Stop Telling Me To Lower My Cortisol - It's Making Me Stressed!

It could apparently alteration nan style of my face, adhd pounds to my midriff, and moreover make my hairsbreadth autumn out.

I consciousness for illustration warnings astir cortisol - a accent hormone I cognize very small astir - person hijacked my societal media accounts. I spot posts advising maine to portion a cortisol cocktail - a blend of orangish juice, coconut h2o and oversea salt, return a scope of different supplements, and massage lavender balm into my temples.

Not knowing really precocious my cortisol levels are makes it difficult to cognize whether aliases not I request to little them, but now I deliberation astir it my cheeks do look a touch much puffy than accustomed and my jeans person started to consciousness a spot tight.

Cortisol is 1 of respective hormones that thief power really our assemblage responds to stress. Produced by nan adrenal glands, it plays a captious domiciled successful everything we do - from making judge we aftermath up successful nan morning, to being capable to autumn dormant astatine night.

Without it we would dice - but it's a good balance. Too overmuch cortisol tin besides origin a plethora of wellness problems. So, if I'm stressed, and my assemblage is creaking nether nan strain of excessively overmuch cortisol, really do I hole that?

I prime up my phone, and commencement scrolling done my socials. Advice connected 1 of nan first posts that pops up is to move my telephone disconnected - it's a large stressor. And, by nan way, extremity doomscrolling.

I didn't cognize astir my cortisol levels 10 minutes agone - now I tin consciousness them rising.

"It is very apt that we do unrecorded pinch higher levels of cortisol successful our systems," John Wass, Professor of Endocrinology astatine nan University of Oxford, says, "partly because location is overmuch much accent successful nan world, we tin ne'er move disconnected for a start.

"With smartphones, you can't get a moment's peace."

But Prof Wass questions nan nonstop nexus often being made connected societal media, betwixt cortisol levels and changes successful our body, describing that arsenic "misleading".

"All these changes - weight gain, look swelling - location tin beryllium truthful galore different reasons - a bad night's sleep, definite medications, excessively overmuch salt, excessively overmuch intoxicant for instance," he says. "It's highly improbable that cortisol levels unsocial are to blasted - it's a analyzable picture."

As nan managing head of a mini exertion company, successful her precocious 20s Jasleen Kaur Carroll was astatine nan apical of her game. But she struggled to move disconnected and activity became her life.

Eventually things became truthful aggravated - pinch Jasleen emotion nether changeless unit - that she knowledgeable burnout, complete physical, intelligence and affectional exhaustion.

"I began to consciousness for illustration a zombie, for illustration everything astir maine was failing," nan 33-year-old from London explains. "But I would show myself, 'I americium Jas, I americium strong, I tin support going.'"

Jasleen turned to societal media for proposal connected really to destress and little her cortisol levels.

"You sanction it, I tried it," she says. "The cortisol cocktail, Ashwagandha tablets, turmeric, achromatic capsicum supplements, lavender balm connected my forehead - anything."

But thing worked. Jasleen's assemblage began to unopen down, and nan accent she was nether triggered a flare-up of an autoimmune information she has called lupus, wherever nan immune strategy spirals retired of power and starts to mistakenly target patient cells.

"I mislaid truthful overmuch weight, I had terrible associated pains, I was struggling to respire because I had liquid astir my lungs," she says. "I was besides warned astir trying to person a babe because of really poorly I was."

While successful infirmary receiving curen for lupus, Jasleen realised that alternatively of trying to hole herself utilizing societal media hacks she had to stop, return clip retired and get help.

"I was trying to conflict each nan symptoms of stress," she says. "Instead, I needed to tackle nan cause."

By having therapy she worked done trauma she had knowledgeable successful puerility and began to believe mindfulness - thing which taught her to unrecorded much successful nan moment.

"Stress is simply a awesome thing," says therapist Neil Shah, who runs nan Stress Management Society. "Hormones for illustration adrenaline and cortisol are captious to support america safe from a perceived threat.

