My Stress Rescue: How to feed adrenals under pressure

It's been a pressure cooker around here, and I am not referring to the weather. My thesis (and my mood that's gone with it), family crises, illness, several sets of guests, and more have conspired to make me one crabby hunter-gatherer. I don't always cope well with stress, so I wanted to share some of my rescues. This is not medical advice or even a recipe for you to use, it's just a set of tools that has worked for me. I am always experimenting, so who knows what I will find next week? That's the spirit in which I describe these to you, to add to your knowledge base as you are working through your own health onion.

I use some or all of these depending on a) how badly I am feeling and b) where I am at the time & what I have on hand. This list is no particular order and is far from complete. Feel free to share your tips too, in the comments section.

~Maca drops--the one I have right now is a glycerite and seems to work fine. I keep it in my purse for those stressful moments out and about, like having just avoided an accident or having some crazy you-know-what scream at you.  There are quite a few other adrenal "adaptogens" (essentially, herbs that support how you deal with stress), this is the one that works for me. It takes quite a bit of trial-and-error to find your personal adrenal ally, but it is worth it.

~Rescue Remedy, and other such floral essences, work homeopathically, on an energetic level, but address the emotions primarily, instead of physical symptoms. It is worth carrying at all times as well--I have given it to freaked moms while fixing their kids' boo-boos with arnica and a bit of sympathy.

~Salt "loading"--this is where you drink a glass of water with sea salt (the real thing with all the minerals--don't use any bleached white salt), followed with more water. I usually only have to do it once a day, but it can be done more often. Sea salt is another thing I carry with me always, in a tiny pill box. It's even better, for you and for the taste, with some lemon in it. The adrenals need salt and C to keep functioning under stress. They also need fat, which brings me to...

~Fat--Coconut oil, butter, nuts, avocado...I just need to get some fat in me when I am stressed. With recent events I have been making a version of avocado "pudding." I put all of this in the blender , blend till smooth, and eat with a spoon (sometimes out of the blender, and yes, I eat it all. This is not the time to count calories):

• a small ripe avocado (peeled, natch)
• 1 piece of soft fruit (I just used a peach, have used banana, berries, etc. Leave it out if sugars are an issue, and definitely make sure it is ripe.)
• a pastured egg (I do include the white, but you can leave it out if you avoid raw whites)
• a spoonful of coconut oil (and/or butter)
• anti-inflammatory spices, such as ginger, turmeric, cinnamon. I often add vanilla or almond extract, especially if I am not adding sweetener.
• sweetener--I use honey, just a bit, but use what you prefer that won't make you feel worse
• If the stress is of a particular variety, I throw in a handful of (organic, of course) chocolate chips (could use a spoonful of cocoa for chocolate pudding). Sometimes I blend them a bit, sometimes not. And yes, they have sugar in them, a touch, and sugar is the devil and it undermines health. Yes it does, but I seem to tolerate this amount just fine. Just telling you my story--you decide what works for you, ok? I mean that in the nicest way, because what works for one person is almost guaranteed not to work that way for someone else, so what I do is just what I know works for me. Like I said, next week I may learn something new...

~Tulsi or Holy Basil--I drink tulsi tea quite often. I think it helps, but is both pretty gentle and maybe one of those things that needs to build up in the body to work, so it's not a fabulous rescue. It is good to bring peace to an agitated afternoon.

~Broth--Superfood supreme, this has adrenal support as another of its virtues. So maybe "salt load" with a mug of salty, lemony broth and lift it to toast the Stock Pot Gods. And check out this great post on the science behind how broth can help us manage stress.

~Hot tub--self explanatory, right? Saunas, steam baths, and the bathtub work too. Even a hot shower helps.

~Sleep!!!-Yes, this is a tough one, but I do everything I can to sleep, especially when under stress. Whatever ritual gets you there, do it, I say!

~Bodywork--a massage, chiropractic adjustment, or other body therapy works wonders. It gives me some space out of my head and stress, and it corrects the weird things I have forced my poor body to do while working and stressing. A facial or foot massage helps too! There are lots of ways to pamper even without big bucks.

~Walk--or run or do yoga or bike or... just move! But not too much, because that adds stress to the adrenals. Walk with someone and keep a pace where you can talk--that's about right.

~Talk--"reach out and touch ..." (Boy, did that date me). Yes, call someone and talk out the issues, have lunch with a friend, cry on your sweetheart"s shoulder, whatever--just know you don't have to shoulder the burden alone (unless you choose to, but then you probably wouldn't be reading this, would you?)

~Sunbathe-- I have no idea of the science backs me up on this, but laying in the sun for 15 minutes or so makes me feel better. Good enough for me!

~Laugh--make jokes, watch a funny movie, hang out with your goofiest friend. Laughing has actual physical healing properties, but the way I think it really helps stress is to take the focus off what's eating me. It's a great refocusing tool, by creating perspective. It's all pretty funny, so just laugh... If that's hard, start by smiling. Preferably at someone, but (and I have done this, so I know it works) just standing and smiling at yourself in the mirror can actually change your mood. Try it!

~Distraction--especially useful for prolonged stress, this is very personal. I read junky magazines, surf the web or window shop. I make things. I set limits on how much time I can spend on this, if work is the stress, but I do take a while to make sure my head is clear and I am not crazed when I sit down to work or I will get even more frustrated and bitchy.  If it takes a cup of tea and looking at vintage dresses online for a few minutes, so be it.

Resolving the stress is the best way to cope, but it isn't always possible to do before stress affects us negatively.  At that point, we also need to support the immune system in our customary ways. I eat lots of garlic, onions, ginger, increase my broth, probiotic foods, cod liver oil and keep immune boosters like elderberry and echinacea on hand.

I avoided talking much about sweets and didn't mention various drugs or alcohol because, while these things can help in sane doses and in the right situation, they can also contribute to physical stress and undermine immunity--just when you want to strengthen it. Use them at your discretion and keep notes on all of your experiments and trials, because that's the only way to know works and what doesn't.

Hugs to you all! It's coziest stress-buster ever....

How do you deal with stress? Any techniques or foods/herbs/etc that work really well for you? Please share them below so we can all get better at managing these situations....