more of it. How so? By stealing Prengnenolone, a precursor to sex hormones. Remember survival is number one priority not reproduction.  However, if you are low on one or more of the sex hormones, they do not have the ability to steal from cortisol to make more estrogen, progesterone or testosterone for example.  This is why it is absolutely essential that you start to prioritize yourself and manage your stress. 

Stress is a stealer of quality of life, reproductive health,  immunity, and overall wellbeing. It is the number one cause of health issues in our lives today and yet so many brush stress reduction aside as if it’s such a small silly thing that we just have to live with. I see women in my office living the most stressful lives in the name of having a huge mortgage, staying in an unhealthy relationship, or working in a job that they don’t love because it has good benefits. Great! Your gonna need those benefits if you continue on this road.  

I ask you now to take this lesson very seriously! Look at your life. Is there too much on your plate? What can you remove? How much of your life is doing what you feel you must as opposed to doing things you love? The choice is yours. It truly is. Believe me! I live it everyday!  You MUST prioritize yourself above all else or you will have absolutely nothing left to give.  

Doing what you love every day and removing things that do not bring you joy can absolutely change your life. What is holding you back? Fear? Fear is at the root of all things that we hold ourselves back from. Sure, venturing off to do what you truly love with no guarantee is scary as hell but so is staying in a life that is not fulfilling. That is even scarier if you ask me.  

While you are figuring out what it is you love and how to make it a part of your life on a regular basis, there are many ways to manage your stress. The reality is life can be stressful no matter what at times. It is important to have some tools in your tool box.

Stress Management Tools:

☀️Practice Mindfulness: Be aware of your surroundings and be open to learning new things about your environment and those who you interact with on a daily basis.

☀️Find things to be grateful for every day. If you are struggling with that, look for even the smallest of things. Like a cup of tea or a walk in the sun.

☀️Move your body daily in some way. A 30 minute walk, a mini yoga session, a bike ride.

☀️Prioritize your sleep. This is so so important I should’ve put it first. Get a good 8 hours sleep. Take a supplements if you are having issues falling or staying asleep. Have a cup of honey lavender tea, 500 mgs of Magnesium Gycinate before bed and a hot Epsom salt bath. Turn your phone off and keep it out of your room.

☀️Schedule an Acupuncture Appointment! Acupuncture helps to calm your nervous system helping your body get out of fight or flight and back into rest and digest. Make it a regular part of your stress management routine.  

We will always have stressful episodes in our lives but it is essential to our wellbeing to manage it as best as we can so that it doesn’t affect our health. When we are feeling stressed more often than not, it is definitely time to address it.

 Learn more about how to manage your stress and balance your hormones in my 12 week self paced course In The Flow.