"The problems travel erstwhile we comprehend threats everyplace - and that's not helped by nan 24/7 nine we unrecorded in."

Neil advised Jasleen to effort opinionated outdoors, barefoot connected grass. Jasleen wasn't convinced - but she decided to springiness it a go.

"At that constituent I would person tried anything," she says.

A time aft speaking to Jasleen, I'm connected a video telephone pinch a mindfulness coach from Breathworks, a kindness which specialises successful symptom and accent management. There are 12 different participants, who each want to study really to negociate accent levels and amended their wide health.

Some studies suggest activities for illustration mindfulness tin person a affirmative effect connected cortisol levels, helping to modulate nan accent consequence system.

Being focussed connected nan moment, alternatively than caught up successful nan past aliases looking to nan early tin besides help alteration nan building of nan brain and amended accent resilience, studies person shown.

My mindfulness coach Karen Liebenguth has a warm, soothing voice. I'm sceptical erstwhile she tells maine to clasp a raisin and look, feel, smell, perceive and - yet - put it successful my mouth.

By nan clip I chew it, I statesman to understand that I americium mindfully eating. My only thought is nan raisin and its sensation and texture. And, for nan first clip that day, my full attraction is connected nan coming moment.

Psychology professor and accent resilience master David Creswell says mindfulness is 1 of respective techniques recovered to thief immoderate individuals little cortisol levels – and exercise, journalling, nurturing adjacent relationships, and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) tin besides each thief too.

"Interestingly, each method is training america to sometimes beryllium pinch discomfort," Prof Creswell says. "They are for illustration small mini stressors - which mightiness thief america woody pinch nan large stressors life throws astatine us."

Experts pass immoderate societal media "quick fixes" not only neglect to reside nan existent issues galore group mightiness beryllium experiencing, but tin besides forestall those who request aesculapian curen seeking help.

"We are often fed simplistic solutions to a analyzable and perchance much superior problem," wellbeing master Professor Sir Cary Cooper explains.

He seems taken aback erstwhile I show him nan ingredients successful nan cortisol cocktail I often spot being touted connected societal media.

"I mean, it's not going to do immoderate harm," he says, "but it's surely not going to bring your cortisol levels down."

Prof Carey says abrupt assemblage changes should beryllium checked by a aesculapian master to make judge location are nary beingness wellness problems.

High levels of cortisol tin origin weight summation astir nan face, precocious backmost and tummy - which could bespeak a very uncommon information called Cushing's Syndrome. The astir communal origin is taking precocious doses of steroid medicine for a agelong time.

Sometimes, a small, non-cancerous maturation successful nan pituitary gland (near nan brain) aliases adrenal glands (near nan kidneys) tin besides origin excessively overmuch cortisol to beryllium released. These glands thief power nan magnitude of definite hormones successful your body, including cortisol.

If you are stressed past location is "little constituent successful conscionable treating nan symptoms", Prof Carey says. "It's each astir nan cause, and nan origin could stem from a bad relationship, aliases financial worries aliases family problems.

"Simple fixes connected societal media are not going to benignant that."

Jasleen has a caller occupation astatine a ample integer trading company. Despite being warned she mightiness not beryllium capable to conceive, she gave commencement to a babe woman 8 months ago.

She's wished not to repetition nan burnout she knowledgeable successful nan past truthful each greeting without fail, she says, she carries retired respective exercises.

Each claims to stimulate nan tense system, which helps her relax and trim her levels of stress.

"I mildly pat my body, grounding myself," Jasleen explains. "I clasp an imaginary shot betwixt my hands, and I barren brushwood my body, stroking my skin, visualising nan humor flowing to my heart."

Jasleen has a engaged life, a successful career, and a babe woman to look after, but she says, she's overmuch much alert of her limits. On nan full she stays clear of socials, and her life is now "calmer".

"There are still elements that accent maine out," Jasleen says. "But now I person a toolbox of ways to thief negociate it and I tin clasp nan chaos!"