In our fast-paced world, we encounter stress triggers at almost every turn. Since stress is an inescapable part of life, it helps to form healthy responses to stress-inducing situations so that you can move through them relatively unscathed. Instead of letting stressors overwhelm you and put your health at risk (1), here are some tips for actively avoiding or managing stress.

Know your triggers

Part of learning how to deal with stress is understanding how you respond to it.

This involves being observant of your body’s physical reactions to challenges, the emotions that surface when you’re having a tough time, and the kinds of thoughts that enter your mind when you’re faced with a particularly stressful day.

After you’ve learned to recognise your unique responses to stress, step two is to identify when these sensations, feelings, and thoughts arise.

Seeking medical advice to determine what kinds of situations bring about your stress responses makes it easier to avoid them, or in cases when that’s not possible, to anticipate your reactions in order to better manage them. By becoming more mindful of your stressors, stress reactions are no longer unwanted surprises, but things you can spot from a mile away and adequately prepare for.

Stress triggers

Certain situations may trigger stress9. These include:

Major life events

These may include life-altering events such as a divorce, or death in the family. Even more positive events such as having a wedding, or giving birth may also be causes of stress (9).

Everyday stress

These include situations that occur on an everyday basis, or as part of one's regular responsibilities (9) like work and family life. Finances are also a cause of everyday stress. It was found that 1 in 4 of Australians in the lowest economic bracket experience psychological distress (11).

Traumatic events

These refer to life-threatening situations that can trigger acute stress (9) like being caught up in accidents, natural disasters, or experiencing abuse (10).

Make healthy choices

Stress in itself is more often than not something we cannot fully control. However, how much we allow stress to affect us, the positive or negative attributions we assign to stressful situations, and how quickly we bounce back from stress can somewhat be controlled.

Some of these healthy, stress-busting choices include turning to exercise (as exercise can reduce negative feelings and increase our feelings of overall well-being) (7), eating properly (as whole foods, in contrast to processed foods, have the power to feed parts of our brain that make us more resilient to stress) (6), avoiding alcohol as stress relief (as alcohol can mimic the effects of depressants (5)), or even making adjustments in your social circle (as the people we spend time with can influence the kinds of decisions we make about our health).

Consider custom supplements

Custom supplements, such as daily vitamin packs, can be considered as part of your healthy diet. They can be used as an accompanying factor to complement any lifestyle changes you’ve made to increase your body’s resilience to stress. If you’re looking for personalised vitamins in Australia to pair with healthy living, here’s what you can consider for stress relief:

Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha is a medical herb classified as an adaptogen, a substance that helps the body adapt to stressful conditions. Vitable’s ashwagandha supplement supports the body’s healthy stress response and relieves symptoms of stress.  

Once a stressful situation has passed, having ashwagandha as part of your custom supplements plan can be a great comfort as the herb can reduce symptoms of mild anxiety. The herb can promote quality sleep and reduce the time needed to fall asleep too.

Magnesium

When you’re stressed, your muscles tense up as part of the body’s natural stress response. While tense muscles should relax as stress passes, some people remain in a constant state of muscular tension.

If you are looking for custom supplements for stress that manifests in this way, magnesium may be able to help. Magnesium can support muscle relaxation and reduce the occurrence of muscle stiffness and cramps. More importantly, magnesium can restore energy levels to help you power through stressful situations. Studies (2) have also shown that magnesium, coupled with zinc, has positive effects on academic performance by improving learning and memory.

B complex

The B-vitamin group plays an important role in several bodily processes, including stress management. Vitable’s B Complex supplement harnesses the powerful abilities of each B vitamin to support healthy stress response.

For example, vitamin B1 (3) or thiamine contributes to the structure and function of nerve cells, while vitamin B6 contributes to the synthesis of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates happiness and well-being, and dopamine, one of the “feel-good” hormones. Vitamin  B Complex is a collection of all eight essential B vitamins, so by taking it as one of your customised vitamins, you’re allowing your body to reap all of their stress-fighting benefits.

Calcium Plus

Calcium is mostly associated with maintaining healthy bones and teeth. It also supports nerve conduction. This is an important process where neurons convey information from the brain to different parts of the body. Without the brain and the body's smooth communication, healthy stress responses would be impossible to execute.

Vitamin B12

The nutrient, Vitamin B12, plays an essential role in several brain functions, such as maintaining the protective casing around the neurons and sharpening cognitive abilities (4). If our cognitive abilities—our thinking abilities that allow us to make good decisions, think rationally, and respond to environmental stimuli in a timely manner—are compromised, we could become more susceptible to the effects of stress. Vitamin B12 supports these cognitive abilities, allowing brain functions like learning and information processing to roll out smoothly, especially in high-stress situations when they are more needed.

Ginkgo and Brahmi

Gingko is a medicinal leaf traditionally used in Chinese medicine primarily for memory loss, while brahmi is an Ayurvedic herb known for its connection to cognitive health. When combined together in customised vitamins, you can experience how they reduce the symptoms of stress and enhance the body’s adaptation to stress by reducing symptoms of mild anxiety and promoting adaptogenic effects (8). Vitable combines the potencies of  Ginkgo and Brahmi to give you the best of both in the most convenient form.

Vitamins and supplements contain essential nutrients. Without them, we are unable to make new cells, repair damaged tissue, or convert food to energy.

Vitable Australia offers a top-notch daily vitamin subscription package that allows you to mix and match to create your own customised vitamins. We make sure to tailor-fit our vitamins based on your unique needs and goals. If you’re looking for custom supplements complete with vitamin delivery in Australia, look through our selection and get your nutrition fix today.

Find out more about other areas that the above supplements can help you with:

Ashwagandha | Magnesium | B complex | Calcium Plus | Vitamin B12 | Ginkgo Brahmi

*Always read the label. Follow the directions for use. If symptoms persist, talk to your health professional. Vitamin and/or mineral supplements should not replace a balanced diet.

References:

1. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037 Accessed September 18, 2021
2. National Institutes of Health. (2011). The role of magnesium therapy in learning and memory. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507270/ Accessed September 18, 2021
3. National Institutes of Health. (2016). B Vitamins and the Brain: Mechanisms, Dose and Efficacy -  A Review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4772032/ Accessed September 18, 2021
4. Mayo Clinic. Vitamin B-12 Overview.  https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitamin-b12/art-20363663 Accessed September 18, 2021
5. Addiction Center (2021). Is Alcohol a Depressant? https://www.addictioncenter.com/alcohol/is-alcohol-a-depressant/ Accessed September 23, 2021.
6. Cleveland Clinic. (2021). Eat These Foods to Reduce Stress and Anxiety. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/eat-these-foods-to-reduce-stress-and-anxiety/ Accessed September 23, 2021.
7. Mayo Clinic. n.d. Stress Management. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/exercise-and-stress/art-20044469 Accessed September 23, 2021.
8. Vitable. Ginkgo & Brahmi. Vitable. Published (n.d.) on https://research.vitable.com.au/ginkgo-brahmi. Accessed September 26, 2021.
9. HealthDirect. Causes of Stress. HealthDirect. Last reviewed September 2019 on https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/causes-of-stress. Accessed September 26, 2021.
10. Office on Women's Health. "Stress and your health". Office on Women's Health. Last updated March 2019 on https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/good-mental-health/stress-and-your-health. Accessed September 26, 2021.
11. Isaacs, A., et. al., Lower Income Levels in Australia Are Strongly Associated With Elevated Psychological Distress: Implications for Healthcare and Other Policy Areas. National Institues of Health: US National Library of Medicine. Published October 2018 on https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6213368/. Accessed September 26, 2021.